BACK TO ALL RECIPES

Caramelized Onions

Photo: Getty Images

BY Mark Bittman

PUBLISHED December 27, 2023

“Cook until it’s done” has never been a more accurate direction. You want a deeply colored “jam” that doesn’t look—or taste—anything like the raw vegetable, but the time it takes to get there isn’t fixed. Let the chart on the previous page provide some guidelines. Slicing the onions as thin as you can manage helps speed up the process.

 

The following may contain affiliate links for which we earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting us in this way!

You might as well make as much as your pan will hold; caramelized onions will keep for at least a week in the fridge. Other vegetables you can use: pearl or cipollini onions (keep them whole; trim, blanch, and shock them to make peeling easier).

Print

Caramelized Onions

Prevent your screen from going dark

Log in, or become a member today.

Join in: enjoy 7 days free, plus 40% off your first year with access to 1,000+ highly vetted recipes from the How To Cook Everything series and beyond, essays from Mark, and original pieces from our contributors.

Join annually and save 40%
Log in to your account

GetBetterFasterHealthierSmarterTastier

in the Kitchen

Through our (more than a thousand, and growing) highly vetted recipes from the How to Cook Everything series, original food essays and reporting, thoughtful podcast conversations and introductions to new and responsible food products, we aim to showcase what’s possible, from farm to fork, and power a growing movement that encourages people to think about food not as a commodity, but as central to our health and happiness.

Start your free trial

We hope you join us on this journey. We’d love to have you as a part of the Bittman community. As a member, you'll have access to:

  • New recipes every week
  • 1000s of recipes from How to Cook Everything and beyond
  • First access to in-person events with Mark and Kate
  • Exclusive discounts from our favorite brands
  • Q&As with Mark and the team

 

Subscribe to our free newsletter

Join over 105,000 passionate individuals who receive our weekly emails. It’s 100% free and you can unsubscribe anytime. Plus, we’ll email you a sampling of what premium members receive on a weekly basis.