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Learn how to make caramelized onions with step-by-step photos. Luscious balsamic caramelized onions are easy to make and have a rich, sweet, balanced flavor. Caramelized onion uses go well beyond French onion soup; it’s great on burgers, pizza, flatbread, grilled cheese, pasta, grilled meat, or added to a cheese board!
If you’re looking for a shortcut to make caramelized onions quickly, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
The best caramelized onions – the ones with rich, sweet and subtly tangy flavor and deep brown color – take at least 30 minutes to make.
There’s just no getting around it, but I promise they’re worth it!
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Butter – We use a little butter for richness and to help prevent the onions from sticking.
- Onion – My favorite type of onion to use to make caramelized onion is yellow onion, but white onion, red onion, and even sweet onion (such as Vidalia) will all work.
- Water – When caramelizing onion, it’s helpful to add a splash of water if the onion starts to stick to the pan or starts to scorch because the pan gets too hot.
- Salt – To enhance the flavor and balance the onion’s natural sweetness.
- Balsamic vinegar – Balsamic vinegar is optional, but I think the sweet/tart fruity flavor of balsamic is the perfect way to offset the rich, sweet flavor of caramelized onion. Essentially, the acid in vinegar helps balance the flavor profile.
How to Make Caramelized Onions (The Best Easy Method!)
- Add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion.
- Cook the onion until it is deep golden in color, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water when it starts to stick to the pan, or when it starts to get too dark. Adjust the heat down as necessary so the onion doesn’t burn. This is the onion after cooking 10 minutes.
- This is after cooking 20 minutes.
- This is at the 30-minute point. The onions are beautifully caramelized, and also nearly finished cooking. I’m adding a little water because they started sticking.
- Once caramelized to your liking, stir in the salt and balsamic and cook about 1 minute, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from the heat.
Storage
Once caramelized onion cools to room temperature, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Pro Tip: What Type of Onion is Best For Caramelizing?
There are a few different kinds of onion that you can use to make caramelized onion. Here are the best options, ranked in order of my personal preference:
- Yellow onion (such as Spanish onion) – Yellow onion, which is also known as cooking onion, is my favorite type of onion for caramelizing. It has a classic “oniony” flavor, and lends a balanced savory base flavor that turns rich and sweetens as the onion caramelizes.
- Red onion – Red onion has a sharp, pungent flavor but a high sugar content, so it’s also good for caramelizing.
- White onion – White onion is on the sweeter, more mild side, which generally means it’s great eaten raw.
- Sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla) – This is the sweetest onion of all the onion options. If you use sweet onion, I recommend increasing the balsamic vinegar to 3 tablespoons in this recipe to balance out the onion’s natural sweetness.
How to Use Balsamic Caramelized Onions
If you’re wondering what to do with caramelized onion once you make it, the possibilities are endless! Here are a few ideas:
- Burger topping
- Pizza topping
- Add to grilled cheese sandwiches
- Add to your favorite pasta dish
- Serve with sliced cheeses as a chutney (caramelized onions are perfect on a charcuterie or cheese board)
- Serve on top of grilled steak or roasted chicken
Tips For the Best Caramelized Onions
- Know your onion type. Different types of onion lend different flavor profiles and sweetness levels. If you’re using sweeter onion, you might want to balance the flavor with a touch more salt and/or vinegar.
- You don’t have to add sugar, but I do recommend salt. I prefer not to add sugar when caramelizing onion. Onions naturally have a relatively high sugar content, which is why they caramelize so well; I find that with added sugar, it’s usually a bit too sweet for my preference. On the other hand, I always add a little bit of salt because it’s a natural flavor enhancer that draws out the flavor of everything else.
- Be mindful of how often you stir. Don’t stir so often that the onion doesn’t have the chance to brown on one side, but make sure to stir frequently enough so it doesn’t burn.
Frequently Asked Questions
This process is very easy, just make sure your knife is sharp and be careful:
1. Peel the onion.
2. Cut the onion in half.
3. Thinly slice the onion halves.
You can use butter or oil to make caramelized onion. The nice thing about using oil is that depending on what oil you use, it has a higher smoke point than butter (for example, avocado oil). This means it won’t scorch as easily. However, the good thing about using butter is that it adds rich flavor.
For the best of both worlds, a lot of people use a combination of oil and butter to make caramelized onions. I’ve simplified this recipe and just use butter because I’m mindful of the heat, and never go higher than medium.
However, the fats you can use to caramelize onion don’t stop with butter and oil! You could also use clarified butter (called ghee), duck fat, or tallow (which is rendered fat from beef or sometimes mutton).
Recipes Using Caramelized Onions
- Crispy Potato Latkes with Caramelized Onion
- Red Wine Caramelized Onion Flatbread with Manchego, Grapes, and Thyme
- Warm Caramelized Onion Chickpea Spread
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How to Make Caramelized Onions (The Best Balsamic Caramelized Onions!)
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 extremely large onion peeled and thinly sliced (about 5 cups sliced)
- 1/4 cup water slightly more or less as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion.
- Cook the onion until it is deep golden in color, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water if the onion starts to stick to the pan, or if it starts to get too dark. Adjust the heat down as necessary so the onion doesn’t burn.
- Once caramelized, stir in the salt and balsamic and cook about 1 minute, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from the heat.
Notes
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 1 cup of caramelized onions, or 8 (2-tablespoon) servings.
- Storage: Once caramelized onion cools to room temperature, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on June 28, 2023, and updated on October 6, 2025.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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