Caramelized Onion Pasta Sauce
A delicious and simple caramelized onion pasta sauce, perfect for any night of the week. Onions are slow cooked for flavor then mixed into a creamy sauce. For a lighter option, you might also enjoy my creamy ditalini pasta salad.
Servings 4 people
Calories 774kcal
Ingredients
- 12 ounces bowtie pasta or any other small pasta
- 2 large onions thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh parsley chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large fry pan over a medium heat.
- Add the onions and cook, stirring often for 5 minutes.
- Add the sugar and garlic and continue cooking over a medium heat for 20 - 30 mins, stirring often.
- Every stove top is different so adjust the heat if you need to. You want them to cook down into a golden brown color, not blackened.
- Turn the heat up to high and add the vegetable broth, it should sizzle and bubble immediately.
- Add the cream and thyme and bring to a very gentle simmer.
- Add the parmesan in a couple of lots, mixing well and letting it melt in between each addition. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add your cooked pasta straight into the creamy sauce with ¼ cup of the starchy pasta water.
- Let it gently bubble away for a minute or two, stirring well so the sauce emulsifies and thickens slightly.
- Serve with fresh parsley and extra parmesan if you wish. If you're feeling adventurous, you could even make your own pasta with tips from my easy homemade pappardelle.
Notes
Timing: Timing your pasta and sauce to be ready at the same time is the trickiest part of cooking any pasta dish. If you are using dried pasta then start cooking it once you add the cream to the onion mixture. For fresh pasta, start cooking it when you add the parmesan.
Salting your pasta water: This is a really important step. Your pasta water should be well seasoned. I use about a tablespoon of kosher salt for every 4 cups of water.
Use a large fry pan: Make sure you use a large skillet when making the sauce so you can add the cooked pasta straight in.
Don't have your heat too high: When making a creamy sauce you want to keep the heat quite low. You don't want the cream to boil, just a very gentle simmer.