How To Caramelize Onions Fast | America's Test Kitchen

Maybe your like

America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated LogoAmerica's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Cooking Tips

How to Caramelize Onions Fast

Caramelized onions can take more than an hour of careful cooking over a low flame. Our technique cuts that time in half.

SaveSaved

By Mari Levine

Published on June 1, 2023

Caramelized onions improve everything from pastas and potato casserole to chip dips and, of course, French onion soup.

But their sweet, complex flavor can come with a cost—sometimes more than an hour of careful cooking over a low flame.

In the below video, part of our Kitchen Smarts series on our YouTube channel, Cook’s Illustrated test cook Lan Lam shares our technique for preparing caramelized onions in less than half of that time. To do this, we reviewed the science and questioned each step of the traditional approach.

Here are some of our findings.

Sign up for the Notes from the Test Kitchen newsletter

Our favorite tips and recipes, enjoyed by 2 million+ subscribers!

Enter Your EmailSign Me Up

By providing your email above, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

1. Cut the onions pole to pole instead of crosswise

Slicing the onions through their root end prevents them from breaking down too much during cooking.

2. Start cooking the onions with water over high heat and covered

Surrounding the onions with steam (and submerging some of them in the added water) heats them more quickly and thoroughly than just relying on the heat generated by the cooking surface of the skillet alone.

Expert Recipes and Techniques

100 Techniques

The first book entirely on techniques from America's Test Kitchen features 100 innovative techniques that will transform your cooking life, paired with more than 200 innovative recipes that put the techniques into real-world, home-kitchen applications.

Save 45% Now

3. Press and stir the onions until deeply browned

Since browning occurs only where the onions are in direct contact with the hot pan, gently press the softened onions into the bottom and sides of the skillet to allow for maximum contact. Let them sit for about 30 seconds and then stir them until they’re softened and deeply browned.