Caramelized Onion Pasta
on Aug 04, 2024, Updated Aug 15, 2024
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As The Modern Nonna, I take my job very seriously 🤓 to bring you the best of classic recipes with a modern twist, including the very important category of pasta 🍝. This, my friends, is a genius pasta recipe. Caramelized onions are a labor of love, taking close to an hour of constant stirring on the stovetop. Here I’ve eliminated all the time spent standing by the stove. We’re making caramelized onions in the oven! 🙌 It’s a hands-free technique with the same creamy, flavor-rich, melt-in-your-mouth results. Alongside the onions, we’ve got an entire head of garlic 🧄 which turns nutty, soft, and mellow in the oven. This dish is bursting with flavor, and it couldn’t be easier to prepare.
Why You’ll Love Caramelized Onion Pasta
If you love the irresistible flavor and texture of caramelized onions 🧅, you will love this recipe, which simplifies the preparation by caramelizing the onions in the oven. They roast alongside a whole head of garlic, which joins salty, tangy sun dried tomatoes 🍅 and creamy Boursin cheese in a pasta sauce from heaven! 🙏 The bowtie pasta’s shape perfectly tangles with strands of silky onions and holds sauce in its nooks and crannies.. If you’re lucky enough to have any leftovers, they hold up beautifully for tomorrow’s lunch.
How to Prepare Caramelized Onion Pasta
🔥 Preheat the oven to 400F.
🧅 To a large baking dish, add the sliced onions, balsamic glaze, olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, and Italian seasoning and mix all the ingredients well. Then place the prepped garlic in the center of the dish and drizzle with olive oil.
⏲️ Next, bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the onions have caramelized. Also, I like to stir the onions 2 to 3 times throughout the baking time.
🍝 Meanwhile, about 10 minutes before the onions have finished baking, cook the pasta as per the package instructions. While the pasta is boiling, reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
🧄 Once the onions are done cooking, using a kitchen towel to protect your hands, squeeze the garlic from the peel, directly onto the onion mixture. Add the Boursin cheese and stir to combine. Add the hot pasta and some starchy pasta water, if needed.
🍽️ Finally, toss well and feel free to garnish with basil, parmigiano, and chili oil, if desired. Enjoy!
Nonna’s Tip 🍝
Do not pour the pasta cooking water down the drain! ❎ That starchy liquid will help emulsify your sauce, so it coats each piece of pasta.
Variations and Substitutions for Caramelized Onion Pasta
- Instead of yellow onions, feel free to use shallots or red onions.
- Feel free to omit the sun dried tomatoes and use fresh tomatoes 🍅instead. Rather than sun dried tomatoes, try olives 🫒 and/or capers for a nice briny saltiness.
- For a kick of heat, try garnishing with your favorite chili 🌶️ oil. I love this one.
- In case you don’t have basil, you can also try minced parsley as a garnish.
Similar Recipes
Best Served With
- For some added protein, try topping the pasta with slices of tender, thinly pounded Juicy Chicken Breast.
- Pair your pasta with a delicious side of veggies, like Creamy Baked Broccoli 🥦 or Grilled Zucchini.
- A fresh salad and pasta are a perfect match. Try a Caprese or Caesar Salad.
Common Questions
Yes, you can certainly make this vegan by omitting the Boursin or using your favorite creamy vegan cheese.
Yes, you can use any shape you like, such as fussili or penne. However larger pasta shapes work better than pastina (tiny shapes, such as orzo or ditalini).
Yes, this dish holds well in the refrigerator for 3 days. Add a tablespoon or two of water when you reheat, to help loosen up the sauce.
Yes, this would be delicious with chicken, shrimp, or chickpeas on top. However, make sure the protein is fully cooked before pairing with the finished dish.
Yes, you can use your favorite brand of gluten-free pasta instead.
Caramelized Onion Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 yellow onions, sliced into rings
- ½ tablespoon balsamic glaze
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ⅓ cup sun dried tomatoes, (jarred variety, packed in oil and/or water)
- ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 bulb garlic, top cut off
- 200 grams bow tie pasta
- ¼ package Boursin Cheese, (30 grams)
- fresh basil, for garnish (optional)
- parmigiano cheese, for garnish (optional)
- chili oil, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- To a large baking dish (at least 9×9), add the sliced onions, balsamic glaze, olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, and Italian seasoning. Mix well. Place the prepped garlic in the center of the dish. Drizzle the exposed garlic cloves with olive oil. Cover the dish tightly with foil.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the onions have caramelized. I like to stir the onions 2 to 3 times throughout the baking time.
- About 10 minutes before the onions have finished baking, start on boiling the pasta as per the package instructions. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
- Remove the onion mixture from the oven. Using a kitchen towel to protect your hands, squeeze the garlic from the peel, directly onto the onion mixture. Add the Boursin cheese and stir to combine. Add in the hot pasta and a touch of the starchy pasta water, if needed.
- Toss well and feel free to garnish with basil, parmigiano, and chili oil, if desired. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Problem — the 400 degree oven had my sun dried tomatoes burnt at the half hour point.
Suggestion?
Hi Laura, I just updated the recipe with some solutions….you should use jarred sundried tomatoes, packed in oil and/or water and the baking dish should remain covered tightly in foil. Be sure to stir the onion mixture 2 to 3 times while it bakes.
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
So happy! Thanks Faith 🙂
This one didn’t work for me and I wonder if something was off or missing from the recipe. One tbsp of oil for all the onions? Mine were so dry. Or perhaps it was meant to be covered with foil for some of the cooking time so the onions could steam? Mine just came out burned and had to be tossed.
Also, I subbed olives for the sundried tomates and they were charcoal.
Sorry to hear this. All your instincts sound like good solves: more oil and foil on the pan. Two things could’ve gone wrong: your oven could be hotter than the temp it shows or the baking dish you used gets hotter than a ceramic baking dish.
Delicious!!! 🤤
😊 So glad you liked it, Chelsea!