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Balsamic onions

Name: Balsamic onions (Italian)
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6 persons
Cuisine: World
Ingredients: 400 grams small onions; 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar; 100 ml balsamic vinegar; salt and pepper to taste; olive oil; 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Listen to this recipe

These balsamic onions are delicious as a snack and are great served with (vegan) pâté. You only need a few ingredients to make these lovely little onions in a delicious balsamic syrup.

Nutrition balance score

Great

9.1/10

Glycemic Index

Glycemic Load

31.85 (Low)

4.14 (Low)

Nutrition per serving

Kcal

62.10 kcal

Carbohydrates
Of which sugars

13.01 g
12.02 g

Total fat
Of which saturated fats

0.34 g
0.11 g

Proteins

1.01 g

Fiber

2.10 g

Sodium

233.18 mg

View all nutrients

Balsamic onions are small onions cooked in a delicious mixture of balsamic vinegar, sugar and fresh thyme. This gives the onions a syrupy texture and mild flavour.

You can use different types of onions for these balsamic onions, such as fresh pearl/silverskin onions or small, fresh pickling onions. These are not always readily available, but around Christmas you can usually find them at better greengrocers or wholesalers. But these balsamic onions can really be made with any type of small onion you can find, you can even use small shallots if that's all you have.

These tasty onions go perfectly with pâté, or a vegetarian or vegan version like this faux gras. Something a bit different to enjoy during your Christmas celebrations.

Recipe balsamic onions

Recipe balsamic onions allergens

This recipe contains the following allergens. Click on the allergen to search for alternative recipes.

Sulfites

Made by Véronique

Published at 2023-12-05, this recipe is for 6 persons and takes 20 minutes.

Founder of Ohmydish (since 2014), she prefers to spend all day in the kitchen. Once working in the hospitality industry as an independent chef, she loves helping you gain confidence in the kitchen. With her easy-to-follow recipes, handy tips, and cooking knowledge, you'll make the most delicious dishes yourself! The recipes are accessible to everyone, from beginners to advanced home cooks.

Updated at: 2025-07-19

Let's get started

Preparation time

0 minutes

Time cooking

20 minutes

Total time

20 minutes

Making the balsamic onions – 20 minutes

Peel the small onions; you may want to blanch the onions very briefly in boiling water to make them easier to peel.

Heat a little olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan and sauté the onions in it for around 5 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons of soft brown sugar, along with 100 ml of balsamic vinegar and 2 sprigs of thyme, and let the syrup thicken gently over a low heat.

The onions are ready when they are completely soft, and the balsamic mixture has thickened to a syrup. Remove the thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Tips!

What are fresh pearl/silverskin onions?

Pearl/silverskin onions are very small onions. They come in different colours just like larger onions. The most familiar pearl/silverskin onions are white and are usually pickled in vinegar.

Can I substitute the thyme with a different herb?

You can replace the fresh thyme with rosemary, for example, or omit the fresh herbs entirely if necessary.

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Nutritional values

Per 1 serving / piece:

Pay attention! These indicated nutritional values are based on standard tables and are therefore an estimated total. No rights can be derived from the data in the nutritional value table.

General

Kcal

62.10 kcal

Carbohydrates
Of which sugars

13.01 g
12.02 g

Total fat
Of which saturated fats

0.34 g
0.11 g

Proteins

1.01 g

Fiber

2.10 g

Sodium

233.18 mg

Show vitamines & minerals

Minerals

Iron

0.62 mg

Calcium

26.67 mg

Magnesium

9.15 mg

Potassium

9.15 mg

Phosphorus

30.06 mg

Copper

0.07 mg

Zinc

0.56 mg

Iodine

0.34 µg

Selenium

0.01 µg

Vitamins

Vitamine C

6.82 mg

Vitamine D

0.00 mg

Vitamine A

2.30 mg

Vitamine B1

0.02 mg

Vitamine B2

0.02 mg

Vitamine B6

0.09 mg

Vitamine B12

0.00 µg

Folic acid

6.78 µg

Vitamine E

0.05 mg

Vitamine K

1.91 µg

Vitamine K1

0.00 µg

Handy! Scroll this table horizontally to see all nutritional values per ingredient

Amount		Ingredient	Allergens	Kcal	Carbs	Carbs of which sugars	Fat	Fat of which saturated	Protein	Fibers	Sodium	Iron	Calcium	Magnesium	Potassium	Phosphorus	Copper	Zinc	Iodine	Selenium	Vitamin C	Vitamin D	Vitamin A	Vitamin B1	Vitamin B2	Vitamin B6	Vitamin B12	Vitamin B11	Vitamin E	Vitamin K	Vitamin K1
66.67	gram	small onions		24.00	4.07 g	4.07 g	0.13 g	0.07 g	0.80 g	1.67 g	6.00 mg	0.33 mg	20.00 mg	6.67 mg	116.67 mg	28.00 mg	0.05 mg	0.53 mg	-	-	4.33 mg	-	-	0.02 mg	0.02 mg	0.09 mg	-	6.67 µg	-	-	-
0.33	tablespoon	soft brown sugar		19.35	4.77 g	4.77 g	-	-	-	-	1.00 mg	0.05 mg	-	-	2.50 mg	-	-	0.01 mg	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
16.67	ml	balsamic vinegar	sulfites	12.83	3.17 g	3.17 g	-	-	0.03 g	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
		salt and pepper		2.93	0.76 g	0.01 g	0.04 g	0.02 g	0.12 g	0.30 g	226.09 mg	0.06 mg	2.67 mg	0.89 mg	7.39 mg	1.01 mg	0.01 mg	0.01 mg	0.34 µg	0.01 µg	0.89 mg	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.12 µg	0.05 mg	1.91 µg	-
		olive oil		1.35	-	-	0.15 g	0.02 g	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
0.33	sprig of	fresh thyme		1.63	0.25 g	-	0.02 g	0.01 g	0.05 g	0.14 g	0.09 mg	0.18 mg	4.00 mg	1.60 mg	6.10 mg	1.05 mg	0.01 mg	0.02 mg	-	-	1.60 mg	-	2.30 mg	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
				62.10	13.01 g	12.02 g	0.34 g	0.11 g	1.01 g	2.10 g	233.18 mg	0.62 mg	26.67 mg	9.15 mg	132.66 mg	30.06 mg	0.07 mg	0.56 mg	0.34 µg	0.01 µg	6.82 mg	-	2.30 mg	0.02 mg	0.02 mg	0.09 mg	-	6.78 µg	0.05 mg	1.91 µg	-