Popular Pizza Toppings: How to Make Caramelized Onions

If you love caramelized onions on pizza, then you need a solid recipe to make them at home. This one is easy, requiring only four ingredients and 30 to 40 (mostly inactive) minutes of your time. Make a big batch and freeze the onions in separate containers so you're ready when the mood strikes!

Fun fact: I used to have a serious aversion to onions. My mom, an avid onion lover, tried everything — cooking them a little longer than recipes suggested, cutting them up into really small pieces, shaving them extra-thin for sandwiches — but I just couldn't handle the texture (not quite crunchy, not quite soft) and back-of-the-throat flavor. Finally, we discovered that there were only two ways I could eat onions without gagging: caramelized and finely grated. As a mother myself, I can only now appreciate my mother's pure devotion as she stood at the counter breaking down whole onions by hand with a box grater, eyes stinging, tears pooling up behind her glasses.

Being a pizza blogger helped chip away at my aversion over time. I learned how to make caramelized onions years ago, and now I even enjoy (very thin) slices of red onion on the occasional tuna fish sandwich. In fact, today, onions (raw and cooked) rank solidly in the middle of my list of favorite pizza toppings! See, Mom, all that tireless onion grating wasn't in vain!

HOW TO CARAMELIZE ONIONS

1. Slice a couple of medium-size yellow (sweet) onions.
2. Melt a hunk of butter in a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet.
3. Add the onions to the skillet, stir until they're coated in the melted butter, and cook over medium heat until they're soft and sticky and brownish orange in color.
4. Pour in a some broth and stir until the liquid has reduced, creating a saucy consistency.

Need some pizza inspiration? Try one (or all) of these:

• French Onion Pizza
• Green Tomato and Caramelized Onion Pizza
• Wino Blue Pizza with Red Wine Caramelized Onions and Blue Cheese

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Caramelized Onion Pizza Topping

These caramelized onions are sweet and saucy, perfect for spreading on a pizza and topping with any cheese you like, from mozzarella to cheddar to gorgonzola.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: caramelized onion pizza, caramelized onions

Makes: 1 cup (enough for 2 12- to 14-inch pizzas)

Cost: $5

Equipment

• Skillet
• Wooden spoon

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1½ pounds yellow (sweet) onions (2 medium onions), sliced
• Kosher salt
• ¼ cup low-sodium vegetable broth

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a large, wide skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and 2 pinches of salt, and stir until the onion slices are coated in the melted butter.
• Cook, stirring every 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions are very soft and turn amber in color. First, they will look like they are burning a little (they're not!), then they will begin to turn golden, and eventually, after 30 to 40 minutes, that color will deepen to brownish orange (amber). If the onions look dry after 15 or 20 minutes of cooking, of if they actually start to char at the edges, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until they reach that amber color.
• Pour the broth into the skillet, and scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the stuck-on brown bits. Cook for 1 to 3 minutes, until the broth has reduced and the onions look saucy, not soupy. Remove the skillet from the heat, and let the onions cool before using them as a pizza topping.
• When the onions have cooled to around room temperature, spoon them onto a round of pizza dough (you'll need about ½ cup per 12- to 14-inch pizza). Top with any cheese and other toppings you like, then bake and enjoy!