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vegetable

Onion

Yellow, red, or white, sliced or quartered

Quick Answer

Onion: roast (wedges) at 400°F for about 32 min.

Cooking Methods

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your temp
400°F
cook time
~32min
Low & slow 375°425° Hot & fast
✎ Cut through root to hold together.

Low40–50 min
Medium-Low30–40 min
Burner Guide: Low heat and patience. There is no shortcut to real caramelized onions: higher heat browns the outside while the inside stays raw and crunchy, and that's browned onions, not caramelized ones. Slice them thin, add a pinch of salt to draw out moisture, and stir every 5 minutes. If brown bits build up on the pan, deglaze with a splash of water and scrape; that's free flavor going back into the onions. You're done when they're deep amber, jammy, and sweet, 40–50 minutes on low or 30–40 on medium-low. Make a triple batch while you're at it: they keep a week in the fridge and freeze beautifully in ice cube trays.
✎ Stir every 5 min. Pinch of salt.

Yellow onions are the workhorse: they sweeten as they cook and they're the right call for caramelizing, soups, and 90% of recipes. Red onions are for raw, pickled, or grilled; white onions are sharper and best in salsas and anything fresh. Store whole onions in a cool, dark, ventilated spot (not the fridge, and never in plastic) and they'll keep for weeks; once cut, wrap tight and refrigerate for 7–10 days. If a recipe doesn't specify, it means yellow.

Onions are the starting point for half the dishes you cook, and the biggest mistake is rushing them. Sautéed onions take 8–12 minutes on medium, but true caramelized onions take 40–50 minutes on low and any recipe that says you can caramelize onions in 10 minutes is lying to you. Below you'll find times for roasting wedges, caramelizing, and a quick weeknight sauté.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best tips for cooking onion?
True caramelization takes 30–45 min. Low heat. Patience. No shortcuts.
How do you roast (wedges) onion?
Roast (wedges) at 38–26 min. Cut through root to hold together.
How do you caramelize onion?
Caramelize at 40–50 min. Stir every 5 min. Pinch of salt.
How do you sauté onion?
Sauté at 8–12 min. Translucent and soft.