I had a whole bunch of sad onions that I wanted to caramelize but it is so freakin’ hot! I did not want to cook them on the stovetop and even though I have had terrific success making them in my Crockpot, I was curious to see if you could make them in a pressure cooker. Why not? Everything else has been a huge success!
The Video
I started doing a search on the topic and hardly anyone seems to have attempted this method but I did find this post by Serious Eats. Pressure cooker caramelized onions in 30 minutes.
The Technique
Melt 6 tbsp of butter in an electric or stovetop pressure cooker over medium heat. Add 3 lb of onions and 1/2 tsp baking soda and stir to combine. (I did not add baking soda.) Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onions slightly soften and start to release liquid, about 3 minutes. Seal pressure cooker and heat to high pressure for 20 minutes. Release pressure by allowing steam to vent, then remove lid.
Continue cooking with lid off, stirring constantly, until liquid inside has completely reduced and the onions are deep brown and sticky, about 5 minutes.
The Results
It took way longer for my onions to caramelize than 5 minutes. More like 20 minutes! They did not get very brown and they turned mushy.
Yes, they were kind of tasty but I have had way better.
Foodie Conclusion
Can you make caramelized onions in a pressure cooker? Technically… Yes. Do I recommend it? No. I am glad I tried but as you can see in my video, I was ready to pass out by the end of the process. Oh the things I do for food!
To avoid the heat of summer, make caramelized onions in your slow cooker and not your pressure cooker.
I have a friend who loves making them in hers.
I had the exact same result. I did add a pinch of baking soda (though not quite as much as the recipe stated), so it turned even more mushy. It looked like a pancake at the end. While it tasted good, the texture was disgusting.
The pressure cooker really can’t brown, so the only thing this achieves is dehydrating the onions faster. The slow cooker definitely is the way to go here.Here’s more information about me:
Bram, thank you so much for commenting and letting me know that it happened to you too, even with the baking soda! I was wary of using it, just didn’t feel right and sounds like my instincts were right.
It’s true, it’s good for getting moisture out but NOT browning!
So what happens if I take your technique for caramelizing in a crock pot but execute it in the Instant Pot using the “slow cooker” setting? If that works we can still take the Crock Pot to Goodwill.
Charlie, I have been wondering the same thing! That is one test I still have to try. Despite the onions not turning out great in the Instant Pot I did still take my slow cooker to Value Village. Hopefully the Instant Pot can give me those perfect caramelized onions in the slow cooker setting. Fingers crossed!
How about if you start with the instant pot sear setting?
If you boil them first if they are frozen, yes, absolutely. I guess you can start by searing and then pressure cook them, interesting idea! They won’t be crunchy but they should be cooked through.