Instant Pot Caramelized Onions

Instant love affair

Oh, the Instant Pot. It’s still taking the real food world by storm, it’s a trend that can’t quite be shaken and really, though, I’m here for it. From beans and lentils, to soups, stews and the toughest of meats, the pressure cooker function of the Instant Pot is a totally cool kid we all want to hang with who just makes life more fun.

Aaaaaand, more delicious.

A few tweaks

Caramelized onions are nothing new around here! My personal old standby would be onions caramelized in bacon fat, which really, you could totally do with this recipe most easily. Just sub out the butter or coconut oil, no problem.

The trick here with the pressure cooker is making sure that there is plenty of browning and caramelizing being promoted. Want to know a secret? A little bit of baking soda! Baking soda helps encourage the Maillard reaction, which is quite often why you see easily and evenly browned baked goods that call for it in their recipes, though it’s also being used as a leavening agent in those recipes, too.

So give yourself a break from hovering over your next batch of caramelized onions, and let ye olde Instant Pot or any pressure cooker you desire do the work! I find that making caramelized onions every few months to have on hand in the fridge is a super easy way to add a ton of flavor to almost any dish, from side salads, to main meats or beans, or your next baked potato bar (I’m really only writing that because if I suggest it, will you make it happen??).

5 from 3 votes

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Instant Pot Caramelized Onions

Ready to change your fridge game? I find that having a jar of caramelized onions in the fridge can WAY bump up the flavor profile of almost anything savory you're pulling together. Cheese plate? Add some caramelized onions for dipping. Salad? Add some to your dressing. Pork chops? Better add some onions on top!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 12 people

Author Lucia Hawley

Ingredients

• 4 large onions about 3-4 lbs, peeled and sliced thinly (slice too thin and you’ll end up with more of a paste, which, is just fine, too!)
• 2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil use coconut oil for SCD, Whole30, Paleo and AIP
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda optional
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper omit for AIP

Instructions

1. On the saute function, melt the butter or coconut oil in the Instant Pot.

2. Add the sliced onions, baking soda, sea salt and black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are warmed through and beginning to sweat.
3. Place the lid on and set to pressure cook for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, release the steam, take the lid off, and set the onions to saute mode again.
5. Stir occasionally uncovered for 10 more minutes, allowing the extra liquid to cook off the onions until you have a nice and deeply hued batch of caramelized onions.
6. Store in an airtight jar or container. Will keep at least 2 weeks in the fridge.