Ingredients Seasonings Alliums Onion 26 Savory Onion Recipes By Food & Wine Editors Updated on January 18, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Caitlin Bensel Not only are onions the perfect foundation for just about any savory recipe, they also shine in starring roles. Fry them up into glorious, golden onion rings, roast and puree them to make a killer salad dressing, or caramelize them and load them into cheese sandwiches or onto pizza. There is no wrong way to use the almighty onion. Here are our favorite sweet-salty, onion-centric recipes that make foolproof side dishes and main courses. 01 of 26 French Onion Chicken Pot Pie Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christine Keely We took the best parts of French onion soup and chicken pot pie and brought them together in one savory and delicious dish. Roasted and shredded chicken thighs form the base of the pie, along with the deeply caramelized onions and carrots that lend some sweet notes to the dish. Get the Recipe 02 of 26 Baked Onions with Fennel Breadcrumbs © John Kernick These simple, incredibly flavorful onions from chef Nancy Silverton are baked in the oven until they're falling-apart tender. Fennel seeds punch up the crispy breadcrumb topping. Get the Recipe 03 of 26 Caramelized Five-Onion Dip Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen A mix of five alliums — shallots, scallions, and sweet, yellow, and red onions — upgrades this classic caramelized onion dip with layers of flavor. Yellow and red onions give it bite, while Vidalia onion and shallots lend a pleasant sweetness. Get the Recipe 04 of 26 Mixed Onion Agrodolce Caitlin Bensel The combination of shallots, cipollini onions, and pearl onions delivers a lovely contrast of shapes and texture; feel free to simplify by using just one type of onion. Dried plums add a jammy sweetness and make this dish a perfect pairing for rib roast or turkey. Get the Recipe 05 of 26 Rib Eye with Charred Spring Onions and Salsa Verde Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell For this recipe, chef Hillary Sterling makes a sweet, tangy marinade to tenderize the meat and add intense flavor to the skillet-seared steak. A drizzle of fresh lemon juice just before serving brightens up the smoky, umami-rich steak alongside an herb-packed salsa verde and juicy spring onions. Get the Recipe 06 of 26 Cobb Salad with Roasted Sweet Onion Dressing © Con Poulos Everything you love about a Cobb salad is taken to the next level with a roasted garlic and onion vinaigrette. Chef Sean Doty roasts sweet Vidalia onion and garlic until they are lightly charred, then purees them to make the apple cider vinaigrette that gives this Cobb salad its tang and depth of flavor. Get the Recipe 07 of 26 Free-Form Onion Tart © Quentin Bacon When she was the cooking school director at Cavallo Point, chef Kelsie Kerr taught the basics of preparing seasonal recipes. The buttery dough for her savory onion tart, for instance, is great with all kinds of fillings, like fruit. Get the Recipe 08 of 26 Pork Medallions with Onion Marmalade © Con Poulos This recipe from superstar chef Massimo Bottura is simpler than the food he now cooks at his avant-garde three-star Michelin restaurant, Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy. Still, it’s incredibly delicious: The savory marmalade made by cooking onions in butter and sugar is intensely rich in flavor. Get the Recipe 09 of 26 Crispy Onion Rings © Zubin Schroff "There's nothing better than a simple tempura of a primo vegetable," says chef Peter Hoffman. For this sensational version, he coats thick onion rings in an ultralight batter and quickly fries them. Get the Recipe 10 of 26 Onion Jam and Goat Cheese Rugelach Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Originating in Eastern Europe, recipes for rugelach evolved after landing in America. The crescent-shaped cookies are typically layered with jam and chopped nuts and topped with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, but the dough makes a surprisingly compatible home for savory fillings. These are spread with a thick homemade onion jam flavored with balsamic vinegar, sumac, and coriander. Get the Recipe 11 of 26 Gorgonzola-Roasted Mushrooms and Onions © Tina Rupp For this simple six-ingredient recipe, mushrooms and onions roast for about 30 minutes before they're tossed with fresh thyme, topped with Gorgonzola, and returned to the oven to melt the cheese. Get the Recipe 12 of 26 French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches © YUNHEE KIM Former F&W food editor Grace Parisi reinvented the classic grilled cheese sandwich with this version, which emulates the gooey, cheesy top of a bowl of French onion soup. Give yourself time to cook the onions slowly; caramelized onions take almost an hour to achieve their sweet flavor and melty texture, but are worth the wait. Get the Recipe 13 of 26 Slow-Roasted Sweet Onions with "Licorice" Powder © John Kernick One of chef Michel Bras' favorite garnishes is a sweet-savory combination of ground almonds, dehydrated olives, and demerara sugar (a coarse, raw cane sugar with a subtle molasses flavor); the taste reminds him of licorice. Here it serves as a topping for buttery-soft, slow-roasted whole onions. Get the Recipe 14 of 26 Vidalia Onion Soufflés © Christina Holmes This recipe, which is a bit lighter and airier than the traditional Southern onion soufflé, can be prepared in individual gratin dishes or in one big baking dish. Get the Recipe 15 of 26 Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread © Frances Janisch This recipe is as fun to eat as monkey bread (little balls of yeast dough that are baked in a pan together, then pulled apart at the table) but a lot less time-consuming to make. We spread buttery biscuit dough with a savory onion-Gruyère mixture, stack layers of it sideways in a loaf pan, then bake it until golden and fluffy. Get the Recipe 16 of 26 Cheddar and Onion Smashed Burgers © Marcus Nilsson Inspired by the sliders at White Manna in Hackensack, New Jersey, Umami Burger founder Adam Fleischman creates beef patties by flattening balls of ground meat on the griddle. Get the Recipe 17 of 26 Pearl Onions au Gratin © Maura McEvoy Inspired by the pickled pearl onions that became a family tradition ("Mom just served them straight out of the jar and threw a toothpick at them"), chef Barbara Lynch bakes fresh pearl onions in a mixture of cream, garlic, shallots, and bacon, then tops it all with a crispy panko crust. Get the Recipe 18 of 26 Garlicky Mushroom-Onion Toasts © Fredrika Stjärne Grilling guru Francis Mallmann is a master of efficiency. Here, he creates a delicious first course using only a cast-iron skillet, first toasting the bread in it, then quickly searing the mushroom, onion, and garlic toppings right after. Get the Recipe 19 of 26 Caramelized Red Onion Rice with Tamarind Eric Wolfinger In Fresh India, cookbook author Meera Sodha uses sweet-and-sour tamarind paste to turn plain rice into a show-stealing side. The tamarind is essential here; find it at well-stocked grocery stores and Indian markets. Get the Recipe 20 of 26 Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Pear, and Blue Cheese © Quentin Bacon Pear and blue cheese are a classic pairing. This simple focaccia adds sweet caramelized onions and comes together in just four steps. Get the Recipe 21 of 26 French Onion Soup with Roasted Poblanos Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee Montiel At Tzuco, in Chicago, the French onion soup arrives to the table piping hot, topped with a bubbling layer of Gruyère cheese. Hiding under the blanket of cheese, a thick slice of baguette soaks up a soup suffused with flavor from a mountain of jammy onions, balsamic vinegar, and bay leaves. Get the Recipe 22 of 26 Fennel and Sweet Onion Pizza with Green Olives © JOHN KERNICK At Harry's Pizzeria, Miami chef Michael Schwartz uses brown ale and whole-wheat flour to flavor his chewy crust. Toppings can range from potato and house-cured bacon to this pie, made with Pernod-braised fennel, caramelized onions, and Trugole, a semisoft Italian cheese that melts beautifully. Get the Recipe 23 of 26 Grilled Peach, Onion, and Bacon Salad with Buttermilk Dressing © John Kernick The secret to this salad is using big, juicy sweet onions like the Vidalias that chef Linton Hopkins favors, which get nicely charred on the grill. Get the Recipe 24 of 26 Grilled Pepper and Onion Panzanella with Peperoncini Vinaigrette Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Cookbook author Molly Stevens' panzanella uses grilled sweet peppers and red onion in place of tomatoes as the centerpiece of this dinner salad. The charred vegetables are tossed with cubes of grilled bread, drizzled with a peperoncini vinaigrette, and topped with creamy feta and crisp slices of peperoncini, which add pops of flavor and contrasting texture. Get the Recipe 25 of 26 Chicken Livers with Caramelized Onions and Madeira © Ben Dearnley Rich-tasting caramelized onions combined with Madeira make a spectacular sauce for chicken livers. Serve with rice or over toast so you won't miss a single drop. Get the Recipe 26 of 26 Frothy Lettuce Soup with Onion Custard Tina Rupp This stunning recipe calls for a head of Boston lettuce per person, resulting in a soup with pure, intense flavors that is then poured over a delicate custard. It's a riff on petits pois à la française, the classic French dish of peas, lettuce, and spring onions braised in butter and chicken stock. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit