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Pressure Cooker Caramelized Onions Recipe

The Food Lab

Unraveling the mysteries of home cooking through science.

J. Kenji López-Alt
Published: Last Updated:
Pressure Cooker Caramelized Onions Recipe

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Editor's Note: Due to reader complaints and further testing, we no longer recommend this method for caramelizing onions. For a quick method that yields better texture and flavor, try our 15-minute caramelized onions. For best results, however, we strongly recommend caramelizing onions the traditional way, low and slow.

Why It Works

  • The pressure cooker cooks at a higher temperature to produce onions that are caramelized in a fraction of the time of a traditional recipe.
  • Baking soda speeds up the Maillard reaction.

Read more: The Food Lab: Use the Pressure Cooker for Quick Caramelized Onions and French Onion Soup

  • Yield:Makes about 2 cups caramelized onions
  • Active time: 10 minutes
  • Total time:35 minutes
  • Rated: 2.9285714285714

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3 ounces; about 90g)
  • 3 pounds yellow or mixed onions, sliced 1/8 inch thick (1.4kg; about 4 to 5 large onions) (see note)
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2g) baking soda
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. 1.

    Melt butter in an electric or stovetop pressure cooker over medium heat. Add onions and baking soda and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onions slightly soften and start to release liquid, about 3 minutes. Seal pressure cooker and heat to high pressure (12.5 to 15 psi). Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes. Release pressure by allowing steam to vent, then remove lid.

  2. 2.

    Continue cooking with lid off, stirring constantly, until liquid inside has completely reduced and the onions are deep brown and sticky, about 5 minutes. Caramelized onions can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days or frozen for several months.

This Recipe Appears In
The Food Lab: Use the Pressure Cooker for Quick Caramelized Onions and French Onion Soup

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J. Kenji López-Alt Chief Culinary Advisor

J. Kenji López-Alt is a stay-at-home dad who moonlights as the Chief Culinary Consultant of Serious Eats and the Chef/Partner of Wursthall, a German-inspired California beer hall near his home in San Mateo. His first book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science (based on his Serious Eats column of the same name) is a New York Times best-seller, recipient of a James Beard Award, and was named Cookbook of the Year in 2015 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Kenji's next project is a children’s book called Every Night is Pizza Night, to be released in 2020, followed by another big cookbook in 2021.

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