How to Caramelize Onions for Burgers

Name: How to Caramelize Onions
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 22 min
Ingredients: 1 medium onion (finely chopped); 1 tbsp butter; salt; black pepper; 4 tbsp water

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Caramelized Onions are a rich, flavor-packed addition to burgers, sliders, steaks, and more. It takes just 20 minutes to make, minimal effort, and can be made ahead of time for meal planning.

Burger topped with caramelized onions on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whenever we make burgers or Animal Style Fries (In-N-Out Copycat), we make a batch of our caramelized onions. It's the simplest way to prepare caramelized onions and adds so much flavor to a dish. Our method incorporates all of the delicious fond, or the flavorful browned bits in the pan, in the onions for even more flavor.

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About Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
Substitutions
Variations
Instructions
What to Serve with Caramelized Onions
Recipe FAQs
Top tips
Related Side Recipes
Did You Like This Recipe?
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About Caramelized Onions

Taste - Caramelized onions add a unique sweetness to so many dishes.
Texture - These browned onions are tender with a light crunch.
Effort - You just need to keep your eye on the onions to ensure they don't get stuck to the pan or overcook.
Time - It takes a couple minutes to chop the onions then about 20 minutes to cook them.

Ingredients

Onion - Onion is a pungent and sweet aromatic. For caramelizing, we like to use yellow onions because they have a mild flavor and are delicious when browned. Learn more about all the types of onions.
Butter - Butter is a delicious fat to cook the onions in.
Water - Adding water while cooking rehydrates the onions to keep them from drying out.

See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions

White onion - Use white onion if you want to add a stronger and more vibrant onion flavor.
Red onion - Use red onion for a richer and slightly more bitter caramelized onion.
Shallot - Shallot is more mildly flavored than red onion, but still has a good bite.

Variations

Spicy - Add red chili pepper flakes while cooking to imbue heat to the onions.
Raw onions - If you are preparing onions for a burger, you can also just use sliced raw onion. When compared to caramelized onions, raw onions are crisper with a sharper onion flavor.

Instructions

Steps to make caramelized onions for burgers in a pan with butter, onion, salt, pepper, and water.

Melt butter - Place a medium skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter. (Photo 1)
Caramelize onions - Add chopped raw onions and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes, until the onions are caramelized and browned. (Photo 2 and 3)
Add water, stir, repeat - Add about a tablespoon of water every few minutes and give the onions a stir. This rehydrates the onions and deglazes the pan, incorporating all of the browned flavorful bits that get stuck on the pan. Repeat this until the onions are deep golden brown and caramelized. (Photo 4)

Pro tip: Adding water is critical to both ensure that the onions stay moist and the onions don't stick to the pan.

What to Serve with Caramelized Onions

These caramelized onions are easy to make and taste delicious in French onion soup or with a burger and beer or wine. They are also great with Pesto Swiss And Turkey Skillet Sliders, Cheese Quesadilla with Pan Roasted Vegetables, and Bavette Steak (Broiled Garlic Flank Steak).

Recipe FAQs

What's the difference between caramelized onions and sauteed onions?

How do I know that my onions are done caramelizing?

Do you serve caramelized onions hot or cold?

Do you add sugar to caramelize onions?

Top tips

Storage - Store these sweet onions in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. In order to reheat them, reheat in a pan over low heat until hot. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Don't stir the onions too much - Be sure to let the onions cook in the pan on their own so they can caramelize and brown. If you keep stirring them, they won't brown. At the same time, don't let them sit too long or they will stick to the pan.
Cook the right size onions - Be sure that the onions are finely chopped, but not too small or they will burn. Likewise, don't cut them too thick or the outside of the onions will cook before the middle.
Don't overcrowd the pan - While onions shrink when caramelized, be careful to not overcrowd the pan or the onions won't cook evenly.

Burger topped with caramelized onions on a baking sheet with parchment paper served with another burger.

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