Caramelized Onion Chutney

a jar with red onion chutney with a spoon inside, with crackers and cheese on the side, over a wooden board.

4.94 from 94 votes

Caramelized Onion Chutney

This caramelized onion chutney has a dark caramel color and a sticky jam-like consistency. You can have it hot or cold, and it goes well with grilled cheese, burgers, and even pizza!

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 30

Course: Compotes and Dips

Cuisine: British

Servings: cups

Calories: 544kcal

Author: Tatiana Kamakura

Ingredients

8 medium red onions
3 tablespoon olive oil
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black pepper ground
1 teaspoon salt
⅔ cup brown sugar packed
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup red wine
1 tablespoon mustard seeds optional

Instructions

Peel and slice the onions into thin half-moon slices.
In a large heavy-bottom pan, heat the olive oil and add the sliced onions, bay leaves, black pepper and salt.
Cook over low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning. After this time, the onions should be soft, translucent, and reduced in size by half.
Add the remaining ingredients: brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, wine, and mustard seeds (if using). Cook over low heat for 1 hour, or until most of the liquid has reduced. Stir occasionally to prevent the chutney from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The chutney should be thick and have a dark caramel color.
Place into sterilized jars. Keep it in the fridge, or can it.

Video

Notes

Substitutions:

You can substitute red onions for yellow/sweet/white onions.
You can use light or dark brown sugar for this recipe.
Using red wine vinegar instead of wine: use half red wine vinegar and half water for the amount of red wine.

You can choose to not caramelize the onions (but I don't recommend doing so): add all ingredient to a heavy-bottom pan, and simmer using low heat for about 1 hour (or until it gets a jam-like consistency).

Use a heavy-bottom pan when making this recipe. If you don’t have a pan with a thicker bottom or a dutch oven, it’s best to stir from time to time to check if the bottom is not burning. Do it every 5 minutes.

Nutrition