Easy oven-baked onions are wonderfully flavorful, creamy and cheesy. They make a wonderful side dish to meats and poultry.
These creamy baked onions are just wonderful. Baking them in the oven with heavy cream and Parmesan makes them tender, creamy, and very flavorful.
Cooked onions are creamy and mild
I don’t know about you, but I really dislike raw onions. I find their pungent, sharp flavor to be quite offensive.
But something magical happens when you cook them. They become creamy and mild, almost sweet. In this recipe especially, the addition of heavy cream makes the onions extra creamy and mild.
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty side dish. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
- Large onions: White or yellow onions work in this recipe.
- Heavy cream: I only use 1/4 cup in this recipe.
- Kosher salt and black pepper: I use kosher salt in most of my recipes. If using fine salt, you might want to use less of it.
- Herbs: Dried thyme and dried bay leaves.
- Grated Parmesan: Make sure you use finely grated parmesan and not coarsely shredded.
How to make creamy baked onions
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full details. Here are the basic steps:
- Cook the onions in water.
- Then cut them in half.
- Top them with a creamy sauce of heavy cream and grated Parmesan.
- Then bake.
Cooking the onions in water prior to placing them in the oven is admittedly an extra step, but it does ensure that they turn out wonderfully creamy rather than browned and crispy.
What main dishes go with creamy baked onions?
This lovely side dish goes really well with meat. Since I bake this side dish in a 400°F oven, I like to serve them with a main course that I can cook in the same oven.
So I often serve them with baked pork chops, with baked meatballs, or with beef tenderloin roast.
Is this a healthy recipe?
I think it’s very healthy. Onions have many health benefits. As for the heavy cream, current research says that full-fat dairy is pretty much harmless for most healthy people and might even be beneficial.
What about leftovers?
Leftovers keep quite well in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave on 50% power. Leftovers are also good when mixed into an omelet or a scramble.
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Creamy Baked Onions
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large onions, 8 oz each without refuse
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and trim the roots of the onions but leave them whole.
- Cook the onions in a large pot of boiling water for 30 minutes, until tender. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a plate.
- Whisk the cream with the salt, pepper and thyme.
- When the onions are cool enough to handle, slice each in half through the root. Place the onion halves, cut side down, in a small baking dish with the bay leaves. Pour the cream over the onions, sprinkle them with the Parmesan, and bake for 30 minutes, until golden.
NOTES
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., has been following a healthy real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She has taken 
