Roasted Onions (Muffin Pan Method)

Roasted Onions in a muffin pan have lightly charred, crispy edges and a sublime buttery soft sweetness! Clarified butter and beef base concentrate give this easy, intensely flavored side dish all the vibes of French Onion Soup!

EXCELLENT RECIPE!! I added a bit of shredded baby Swiss cheese to mine in the last 15 minutes. Incredible!! Thank you!

Why This Recipe is a Keeper!

Not everyone would consider onions to be a lovely side dish, but I sure do. I’ll take onions raw on grilled burgers or in a salad, as a sauce such as in marmalade, in an elegant caramelized onion tart and in every cooked dish possible. Fortunately, I married a man who shares my love of all things onion!

Even with my love of all things onion, somehow I hadn’t tried them yet as a standalone side dish. Then, I saw this muffin pan method on Food 52 and I simply had to try it!

Oven-roasted onions are mellow, sweet and caramelized with lightly charred edges. If you love all things onion the way I do, you are sure to love this roasted onion recipe done in a muffin pan!

This recipe for roasted onions:

• Is easy!
• Elevates the humble onion into a tender, buttery side dish.
• Has an intense flavor that’s reminiscent of French Onion Soup.
• Low-carb!

Let’s make ’em!

How to Make Roasted Onions in a Muffin Pan:

Recipe Ingredients:

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this roasted onion recipe along with how to prep. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:

• Onions: I used small yellow onions that are usually sold in a bag rather than loose or bulk. Small red onions will also work in this oven-roasted onion recipe. It’s a good idea to have an extra onion or two on hand in the event the center of any of them is beginning to spoil.
• Beef Base Concentrate: The Better Than Bouillion brand has a wide range of concentrates including vegetable, chicken, fish and seafood. Because using the beef base straight without diluting it with water as in this roasted onion recipe is so intensely flavored, I used the reduced-sodium beef base which still has plenty of salt. To make this baked onion recipe vegetarian, use a vegetable base.
• Ghee: Ghee is South Asian clarified butter which is butter that has been simmered and strained to remove the water and milk solids. Ghee has a slightly nutty, almost caramel-like flavor. It’s shelf-stable with a high smoke point making it ideal for cooking. Ghee is different from French clarified butter which is made by melting fresh butter and then straining the clear butter from the milk residue that has settled at the bottom of the pot. It’s an easy process to do at home. However, the process to make ghee is more involved so it is something you probably want to purchase.
• Salt: Even with using reduced-sodium beef (or vegetable base), the onions will be plenty salty so proceed carefully with any additional salt.

Step-By-Step Instructions:

• Gather and prep all the ingredients.
• Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
• Peel the onions, removing all remnants of the fine outer skin.
• Trim off any unsightly root ends, being careful to not cut too much off so that the onion holds together in the muffin pan.

• Cut the onions in half through the center to expose concentric circles. In other words, if the top of the onion is the North Pole and the root end is the South Pole, cut the onions in half through the equator. (See my Chef’s Tips and Tricks below as to why the centers of some of my onions are protruded.)

• Place an onion half, cut side up into each muffin cup.
• Sprinkle the onions with freshly ground black pepper. Even with reduced-sodium beef (or vegetable base), the roasted onions will be plenty salty so proceed carefully with adding additional salt.

• Roast the onions for 20 minutes or until they have shrunk a bit and the layers have opened up a little.

• Top with even amounts of ghee and the beef base then brush both evenly over the onions. Alternatively, you can mix the ghee and beef base together then top the onions with the combination.
• MAKE AHEAD: Can be prepped a day ahead to this point. Cover and refrigerate.

• Return the onions to the oven and roast for another 35 to 40 minutes.
• That’s it!! Roasted onions that are intensely flavored with a butter-soft sweetness and lovely, lightly charred edges!

Chef Tips and Tricks:

• Occasionally you’ll cut into an onion to find that one or two of the layers is beginning to spoil which is what happened to me here and why my onion centers look protruded in one of my photos. I had to place them in the refrigerator and get more onions, so it’s a good idea to have an extra onion or two on hand in that event.
• Use similarly-sized onions so they all cook at the same rate.
• If any onion you purchase is just a bit too large to fit in the muffin cup, simply peel off a layer or two. Reserve those layers for another purpose.
• Cleaning tip! Your muffin pan may look like it will never come clean. I let mine soak for about 30 minutes filled with hot, soapy water and Dawn dishwashing liquid and it cleaned right up!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Storage:

• Refrigerate any leftover oven-roasted onions. Reheat in the microwave or oven at 350 degrees. Roasted onions keep in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Serve with:

• Buttery Blackened Steak Bites with Gorgonzola
• 40 Clove Garlic Chicken
• Herb and Garlic Roasted Chicken with Dijon Rosemary Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
• With any dish where you want something low-carb and crazy flavorful!

More great muffin pan recipes you’ll love!

• Garlic Herb Muffin Pan Potato Galettes
• Roasted Onions (Muffin Pan Method)
• Sausage Egg Muffins
• Muffin Pan Mini Quiches

Get all my vegetable side dish recipes at: Vegetable Side Dish Recipes – From A Chef’s Kitchen