The Simple Mistake That's Ruining Your Caramelized Onions

Caramelized onions are simple to make. With just a few ingredients and a little patience, your fridge can be stocked with these deeply rich, slightly charred, and deliciously sweet slivers of heaven. All you need is some onions, salt, and oil to get the job done.

Easy enough, right? Well, to get the best result you'll want to avoid one simple mistake that can ruin your outcome: using the wrong amount of oil. While you might want to add just a touch to the skillet, it's important to make sure you have enough to let the onions release their natural sugars and slowly soften and brown, though too much may result in crispy onions (which, while delicious, isn't what you're going for here). A good rule of thumb is to use approximately two tablespoons per three large onions, but you'll want to watch the pot and add more if it's drying up too quickly.

Remember, caramelized onions should be cooked low and slow (in about 45 to 60 minutes), and while you want to occasionally stir them to avoid burning, you also want to allow them to develop a slight crust. It's an art, but one that's absolutely worth honing.

While fat content is important when making caramelized onions, there's more you can do to ensure a perfect outcome. For example, how you slice your onions matter. You want them to be relatively equal in size at approximately ⅛-inch thick so that they cook at the same time.

If you're looking to get the process moving ASAP, you can try Ina Garten's tip for making faster caramelized onions by using the right pan to cook caramelized onions. This happens to be a cast iron or stainless steel pot or pan with a large, heavy bottom. For example, a 12-inch pan is perfect for two onions because you have plenty of room to ensure they don't overcrowd the pan. Overcrowding would lead to the onions steaming together rather than developing that beautiful brown crust we're looking for. To help them develop their natural sugars, you can even add a pinch of sugar while they're cooking to get things caramelizing even quicker.

Additionally, if you want to learn how to caramelize onions without a stove, you can use your crockpot. Just add your sliced onions and oil to it and let it cook low and slow for about 7 to 10 hours.