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These sweet caramelized onions with sherry will be your new favorite side dish or condiment with any beef dish! This French-inspired recipe takes just 10 minutes of prep work and can be enjoyed in anything from roast beef dinners, dips, or sandwiches. This simple method guarantees perfectly caramelized onions every time with an incredible depth of flavor from the fresh herbs and sweetness from the sherry.
Serve these sweet caramelized onions with Christmas dinner beef tenderloin roast or this perfect grilled steak (indoor or outdoor).
Quick Look: Sweet Caramelized Onions with Sherry Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 40 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 50 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: makes about 3 cups; yields 10-12 servings of ¼ cup each
- 🌽 Cuisine & Heritage: American/French
- 🍽️Calories: 84 calories per serving (more nutritional info in recipe card)
- 🥦Dietary Info: Vegetarian (can be made Vegan) and Gluten Free
- 🟢 Difficulty: Easy
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Stovetop
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Deeply sweet with a jammy texture, herbal notes, and slightly nutty richness from the sherry.
- 🔑Top Tip: Add the sherry at the end of the cooking process after the brown fond has formed on the bottom of the pan; adding it too soon will cook off all the flavor.
- 🍷 Drink Pairings: Serve with a dry sherry or light red like Pinot Noir to echo the richness, or opt for sparkling water with citrus or a chilled apple cider.
- ❄️ Storage: Keep leftover caramelized onions in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-7 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Mostly Hands-Off Cooking: After the initial prep, the onions do the heavy lifting on the stovetop with just occasional stirring. It’s perfect to whip up while dinner is cooking.
- Big Flavor from Simple Ingredients: With pantry staples and a splash of sherry, you get deeply sweet, jammy onions that taste like you spent far more time and effort than you actually did.
- Make Once, Use All Week: This recipe yields a generous batch that keeps well in the fridge or freezer, making it ideal for meal prep and adding instant flavor to sandwiches, dips, pastas, and proteins.
- Diet-Friendly and Flexible: Naturally gluten-free and easily made vegan, it fits a variety of dietary needs without sacrificing flavor.
- Elevates Everyday Meals: A spoonful of these caramelized onions instantly upgrades burgers, eggs, toast, or roasted meats, giving you a quick way to make simple meals feel a little more special.
Table of Contents
- Quick Look: Sweet Caramelized Onions with Sherry Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Variations & Substitutions
- How to Make Sweet Caramelized Onions with Sherry
- Sweet Caramelized Onions with Sherry FAQs
- Serving Suggestions
- Expert Tips
- Other Onion Recipes You’ll Love
- Sweet Caramelized Onions with Sherry Recipe
Ingredients
Curious what ingredients you’ll need for these simple sweet caramelized onions with sherry? Grab these key ingredients, along with a few others, and you’ll be ready to start cooking.
- Onions: Technically any type of onion caramelizes well and is delicious, but we’re going for a sweeter finish here, so I recommend using sweet onions (like Vidalia).
- Butter & Olive Oil: It’s important to use a mixture of butter and olive oil here for the best flavor. You won’t get the maximum flavor if you only use one type of fat!
- Sherry Wine: You’ll need about ¾ cup of sherry wine, which you’ll use to deglaze the pan towards the end of the cooking time. This adds an amazing flavor and sweetness that you won’t get from deglazing with water or broth.
- Herbs: I like to use a mixture of rosemary, thyme, and a bay leaf for a rich depth of flavor. Simply remove the sprigs of herbs and bay leaf from the onions before serving.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Swap the Onions: Yellow or red onions also taste lovely in this recipe if you can’t find sweet onions or want to try something different.
- Different Wine: If you don’t have sherry, a dry white wine, Marsala, or even a touch of balsamic vinegar will add a great depth of flavor.
- Extra Sweetness: These onions are naturally sweet (especially with the sherry), but if you prefer a jammy, almost marmalade-like finish, add a teaspoon or two of either white or brown sugar during the cooking process.
- Different Herbs: Thyme, rosemary, and bay are a classic combo, but you can also try using other fresh herbs like sage or savory.
How to Make Sweet Caramelized Onions with Sherry
Scroll down for the full printable recipe or stick around for the step-by-step breakdown with photos to walk you through every delicious detail.
1
Combine Onions & Seasonings
Melt the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onions, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Stir well to coat.
2
Cook Covered
Cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the onions have softened.
3
Uncover
Uncover and keep cooking over medium-low heat for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the pan often, until the onions are deep golden and very soft.
4
Add Sherry & Serve
Pour in the sherry and stir, scraping up any browned bits. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes more, until the liquid is mostly reduced and the onions are glossy and jammy.
Remove and discard the thyme stems, rosemary, and bay leaf. Serve warm.
Sweet Caramelized Onions with Sherry FAQs
At their core, caramelized onions are beautifully simple: just onions, fat, and seasoning. For this version, you’ll need sweet onions (like Vidalias), butter, and a touch of olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Fresh thyme, rosemary, and bay add a gentle herbal flavor, and a generous splash of sherry wine at the end brings makes everything sweet, luxurious, and richly flavored.
Properly caramelizing onions takes a bit of patience! Plan for about 40-60 minutes from start to finish. I like to cook them covered for 12-15 minutes to help them cook through, then uncover and cook for another 25-35 minutes to brown and caramelize. It’s not fast, but it is absolutely worth every minute.
The biggest mistake is rushing the process, as turning up the heat too high will scorch the onions before they have a chance to sweeten. However, keep the heat on medium to medium-high, stir often, and deglaze when a brown fond appears on the bottom of the pan. Give them time, stir frequently, and let the fond develop before deglazing; that’s where the magic happens!
A wide, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven is your best friend here. You want plenty of surface area so the onions can cook evenly, and a heavy base so it conducts heat evenly. A copper-lined stainless steel or cast iron skillet would be good choices.
Serving Suggestions
These sweet caramelized onions with sherry are versatile and can be enjoyed on their own or in a variety of other dishes. Serve with roasted meats like Christmas dinner beef tenderloin roast or Dixie pot roast, or other hearty dishes like Salisbury steak.
Add to sandwiches like crispy baked chicken sandwich, leftover beef tenderloin sandwiches, or easy French dip sandwiches for a burst of extra flavor. Mix with sour cream and/or cream cheese to make a delicious caramelized onion dip as a tasty appetizer.
Expert Tips
- The butter-and-oil combination is there for a reason: it gives the dish a wonderful depth of flavor rather than using just one fat alone.
- Add the sherry late in the cooking process, after the onions have already taken on color. That is the part that keeps the flavor rich instead of just sweet.
Other Onion Recipes You’ll Love
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Sweet Caramelized Onions with Sherry
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet onions, such as Vidalia, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- ¾ cup sherry wine
Instructions
- Melt the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium-low heat.3 tablespoons salted butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the onions, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Stir well to coat.3 pounds sweet onions, 1 teaspon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 1 bay leaf
- Cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the onions have softened.
- Uncover and keep cooking over medium-low heat for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the pan often, until the onions are deep golden and very soft.
- Pour in the sherry and stir, scraping up any browned bits. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes more, until the liquid is mostly reduced and the onions are glossy and jammy.¾ cup sherry wine
- Remove and discard the thyme stems, rosemary, and bay leaf. Serve warm.
Notes
- The butter-and-oil combination is there for a reason: it gives the dish a wonderful depth of flavor rather than using just one fat alone.
- Add the sherry late in the cooking process, after the onions have already taken on color. That is the part that keeps the flavor rich instead of just sweet.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
