Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions, plus a French Onion Soup Recipe!

This week's Frugal Homemade feature is Easy Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions. These are so easy, and so good! I first fell in love with caramelized onions at a Williams-Sonoma cooking class years (and years and years) ago and have been using them in recipes ever since. When there's a great sale on onions I stock up and make enough to freeze and use for the next few months.

Recently, onions were on sale at ALDI. Three pounds for $.69? Sold! I bought 9 pounds, because these really shrink down as they cook.

Easy Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions

Ready? This is SO easy.

Peel your onions & slice them. Put them in your slow cooker, add 9 tablespoons of butter (1 tablespoon per pound) and cook them on low all day. No, really: ALL DAY. Cook them 12, 15, even 18 hours -- until they are a caramel color you are happy with and the flavor is perfect for your taste buds! The longer the better, in my opinion. I have an average sized slow cooker and 9 pounds doesn't fit all at once. So as they cook down, just keep adding more onion slices until they are all in there. Cook them & then cook them some more.

That's it. Let cool and freeze in portion sizes that work for you.

Ideas on where to use caramelized onions?

• On sandwiches -- patty melts, roast beef, mozzarella & tomato, grilled cheese... really anything!
• On burgers -- turkey or beef
• On steaks
• On baked potatoes
• In veggie quesadillas
• In pasta dishes
• In French onion soup
• With pork roast or pork chops
• In mushroom risotto
• On pizza
• On bruschetta
• In meatloaf
• French bread with garlic, caramelized onions, and a savory cheese

Bonus: Easy French Onion soup recipe

Here is one recipe we love for Easy French Onion Soup using caramelized onions.

Ingredients

1 cup caramelized onions
1 tablespoon flour
Two 14-15 oz cans of beef broth
½ cup red wine (optional)
2 ½ cups of water
1 loaf of hearty French bread
Sliced provolone cheese (some people prefer Swiss, use what you like!)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a pot, saute 1 cup of caramelized onions for a minute or two. Stir in 1 tablespoon of flour until the onions thicken up a bit.
Add beef broth, red wine, and water.
Simmer for 10 minutes.
Slice bread into ½" slices and lightly toast at 350 degrees while the soup is simmering. Remove bread from oven and increase temperature to 425 degrees.
Place 4 oven safe bowls on a cookie sheet.
After the soup has simmered and the bread has toasted, ladle soup into the bowls, place a piece of toasted bread in each bowl, and top with a slice of provolone cheese.
Bake at 425 degrees until cheese is melted, 5 minutes or so.

Makes 4 servings, approximately 1.5 cups each.

French Onion Soup, printable recipe

Save Recipe! Saved Recipe!

Print Pin

French Onion Soup

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Here is the recipe we love for French Onion soup using caramelized onions.

Course Soup

Cuisine Dinner-Lunch-Appetizer

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Rachel Singer

Ingredients

• 1 cup caramelized onions
• 1 tablespoon flour
• Two 14-15 oz cans of beef broth
• ½ cup red wine optional
• 2 ½ cups of water
• 1 loaf of hearty French bread
• Sliced provolone cheese some people prefer Swiss, use what you like!

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a pot, saute 1 cup of caramelized onions for a minute or two. Stir in 1 tablespoon of flour until the onions thicken up a bit.
• Add beef broth, red wine, and water.
• Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Slice bread into ½" slices and lightly toast at 350 degrees while the soup is simmering. Remove bread from oven and increase temperature to 425 degrees.
• Place 4 oven safe bowls on a cookie sheet.
• After the soup has simmered and the bread has toasted, ladle soup into the bowls, place a piece of toasted bread in each bowl, and top with a slice of provolone cheese.
• Bake at 425 degrees until cheese is melted, 5 minutes or so.
• Makes 4 servings, approximately 1.5 cups each.