Store Your Caramelized Onions Like This So They Last 10x Longer

The simple act of letting onions cook in a way that browns the natural sugars can make them taste entirely new (and give them less of a bite). And there are so many delicious ways to use caramelized onions (that you probably never thought of). Still, while there are tricks to caramelize onions faster, most recipes encourage you to caramelize onions in big batches. Unless you're prepping for a big dinner or barbecue, this can leave you with lots of leftover onions that only last three to four days in the fridge. How do you store caramelized onions so they'll last long enough to enjoy them?

Once you've had your fill of caramelized onions, whether as a side dish or inside a burger or blended into hummus, you can freeze the leftovers. Freezing onions saves you time and money and freezing them inside an ice cube tray makes it easier for you to remove and thaw only what you need for a specific recipe. Plus, you can just pop them right out of the tray when they're frozen and transfer them to an airtight container. If you still have too many onions to fill up your ice cube tray (or trays), a muffin tin lined with plastic wrap lets you freeze them in larger amounts.

Caramelized onions should stay fresh for about three to four months in the freezer, much longer than the few days you'll get in the fridge. A standard ice cube tray can likely fit about a tablespoon of onions per slot, while a larger muffin tin will likely be able to hold at least a third of a cup of onions in each compartment. Keep in mind if you use the ice cube tray or muffin tin method to freeze your caramelized onions, you should set that tray aside and only use it for freezing veggies; from this point on, it'll forever smell just a little like onions, which might lead to onion-flavored ice cubes.

Of course, there's little wrong with freezing caramelized onions the same way you might freeze anything else: Place them in a thick, sealed freezer bag, write the date on the bag (as the months go by, you'll be glad you wrote down when they were frozen), and place the bag in the freezer. Still, the benefit with portioned trays is you don't have to go messing around with all the onions at once; if you know how many ounces fit in the tray you're using, it's easy to measure the exact amount of onions you need. When you're ready to use some caramelized onions, grab what you need and place those onions in the fridge overnight to thaw out.