Caramelized Onion Powder

Written By Angela Goertzen

Let’s make one of my favorite secret ingredients, caramelized onion powder. If you save your onion skins you can also make regular onion powder too truly making this a zero waste recipe.

I personally find that the crockpot is the easiest way to do this but the stovetop will work as well

  • Crockpot: Cook on low for or until your onions are deep in color & slightly jam like in texture. I like to let mine cook for about 20 hours

  • Stovetop: Cook on low heat stirring often for at least 3 hours until the onions are deep in color & slightly jam like in texture

One thing to keep in mind when making caramelized onion powder is due to the high sugar content the powder can get a bit clumpy when it just sits in the jar. You can just grab a chopstick & give it a good stir before using or you can throw in a few food safe moisture absorbers to address this issue

Equipment:

  • Crockpot or large stock pot

  • Knife

  • Cutting Board

  • Food Dehydrator or Oven

  • Baking Sheet

  • Spatula

  • Blender

  • Storage Container

Ingredients:

Onions

Water

Instructions:

  1. Thinly slice your onions & decide if you are going to be making these in a crockpot or on the stove. Save your onions skins & make some onion powder with them

  2. Add some water to the crockpot

  3. Place your lid crockpot, coming back to stir it periodically

  4. Allow to cook on low for up to 24 hours

  5. Once they’ve been cooking for a while vent the lid slightly to allow some of the excess moisture to evaporate. This will ensure once they’re fully caramelized you’re not having to deal with soggy onions. If you skip this step you’ll just have to let the onions will take longer to dehydrate

  6. When the onions have reached the desired consistency & color place them on a large baking sheet in a thin layer to dry for 24 hours stirring the onions at least once to ensure even drying

  7. Place the onions on your dehydrator trays or leave on the baking sheet if you’re using the oven to dehydrate these

  8. Food dehydrator: Set to 135-145F. Allow the onions to dehydrate for several hours until crisp & the pieces easily snap

    Oven: Set to the lowest temperature possible & prop the door open slightly. Allow the onions to dry for several hours until crisp & the pieces easily snap

  9. Regardless of the method you’re using do come & stir the onions around as they’re dehydrating

  10. Once fully dehydrated & crisp turn off your dehydrator or oven & allow the onions to cool

  11. Place the cooled onions in a blender & blend on high until a fine powder is reached. Wait a few minutes before removing the lid

  12. Place in a storage container & use in any recipe you use traditional onion powder

Shelf life:

  • up to 6 months in an air tight container

Image of 2 jars of caramelized onion powder in front of a jar of onion powder made from the skins of this recipe

Angela Goertzen
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