Wondering how to freeze onions? There are a couple good ways to do it! If you need a way to turn a lot of onions into something useful that doesn’t take up much freezer space, my favorite method is making French Onion Soup Starter. This is a fantastic way to preserve onions that are starting to sprout, when you need to use them up before you lose them.
Watch the full video tutorial for how to freeze onions!
Besides making French Onion soup more approachable (honestly, I almost never use it for that) this “starter” is adaptable to other dishes. Turn it into an oniony beef and noodle soup, or use it in casseroles and slow cooker meals. I almost alway throw a container of this starter in the slow cooker with a beef roast! Or turn it into my very favorite: French Onion Soup Baked Rice– you’ll find that recipe here too.
This incredibly flavorful rice makes a great side dish for beef roast or pan-fried hamburger patties, any type of chicken preparation, and seafood like cod or shrimp! And if you have leftovers, the rice dish itself freezes fantastically! (This also makes it a great meal-prep item.)
I’m sharing this recipe and method for how to freeze onions from my book, Freeze Fresh Meal Prep. If you like useful and creative ways to turn your produce into meal starters and make ahead dishes for the freezer, you’ll love this book! You can read more about the book here.
–> Or buy Freeze Fresh Meal Prep here!
Ingredients
Method
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring every few minutes, until they have softened and turned translucent, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the thyme, sugar, bay leaf, salt, and pepper, and reduce the heat to low. Continue cooking, stirring ocasionally, until the onions have turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Make sure to scrape dhe bottom of the pan when stirring so that the onions doen't stick and burn.
- Stir in the garlic, water, and vinegar, and scrape any brown bits from the bottom and side of the pan. Turn off the hat and remove and discard the bay leaf.
- To Freeze: Cool completely before freezing. Because it cooks down into a relatively small amount, this starter packs best in a rigid container. The recipe fits in a 1 1/2 cup container.
Notes
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC).
- Roughly chop the starter to cut the onions into smaller pieces. Combine the starter, broth, water, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Warm, stirring frequently, unil the butter is melted and the onions seperate from each other, about 5 minutes. Because some broths are saltier than others, taste the onion nand broth mixture; it should be noticeably but pleasantly salty. Add more salt if necessary (remember, the onion and broth mixture will season the rice, too; I typically add 1 teaspoon of salt.)
- Spray a 13- by 9- inch baking pan with cooking spray and spread the rice on the bottom. Pour the broth mixture over the top, and then lightly stir to combine. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until the rice is tender but not drying out. Fluff the rice with a fork to stir in the onions.
