Techniques › Vegetables, grains and beans
Caramelizing onions
Intermediate Vegetables, grains and beans
Caramelizing onions is cooking onions slowly until deep golden brown, soft and sweet.
Written with AI help from the sources listed, and published by Cory. Spot a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.
How do you do it?
- Slice onions evenly. Medium-low heat, butter or oil, a pinch of salt.
- Stir every few minutes. When brown bits stick, add a splash of water and scrape.
- Real caramelized onions take 40–60 minutes.
Why does it work?
Slow heat breaks the onions' sugars down and browns them, building sweetness and depth.
What are the common mistakes?
- Believing a recipe that says 10 minutes.
- High heat — they burn before they sweeten.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
Learn by cooking. In Pantry to Pan, technique words in your recipes' steps link straight
to guides like this one, right when you need them.
Try it free for 14 daysMore vegetables, grains and beans
- Blanching (and shocking)Boiling vegetables briefly, then plunging them into ice water.Beginner
- Pasta water and al denteCooking pasta until just tender with a little bite, and saving some of the starchy water.Beginner
- Roasting vegetablesCooking cut vegetables in a hot oven until their edges brown and their centers turn tender.Beginner
- Cooking rice (the absorption method)Simmering rice in a measured amount of water so it absorbs all of it and cooks fluffy.Beginner
- Rinsing rice and grainsWashing grains in cold water before cooking to remove loose surface starch and dust.Beginner
- Making risottoSlowly cooking short-grain rice while adding hot broth bit by bit and stirring, until it turns creamy.Intermediate