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Guinness Braised Onions

Vegetarian

Brimming with the Guinness flavor that you know and love and sweet notes from the yellow onions, these Guinness beer braised onions are such a treat! Pile them on a burger, sandwich, or brat and enjoy!!!

Close up of beer braised onions garnished with fresh thyme.

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What you’ll love about this recipe


  • It’s super simple! Braising is a simple cooking method that delivers maximum flavor and is easy on the cleanup. And although these five-ingredient braised onions do take a little bit of time to prepare, that time is mostly hands-off.
  • It’s tasty! Guinness and onions work so well together! As the yellow onions cook down they become sweeter which pairs fabulously with the malty sugariness of the Guinness. The typical bitterness of the Guinness dissipates and you’re left with a rich buttery flavor in addition to the sweetness.
  • It’s a great addition to many dishes! There are so many ways you can use these beer-braised onions. They taste great piled on a sandwich, burger, brat, or Polish sausage but would also work incorporated into pasta or as a topping for pizza.
Braised onions in a bowl with a spoon atop a kitchen towel with a bottle of beer and thyme.

Ingredients (+ notes & substitutions)


Ingredients for Guinness braised onions (see recipe card).
  • Unsalted butter: For vegetarian/vegan, sub the butter for olive oil.
  • Yellow onions: I prefer to slice the onions into rings (like onion rings) but you could simply slice them or even dice them if you prefer.
  • Guinness stout: You’ll need less than one bottle to prepare this recipe.
  • Kosher salt
  • Ground black pepper

How to make Guinness braised onions (+ tips)


1. Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot/pan with a lid over medium-high heat.

2. Melt the butter then add the yellow onions and sauté for 5-minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly browned and softened.

Sautéed onions in a Dutch oven.

3. Add the Guinness then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

Onions in Guinness in a Dutch oven.

4. Uncover, increase heat to high, and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning, until most of the liquid has cooked off. Cooking the liquid down concentrates the flavor!!!

Beer braised onions in a Dutch oven.

Serve warm as is or atop a sandwich, burger, brat, or sausage.


Storage


Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to five days.


FAQ


What is braising?

Braising is a method of cooking meat and/or vegetables that uses both dry and wet heat. Typically it consists of first pan searing or sautéeing said meat/vegetables followed by simmering in a small amount of liquid in a pot covered with a tightly fitted lid.

Braising is ideal for cooking tough cuts of meat such as brisket and pork shoulder as well as many veggies including carrots, green beans, onions, and cabbage. Successful braising results in tender meat/vegetables and a thick sauce that is bursting with flavor; the two coming together in perfect harmony.

What’s the difference between braising and stewing?

The biggest difference is in the amount of liquid required. When stewing meat/vegetables, they should be submerged whereas, when braising, the meat/vegetables are only partially submerged.

What is Guinness? What does it taste like?

Guinness beer is a dry Irish Stout that originated in…..you guessed it, Ireland! – Dublin to be exact. It dates back to the 1700s and is a best seller in Ireland today.

It is prepared from malted barley, roasted unmalted barley, water, and brewer’s yeast.

It’s thick, rich, and creamy, tasting of malty sugariness and hoppy bitterness with notes of coffee and chocolate.

Are Guinness braised onions gluten-free?

Nope! Unfortunately, Guinness is made with barley which DOES contain gluten.



Guinness brasied onions in a bowl atop a kitchen towel aside a Guinness beer and a sprig of thyme.
Close up of spoonful of Guinness onions with bowl of onions and beer in background.

Serving suggestions:


  • Pile it on a burger or sandwich like this corned beef on rye.
  • Serve it as a side with corned beef or another favorite protein such as steak.
  • Scoop it on a bratwurst or Polish sausage.
  • Incorporate them into mac and cheese or another type of pasta.
  • Use them as a topping for pizza.
  • As a topping for crostini.

If you make these Guinness beer braised onions I’d love your feedback. Please leave a comment and/or a rating below as I greatly value your opinion. Or snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @taoofspiceblog. Love, light, and happy cooking ya’ll ♥

Guinness brasied onions in a bowl with a beer and thyme.

Guinness Braised Onions

Yield: 2 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Brimming with the Guinness flavor that you know and love and sweet notes from the yellow onions, these Guinness braised onions are such a treat! Pile them on a burger, sandwich, or a brat and enjoy!!!

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, could sub for olive oil
  • 4 medium yellow onions, sliced into rings
  • 1 cup Guinness beer
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot/pan with a lid over medium-high heat.
  2. Melt the butter then add the yellow onions and sauté for 5-minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly browned and softened.
  3. Add the Guinness then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
  4. Uncover, increase heat to high, and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning, until most of the liquid has cooked off. Serve warm.

Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to five days.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 362Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 876mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 2gSugar: 7gProtein: 15g

The nutritional information provided is computer generated. It is only an estimate and intended for informational purposes only. Nutrition details may vary depending on various factors such as origin, freshness of ingredients, etc

Did you make this recipe?

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Jere Cassidy

Tuesday 3rd of May 2022

It's kind of weird to get excited about an onion recipe, but these braised onions are just hard to resist for some incredible flavor. I like to serve our steaks and sausages covered in onions.

Bernice

Tuesday 3rd of May 2022

The aroma of these onions cooking on the stovetop almost killed me. It was so hard to wait until they were fully cooked but I did and it was worth it!

Karen

Tuesday 3rd of May 2022

Wow this was absolutely delicious. Made to serve with grilled steak and had over chicken the next day. Will definitely make again.

Kara

Tuesday 3rd of May 2022

Braising onions was a new method for me and this recipe made it so easy! They were delicious and everyone loved them!

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