These perfectly glazed, Skillet Pearl Onions are sweet and savory. They make for perfect appetizers or a light side dish. Either way you serve them, they always wow guests:).
In my native country of Albania and other Mediterranean countries we make a soup with pearl onions. In Albania we call it çomlek. It’s such a fantastic comfort food!
So recently I had bought two little bags of pearl onions to make soup and the weather has been getting hotter already. So when I realized the onions would go bad if I didn’t cook my soup, I decided to pivot and make these beautiful pearl onions into a side dish.
If you love Brussel sprouts, I think you’ll fall in love with these glazes pearl onions too!!
Ingredients
These are the ingredients I used to make glazed pearl onions in skillet.
- pearl onions
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- sea salt
- black pepper
- oregano
- fresh parsley
It can’t get any easier than this:). The hardest thing is peeling the pearl onions, the rest is a breeze.
Tips to Prepare Pearl Onions
You want to cook these pearl onions until they taste like caramelized onions, but you don’t want the onions to lose their shape which makes them perfect to pick with a toothpick or fork if you’re serving them as little bites or appetizers at a party.
Pro-Tip: Don’t overcrowd the skillet, you don’t want the onions to be on top of each other. They can touch sideways but not be on top of each other to allow for proper caramelization.
I usually follow a very simple process to make these onions. I don’t pay as much attention to time as the look and texture of the onions.
- Peel pearl onions – usually chop off top and bottom, peel one layer around.
- Place pearl onions in water until you finish peeling them all.
- Drain the onions.
- Add olive oil to a heavy bottom skillet (cast iron or all clad) – good quality skillet is a must because these onions can burn fast.
- Once oil is shimmery (use medium heat), add the onions and cook them slowly. Use a wooden spoon to move them around constantly so they don’t burn.
- Season onions with salt, pepper and oregano to taste.
- Once the onions have achieved a golden brown look, add balsamic vinegar. Lower heat to simmer, stir few times and then cover the skillet. Occasionally add a tablespoon of water or two and continue cooking slowly for about 20 minutes.
Skillet Pearl Onions
Equipment
- 1 Skillet
Ingredients
- 24 ozs pearl onions
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 0.5 tsp sea salt
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 0.5 tsp oregano
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar add more if needed
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley optional for garnish
- 4-6 tbsp water (optional)
Instructions
- Peel the pearl onions and place them in a bowl of water.
- Once you are done peeling all the onions, drain them. Place a heavy bottom skillet (cast iron, all clad etc) in medium heat in the stovetop. Add olive oil.
- Once oil is shimmery, add the onions and using a wooden spoon move them around slowly. They'll take some time to become golden brown as you sautee them slowly. Be patient as this might take about 20-25 minutes.
- Season the onions with sea salt, black pepper and oregano to your taste. Then add balsamic vinegar and lower the heat to simmer. Slowly roll the onions in the balsamic vinegar. Cover the skillet and let the onions cook for another 20 minutes. During these 20 minutes, check occasionally and add 1-2 tablespoons of water only if the onions needed.
- Once done cooking and caramelizing, slowly move the onions from skillet to a serving platter. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy:).
Notes
- Please note that serving size is a bit subjective for this recipe. If serving during a cocktail party, people will pick few of them as they enjoy their drink. But if you serve them as an appetizer or side dish, people will grab a bigger portion.
- The pearl onions I used for this recipe were raw and fresh, so it took me some time to peel them. That’s why I put them in water as I peel them. However, there’s also a frozen option for these pearl onions that comes already peeled. If you use frozen, just be aware that cooking time might change as well as maybe you won’t need those tablespoons of water at the end.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
If you’d like to save this recipe for later, please pin one of the messages from this post to your boards in Pinterest. Let me know in comments if you have any questions. Thank you for reading my blog!
More vegetable recipes
If you are like me and enjoy including different vegetables in your diet, feel free to check out these other recipes from my blog.
- Marinated Red Peppers cooked in Pressure Cooker
- Roasted Mini Peppers
- Tomatoes Confit
- Roasted Acorn Squash
- Butternut Squash
- Grilled Shishito Peppers
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