Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions

12 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 10 minutes

Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions! No babysitting a pan and constantly stirring! Just onions, butter, and brown sugar cooked until meltingly sweet.

Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions in crockpot

Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions

Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions are a favorite kitchen hack of mine because they eliminate the never-ending babysitting that cooking caramelized onions require. They also make your whole kitchen smell fantastic, like you’re in a French restaurant about to be served a buttery French Onion Soup. Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions cook perfectly

Why Crockpot Caramelized Onions?

The process of cooking these Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions takes minutes compared to the old-fashioned way. The best part, (aside from not having to hover over them for an hour) is you can’t burn the bottom of the pot!

One of the most irritating things about cooking caramelized onions is if you neglect them for even a minute too long, you may start to burn the onions. Once those onions are burned, you can’t recover. The flavor of the burned onion will be immediately recognized and in case you need them for a dish that’s got a non BBQ flavor, you’re probably going to have to start over. Not so with crockpot caramelized onions.

Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions also manages to keep you from being up to your elbows in a giant pot of raw onions, cooking them until they start to break down (think spinach except it doesn’t melt down in less than a minute, it takes a solid ten minutes of stirring).

Crockpot Caramelized Onions requires no babysitting!

Tools Used In This Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions Recipe:

  • Slow Cooker: Love this slow cooker and how programmable it is, it has been a workhorse for me… until…
  • My New Slow Cooker: This recipe was made in this slow cooker. For larger roasts, I also brown the meat in the insert and not lose a bunch of the flavor by transferring the meat and leaving the browned bits behind. If you’re thinking of a new slow cooker, consider it if your budget is open.

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Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions

Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions with no babysitting a pan and constantly stirring! Just onions, butter and brown sugar cook until meltingly sweet.
Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 10 minutes
Course Side
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 6 yellow onions , thinly sliced
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

  • Add the butter and brown sugar to the slow cooker and top with the sliced onions.
  • Cook on low for 10 hours.
  • If too much liquid is in the slow cooker cook with the lid turned to the side to allow venting for an hour (if you catch it before it is done cooking for 10 hours go ahead and let it vent for the last couple of hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 59kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 35mg | Potassium: 80mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Crock pot full of Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions

Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions with no babysitting a pan and constantly stirring! Just onions, butter and brown sugar cook until meltingly sweet.
Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions with no babysitting a pan and constantly stirring! Just onions, butter and brown sugar cook until meltingly sweet.
Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions with no babysitting a pan and constantly stirring! Just onions, butter and brown sugar cook until meltingly sweet.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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Comments

  1. So yummy. I forgot the sugar but it didn’t miss it. I will be making these again and again. Next time I want to add some liquid smoke to see if that will have any effect on them. What I really like is that this is a perfect recipe for when you notice your onions are starting to take root in the veggie bin and you need to use them quick. So easy.

  2. I made these today and they are amazing! Followed recipe exactly with no issues. Will be doing this again and again. Thank you Sabrina for all your great recipes. You haven’t failed me yet. I love your site and greatly appreciate all the work you do and your generosity in sharing.

  3. how long do these delicious looking onions last in the fridge? and what type of container is best to store them in?

  4. These look so awesome, and I love that you’ve mentioned that they do well in the freezer. I’m just having trouble understanding step 3 of the recipe. Should I start with the lid propped to the side, or check on them partway through cooking and vent the lid only if there is too much liquid? How would I know if there is too much liquid? Thank you for the great recipe!

    1. The easiest way to explain the difference in how it can look is if it looks soupy then there’s too much liquid. You really want the liquid to be under the onions and not over it. If you have too much liquid, just prop the lid half way through. Hope this clears up any confusion!

  5. Is the sugar necessary? I have a few dietary restrictions and one is no sugar or substitutes. Natural Sweeteners only. I do use coconut sugar on occasion. Any suggestions?

    1. It aids in the browning of the onions, especially since you’re cooking on such a low heat. I’ve never personally cooked with coconut sugar so I can’t quite vouch for it, but if I were you I would probably stick to a more classic pot method for onions without the sugar. Low heat for a long time and naturally as the water evaporates the onions will caramelize. Sorry for the delay your comment accidentally ended up in the spam filter and I just saw it.

  6. I have never made caramelized onions in my slow cooker before but will definitely be doing it next time. I love how easy it is.

    1. Sorry this comment took so long to get to, it ended up in my spam filter somehow! Yes, absolutely! I have some in my deep freeze as I type this!

  7. I LOVE caramelized onions! This is such a great idea, thanks for the inspiration. I’m going to give this a go!

  8. I can just see these caramelized onions slathered on all sorts of yummy things. Burgers, sandwiches, and maybe in an omelette.

  9. I’m going to have to try this! It’s so hard to run after 2 toddlers and watch a pot of onions! Great tip!

  10. I’ve made caramelized onions countless times, but never in a slow cooker. I really need to give this method a try. So easy and no babysitting a pan.

  11. I regularly cook big batches of caramelized onions, but haven’t tried them in the slow cooker yet. I’ll definitely be doing this soon!