This easy onion confit recipe on the stove is easy to make with many uses to add flavor to any dish. Using white, yellow, red onions or pearl onions with olive oil. You will love this as much a our Best Caramelized Onions with Brown Sugar but these are more savory.
Onion confit uses are many. From a hamburger topping to hummus, pasta sauce, made into a dip or a spread on sandwiches it adds a ton of flavor to any dish. Make as tender as you’d like and buttery. (affiliate links present)
How to Confit Onions
This is a bit like How to Make Garlic Confit except this time it was in a skillet on the stove. You could follow this method baked in the oven if you wanted to but since they are more “delicate” than other ingredients I feel like you need your eyeballs on it a bit more often.
Ok so we made both the other night and then added some into our Confit Potatoes dish after that and OMG was that good!! Of course there are a ton of ways to use this beyond adding them in with other ingredients, and great as is but if these are around they don’t last long because they are so versatile.
Table of Contents
With Red Onions
You can use your favorite color or variety when following these steps. When using this red or purple variety you may want a deeper flavor to them. You can do with the liquid used to cook them down. Here we used water but that isn’t the only option. Think beyond that. Beef broth would give this a whole new flavor profile, or chicken stock depending on what you are making with it right? Let’s go beyond that…..
With Balsamic
Want to go all out for a deep rich flavor to this recipe ingredient? Use your favorite bottle of balsamic vinegar for the liquid!! Oh yes we have done this too. You could cut it down by half if that is too deep for you but the addition of this is killer if making a savory spread on toast or for on top of burgers.
With Pearl Onions
And some like to make this with the little balls of onions which works too!! With those I wouldn’t bother slicing them at all, just throw those babies in whole. If you have used them to make our Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions they are wonderful that way too. I would use half balsamic, half water for this variety.
Onion Confit Ingredients
- 3 sliced onions – thinly sliced will become much softer
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Salt and pepper
- Sugar
- Lemon juice – optional depending on what you’re making
- Water or liquid of choice like
- balsamic vinegar
- chicken broth
- beef stock
- or combination of water and some of another to add more flavor
You need a skillet with a lid to cook the onions in and something to stir here and there like a wood spoon to get this done. Often times I will make this, use some in our dinner dish and then make turkey breast confit with it the next day. Plan ahead, make a double batch and use throughout the week for amazing meals.
The length of cooking time is the biggest difference, and traditionally confit onions are cooked in duck fat vs. olive oil. The latter are cooked longer, like caramelized onions are to break them down to create more of a paste-like consistency to them to make a spread.
What can you use onion confit for?
- Spread on Bread
- Make Fall-Apart Brisket in the Oven with it
- Flavoring Sauces and Soups
- Adding into Pasta
- Garlic Confit Mashed Potatoes
- Pizza Topping
- To make Compound Cowboy Butter
- Dips and Spreads like mixing Tomato Confit with these on baguette
You can make a savory onion jam with it too if you love the flavor enough to just spread it on toast in the morning or as a snack mid day.
How to store leftovers
If you aren’t using it all right away you will want a mason jar to store it in once it completely cools. Ensure the onions are fully submerged in the oil they were cooked in. This helps preserve them by minimizing exposure to air and bacteria.
How long does it last?
If stored properly in a very tight container and is kept in the refrigerator it can last up to two weeks. I will say that the longer they sit the more the texture will change, and soften quite a bit. I would suggest that you use it as soon as possible or within the next few days for ideal results.
Onion Confit
Equipment
- 1 pan
Ingredients
- 3 onions, sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 c water, may need more
Instructions
- Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan. Place the chopped onion in the pan and start frying over low heat, stirring, for 10 minutes. Pour in water and simmer under the lid for another 15 minutes. Check the amount of water, add a little if necessary as it cooks down along the way.
- Add salt, sugar, pepper and lemon juice. Stir and simmer for another 10 minutes. The onion should become very soft and paste-like. If it is not soft enough, add a little more water and increase the simmering time by 10-15 minutes.
- Onion confit should not be runny, the consistency should be more like chutney.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
