Buttery Roasted Red Onions
Earthy red onions slow roasted with herbs, butter, and a splash of lemon juice!
Red onions are brilliant, bright, and earthy. When served raw, in salads, sandwiches, and dips, they’re an unabashedly distinctive flavored vegetable you will always notice when encountering. We’ve got a great-tasting option for using these underrated veggies – beautifully Buttery Oven Roasted Red Onions!
For some people, raw red onions can be too overpowering and can put a limit on how often you use them. When cooked, red onions become significantly milder, and friendlier on your palate. Our baked onion recipe is the perfect accompanying grilled meats, roasts, or even burgers. It gives caramelized onions the chance to meld with butter, garlic powder, and the tang of lemon juice, to create an enjoyable, inexpensive side dish, much different to the red onion’s reputation.
Baking red onions in the oven – we used a medium temperature to save time, rather than a genuine low and slow heat – removes sharpness from the vegetable, so the onions are mellow and creamy. The flavor turns from slightly bitter and pungent – the ‘tongue taste’ so noticeable in salads and sandwiches – to sweet and deliciously caramelized from the time spent baking in the mix of butter, herbs and spices, and lemon. The onions are still earthy and rich, but they’re fully transformed into a tasty mix of subtly enjoyable tastes.
Buttery Oven Roasted Red Onions are so much fun to cook – they look glorious, and make the kitchen smell homey and welcoming – and the results will change the way even those that usually won’t try them give the dish a shot. If you put these on the dinner table with family and friends, there won’t be any leftovers!
Buttery Roasted Red Onions
Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 3 large red onions
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons celery salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Wash and dry the onions. Cut the root end away and then cut them in half, leaving the skins on. Place the onion halves into a mixing bowl with half the olive oil, half the celery salt, and the garlic powder. Stir to thoroughly combine the mixture, then place into an ovenproof dish. Cook for 45 minutes, checking occasionally.
- While the onions are cooking, combine the remaining olive oil and celery salt with butter (melt in the microwave if necessary), lemon juice, and thyme. Set mixture aside.
- Take the onions out of the oven. Pour the lemon butter mixture over each onion half, ensuring they are well covered. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then return to the oven and cook for a further 45 minutes at 300°F, re-pouring sauce over the onions occasionally.
- When the onions have caramelized to suit, remove them from the oven. Take off the skins and discard, then place the onions into a serving bowl. Pour over with remaining pan juices, then serve immediately with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Recipe adapted from Cooking on the Weekends
