Caramelized Onions and Peppers
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Need a fast and flavorful side dish? Sautéed onions and peppers are perfect with grilled meats, spicy sausage, or spooned over creamy polenta.
There’s something kind of magical that happens when you sauté onions and bell peppers. Bell peppers, normally sweet and crunchy when raw, turn soft, silky, and slightly charred in the pan, while onions go from sharp and pungent to sweet and caramelized. The combination is simple but so satisfying. This dish makes the perfect accompaniment to steak, spicy Italian sausage, a bowl of hot, creamy polenta.
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Caramelized Onions and Peppers
Need a fast and flavorful side dish? Sautéed onions and peppers are perfect with grilled meats, spicy sausage, or spooned over creamy polenta.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch strips
- 4 bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut into ¼-inch strips
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, peppers, salt and pepper.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are caramelized and the peppers are tender and slightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. If a brown coating forms on the bottom of the pan during the cooking process, add a few tablespoons of water and stir; repeat as necessary.
- Add balsamic vinegar and thyme and turn the heat down to low. Cook for a few more minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 108
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 298 mg
- Cholesterol: 9 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Had high hopes for the recipe but although it was okay, it didn’t excite me. Only change to the recipe was I added mushrooms. Adding chopped macadamia nuts to leftovers tomorrow.
Can I use sweet Vidalia onions instead of yellow onions? The yellow onions bring too much water to my eyes.
Sure, Mindy, that’s fine. Enjoy!
Really easy to make and tastes great
Excellent recipe, simple yet super delicious!
Thank you Chef Jen😉
I used them to make philly steaks. They tasted delicious! The aroma filled my house and poured through the neighborhood. My kids came in for dinner being proud. Mmmwwwah, Perfecto!!!
This was sooo good! I have made the classic peppers and onions over the years and it was nothing special. This recipe nails it!
Very simple recipe for inexperienced cooks! It worked great. My recommendation for anyone else looking to use this recipe is to consider using some sort of stock or broth — I used chicken broth — instead of water when it comes to lifting the brown coating on the pan. I feel like only using water is a wasted opportunity for flavor, but that’s just me!
Additionally, if you are someone who is currently pursuing a caloric deficit for weight loss, the recipe will still work with 1/2 of the recommended oil (I actually use little to none). It won’t crisp up as well nor have that subtle, delicious fat that professional cooking relies on, but I think it’s pretty great even with less oil than prescribed!
Great recipe! I added thinly sliced carrots along with the pepper and onion. We had left over cooked steak, that I thinly sliced as well and added right before adding the balsamic and thyme. Delish! My husband raved about the flavor. We served it over left over roasted potatoes.
Thanks so much for your recipe! Definitely a keeper!!
I made this this evening and I really liked it! I didn’t get the browning i was looking for on my onions and bell peppers but I think that’s on me. Anyways I loved this recipe and will make it again
These are excellent! I’ve been looking for a recipe for bell peppers for a long time – this is it!