Usually when we think about side dishes the first things that pop in our minds are salad and potatoes. For sure, both these things are delicious and easy to make. But sometimes there’s a need for something different. For something that not only goes together with many other dishes, but that is full of a unique flavor. In my opinion, my juicy sweet roasted onions fit this description perfectly.
You might think that eating a whole onion is crazy, because of the powerful aroma and flavor. But don’t forget that all of it goes away once it’s cooked. The things that remain are the sweet flavor and the soft texture. And the best part of these juicy sweet roasted onions is that you can use them in many different ways. For example, you can use them as a side dish or as one of the ingredients for soups or main dishes. And there’s more! Not only the onion itself is eatable. Also the liquid that will remain after roasting the onions in the oven is a real gem! It’s so flavorful that you can use it in sauces or soups. And if you want, you can even freeze it in the ice cube tray and use it like you would use a bouillon cube.
How to prepare juicy sweet roasted onions
The total time that is necessary to prepare these juicy sweet roasted onions might seem long. But actually, it’s the cooking time that is long. The time that you’ll spend to prepare the onions before they’re ready to be put in the oven is really meaningless. It won’t take you more than 10 minutes! Basically, you’ll need to cut off both ends of each onion and then place each onion in the middle of a piece of aluminium foil. Then you’ll need to add on top of each onion some oil and spices. And then wrap each onion in the aluminium foil together with a tiny rosemary branch. That’s it! Your onions then are ready to be placed in the oven. The onions should be cooked at least 1 hour. After that you must check if they’re soft enough to be served. If not, cook them for some extra minutes.
Serving ideas for juicy sweet roasted onions
It might seem that it’s not easy to combine this side dish with other vegan dishes, since usually roasted onions are served with meat. But fortunately, it’s not like that! For example, I’ve served these juicy sweet roasted onions together with vegan Tzatziki sauce. The combination of fresh cucumbers and roasted onions at first might seem strange, but trust me – it tastes great together! The sweetness of the onions combines perfectly with the mild spiciness of the Tzatziki sauce. Then, of course, you can always serve them with some vegan burger. Like with my eggplant and sundried tomato burger, for example. Or, in case you’re not that convinced about this recipe, but you’d still like to try something made of onions, try my healthy oven-baked onion rings!
If you’re following us already for a while, you probably know that unfortunately Specky – the superstar of this blog – passed away recently. But since this recipe was created when Specky was still with us, in my opinion, it would be wrong not to post his picture here. Because he always did his best as a bunny supermodel. Especially for this recipe, since he really didn’t like onions… But I’m sure that you instead will be able to appreciate the rich flavor of these juicy sweet roasted onions.
To find out if roasted onions are your “thing”, you simply need to prepare them. Once you’ve done it, I’m quite sure that you’ll agree with me that they are:
-
vegan
- juicy
- mildly sweet
- creamy
- easy to make
- soft
- healthy
- flavorful
- versatile in usage
- and simply yummy!
Let me know, if you try this recipe! Leave a comment or even more: snap a picture of your masterpiece and post it on Instagram by tagging @vegan_bunnymommycooks or Facebook by tagging @bunnymommycooks. And feel free to let your animal family members join in the picture!
| Prep Time | 10 min |
| Cook Time | 60 min |
| Servings |
roasted onions
|
- 4 medium size onions (each onion ~180 g)
- 4 pinches of salt
- 4 pinches of pepper
- 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons of dried sage
- 4 small fresh rosemary branches (if necessary, can be substituted with a pinch of dried rosemary)
Ingredients
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|
- heat the oven to 190°C/375°F;
- cut off both ends of each onion and place each onion on one of the cut ends in the center of a separate piece of foil. Leave the skin of the onion on;
- drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over every onion;
- sprinkle over every onion a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper and ½ teaspoon of dried sage;
- place on top of each onion a small branch of fresh rosemary and then raise all sides of the foil to wrap the onion tightly;
- place the wrapped onions in a baking dish and place the baking dish in the preheated oven;
- roast the onions for 1 h, then take out the baking dish from the oven, carefully unfold one onion and insert a knife in it. If it’s so soft that the knife goes in very smoothly, your onions are ready. Otherwise, put them back in the oven for some extra minutes;
- before serving, let the onions cool down a bit. Be aware that in the center of each piece of foil there might be a flavorful mixture of onion juice, oil and spices. You can use this flavorful liquid immediately in other dishes – soups, stews, dips, sauces etc. Or you can freeze it in an ice cube tray for later use;
- serve the onions without the skin (it will come off very easily) and without the rosemary branches.
