Caramelized Onion Pasta
All you need for this caramelized onion pasta recipe is a bag of onions, a few cloves of garlic, some dried pasta, and a wedge of cheese. Slowly cooking the sliced onions in butter and olive oil coaxes out their natural sugars, turning them deeply golden, sweet, and almost jammy.
Ingredients · Servings 2–4
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 lb. sweet or yellow onions (about 4 large), thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 8 oz. linguine or other long strand pasta
- 4 oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about 2 cups), plus more for serving
- ½ lemon
- ½ cup finely chopped parsley
Method · 1 h
- Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium until butter is melted. Add 2 lb. sweet or yellow onions (about 4 large), thinly sliced, a large pinch of kosher salt, and a large pinch of freshly ground black pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very tender and deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Add 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, cook 8 oz. linguine or other long strand pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain, reserving 1½ cups pasta cooking liquid.
- Add pasta and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to onion mixture and stir to combine. Add a small handful from 4 oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about 2 cups), and stir until melted. Repeat with remaining cheese, adding a handful at a time and adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed until a glossy sauce forms and coats pasta. Squeeze in juice from ½ lemon to taste and stir in ½ cup finely chopped parsley. Taste and season with more pepper if needed.
- Divide pasta among shallow bowls and top with Parmesan and more pepper. Do Ahead: Onion and garlic mixture can be made 5 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate or freeze for up to 3 months. Editor’s note: This caramelized onion pasta recipe was first printed in April 2019; it has been edited for style. Head this way for more of our favorite pasta dinners →
