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+ servings
Creamed onions garnished with fresh herbs in a casserole dish.

Creamed Onions

Tender pearl onions tossed in a rich cream sauce with a touch of parmesan and sherry for a truly restaurant-quality side dish.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Yield:8 servings

Equipment

  • Cutting board
  • Sharp knife
  • Large saucepan
  • large bowl filled with ice water enough to fully submerge onions
  • Large slotted spoon
  • Large bowl
  • Paper towels
  • whisk
  • Silicone spatula
  • serving dish

Ingredients

For the Creamed Onions

  • 1 pound fresh pearl onions see Notes
  • salt to taste
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour see Notes
  • freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  • 1 ½ cups light cream at or close to room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons dry sherry optional
  • 2 tablespoons grated fresh parmesan at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Serving Suggestions (All Optional)

  • additional chopped fresh parsley
  • additional grated fresh parmesan

Instructions

To Prepare the Pearl Onions

  • Place 1 pound fresh pearl onions on cutting board. Using sharp knife, cut away root ends of all onions. Discard trimmed ends. Prepare ice water bath and set aside.
  • Fill large saucepan with water and place saucepan on stovetop over high heat. When water begins to boil, add trimmed onions. Boil onions 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Immediately (and carefully) drain and discard water. Note: blanching onions (described here) helps with peeling, but does not fully cook onions. After peeling, onions can be refrigerated up to 5 days and cooked when needed.
  • Transfer boiled onions to ice water bath. Use hand or spoon to swirl onions in ice water until onions are cool enough to handle.
  • One by one, remove onions from ice bath and pinch stem end (opposite trimmed root end) with enough pressure to loosen onion skin. Skin should slide off onion like a sheath fairly easily.
  • Repeat until all onions have been peeled. Discard onion skins and return peeled onions to saucepan.

For the Creamed Onions

  • Discard water from previous ice bath and prepare fresh ice bath. Set aside. Line large bowl with paper towels. Set aside,
  • Fill saucepan with enough water to cover onions completely and season water with plenty of salt. Place saucepan on stovetop over high heat and bring salted water to boil.
  • When water begins to boil, immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until onions are tender.
  • Once onions are tender, drain water and transfer cooked onions to fresh ice bath. Use hand or spoon to swirl onions in ice water until onions are cool enough to handle.
  • Use slotted spoon to remove pearl onions from ice bath, allowing any excess water to drip back into bowl, then transfer onions to bowl lined with paper towels. Set aside.
  • Heat saucepan again, this time over medium heat. When saucepan is hot, add 3 tablespoons butter and melt completely. Be careful not to burn butter.
  • Add 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour to melted butter. Whisk until flour is fully incorporated into butter, creating roux. Cook roux approximately 5 minutes, whisking frequently to prevent burning. Season roux with salt and freshly cracked black pepper as desired.
  • Remove saucepan from heat and let cool slightly, then pour in 1 ½ cups light cream. Whisk to incorporate, then return saucepan to heat and cook 5 minutes more, until mixture is bubbly and thick. Stir as needed to prevent burning.
  • Add 2 tablespoons dry sherry (optional), 2 tablespoons grated fresh parmesan, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Stir until ingredients are combined and thick cream sauce forms. Note: If sauce is too thin, add more parmesan and cook until thickened. If sauce is too thick, add more cream or sherry until desired consistency is achieved.
  • Return cooked onions to saucepan and gently fold onions into sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 5 minutes or until onions are heated through.
  • Transfer prepared creamed onions to serving dish. Garnish with additional chopped fresh parsley and additional grated fresh parmesan if desired and serve immediately.

Notes

  • Pearl Onions: If you're using frozen peeled pearl onions, you can skip the section about preparing the onions. Just defrost them completely and drain them well before preparing the dish.
  • Make it Gluten Free: Use a gluten-free all-purpose flour.
  • Make it Lower Carb/Keto: Skip the flour completely. Replace it with 3 tablespoons grated parmesan (in addition to the 2 tablespoons already in the recipe), and add the butter, parmesan, and cream to the saucepan at the same time.
  • Leftovers: Let cool completely then transfer leftovers to airtight container. Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 2 months.
 

Make Ahead Options

  • The pearl onions can be peeled up to 5 days ahead of preparing the full dish. Refrigerate peeled onions in an airtight container until ready to finish recipe.
  • The full creamed onion dish can be prepared up to 2 days ahead of serving. Prepare recipe as written and transfer to oven-safe dish. Cover dish tightly with lid, foil, or plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Before serving, remove dish from fridge and let come to room temperature. Cover dish with foil (remove lid or plastic wrap first) and reheat in 300°F oven just until heated through.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1serving | Calories: 145kcal | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 65mg | Potassium: 118mg | Total Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Net Carbs: 7g | Vitamin A: 454IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Recipe By:Cheryl Malik