Craving something sweet? As crazy as it sounds, roasting onions makes them incredibly sweet, and sweet vegetables are a great way to fend off sugar and sweet cravings. Humble onions play a critical supporting role in the culinary world, giving wonderful flavor to many recipes. Instead of a supporting role, feature them as a side dish with these Balsamic roasted red onions. You will be amazed a their rich savory sweetness.
Balsamic Roasted Red Onions
Searching for more ways to add vegetables to your dinner table? Consider the onion. Inexpensive and readily available, red onions are available year round in the produce department. Plus, onions are a non-starchy vegetable, so you can eat lots of them (great for low carb diets). Recipes with red onions usually combine them with other vegetables, but not this one. Here, they shine on their own.
Red Onion Nutrition
Besides tasting good, are onions good for you? Yes. As part of the allium family, including garlic, leeks, chives and scallions, onions are rich in sulfur-containing compounds that give them both their pungent odor and much of their health benefits.
Onions are a good source of important vitamins, minerals, and health-protective plant nutrients called phytochemicals. "Research shows that eating onions may help reduce heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, elevated triglyceride levels and inflammation".
Onions are also a good source of quercetin, a powerful antioxidant and natural antihistamine. Onions are generally a safe food if you have Histamine Intolerance. To be safe, pass on finishing your roasted onions with Balsamic unless you are well managed. They still taste terrific. Read more about the health benefits of onions here.
Oven Roasted Onions
But what to do with my one onion languishing in my pantry? Roast it. For me, the first answer always seems to be roasting. I cut up the onion and tossed it with olive oil, salt, pepper and my beloved granulated garlic that goes on everything. Into the oven went the onion, alongside a chicken roasting for dinner.
Roasting Makes for Sweetness
The edges of the onions had turned a deep brown, caramelized from the heat of the oven. Roasting turns a normally pungent, eye-watering, mascara-smearing onion into something as sweet as candy. Yes, I see you looking at me with doubt and skepticism. Trust me. You must make these.
Balsamic & Thyme For The Finish
As I pulled the casserole dish from the oven, the sweet smell wafted up to my nose. I knew these were going to taste great. I tossed the onions with a little good Balsamic and fresh chopped thyme.
You can use either regular Balsamic vinegar or take it one step further. Make Balsamic syrup. This handy little condiment is always in a squeeze bottle by my stove for such uses. For how to make Balsamic syrup, read this post.
How to Enjoy Balsamic Roasted Red Onions
- Serve as a side dish along roast chicken
- Pile on a grilled steak or steak salad
- Pile them on asparagus for a double vegetable side
- Add to a salad, either warm or cold
- Pile on quinoa or rice with other vegetables for a delicious veggie bowl
📖 Recipe
Balsamic Roasted Red Onions
Equipment
- glass or ceramic baking casserole dish approximately 10x13
Ingredients
- 2 large red onions about 1 ½ pounds
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh chopped thyme leaves
- 1-2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar or syrup
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F. Ready a large glass or stoneware baking dish, about 10″x13″. Cut the onions in half from the top to bottom, from root to stem end. Trim the root and stem ends flat. Peel off the papery skin, then lay each half flat on a cutting board and cut the halves into 6 wedges.
- Add onion wedges to the baking dish and toss with oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic. Roast onions uncovered for about 40 minutes, or until they are very soft and the edges are very brown. Remove dish from the oven, toss with the Balsamic and sprinkle with thyme leaves. See note below on Balsamic.
Porsche Guy says
I made these for serving with a grilled steak and they were great. Really surprised at the sweet flavor. Love Balsamic. Thanks for an unexpected tasty recipe.