Seasonality
Year-round
Quick Tips
How to cook onions
Onions are a universal produce item. I love thinly sliced red onions in salads and sandwiches. I use almost every variety as a base for stews, casseroles, and sauce. And no homemade stock is complete without onions. I also love grilling and roasting them alongside other vegetables.
How to buy onions
Look for onions that are firm with no soft spots or cuts. I like to check the roots carefully, as it is a good place to look for mold. The skin should be tight around the onion and unpeeled, the odor shouldn’t be too pungent.
How to store onions
Store onions in a cool, dark spot away from potatoes. I have a dedicated drawer for my onions, shallots, and garlic. Onions may sprout when stored long enough, simply cut off the sprout and use the onion as normal. The onion might also develop black mold. Peel the affected layers off and rinse off the remaining spots.
Varieties
Yellow
White
Red
Spanish
Sweet
Pearl
About
One of my not-so-secrets to flavorful vegetarian cooking is almost always using an allium, including garlic, scallions, leeks, shallot, and onions. Cooked onion provides a rich and flavorful base for other ingredients to mingle with, and of course, caramelized onions can be a lovely addition to grilled cheese.
One little hiccup you may have run into while cutting onions is an unprompted tear session streaming down your face. I swear by Deborah Madison’s tip: chill the onions in the refrigerator for a few hours and 10 minutes in the freezer. Also, a sharp knife is a must.
As for leftover onions, I store quarters in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The flavors of onions can leech into other items and before you know it, your butter may taste like onions (which makes for a strange companion for jelly on toast).
Red Onions: As mentioned above, I love thinly sliced red onions in salads and on pizza. These onions tend to be stronger in flavor, but still have a mildly sweet taste. I use red onions for roasting and grilling as well.
White + Yellow Onions: These are the backbone onions. They have consistent flavor, which means I’m always reaching for them to use in soups, stews, gratins, and grain bowls. White onions can be slightly stronger compared to white, but I tend to use them interchangeably. I do not, however, use them raw.
Sweet Onions: Are seasonal. They do not keep in storage like red/yellow/white onions, but are incredible when you can find them. The mild, sweet flavor is great raw, or I’ll use in soups where I want a tamed onion flavor.
All Vegetarian Onion Recipes
Adobo Acorn Squash, Crispy Quinoa, and Chimichurri
Baby Broccoli Frittata with Feta
Baked Black Bean Taquitos
Bean and Cabbage Tacos with Pickled Onions
Berbere Black Lentil Stew
Black Bean Burrito with Guacamole
Black Bean Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Black Bean Tostadas with Chipotle Butternut Squash
Black Lentil Enchiladas with Zucchini
Breakfast Quesadillas with Bell Peppers
Broccoli Salad with Tahini Dressing
Broccoli-Almond Pesto Pasta
Brown Rice, Oat, and Nut Vegetarian Patty Melt
Buffalo Chickpea Salad with Homemade Ranch
Buffalo Chickpea Vegetarian Loaded Potato
Bulgur Lentil Ragu with Parsnip-Rutabaga Mash
Bulgur Vegetarian Chili
Butter Butternut Squash Pasta
Butternut Squash Galette with Balsamic Onions and Ricotta
Butternut Squash Toast with Fried Eggs
Butternut Squash Toast with Pistachios and Sage
Cajun Millet Cakes
Caramelized Onion, Mustard, and Cheese Toast (with pickles)
Caramelized Onions, Pesto, and Grilled Mozzarella Sandwich
Carrot White Bean Soup with Herbs
Cauliflower Salad with Lemon-Dill Yogurt Dressing
Cauliflower Stir fry with Quinoa
Chickpea Bowl with Roasted Vegetables and Cilantro Cashew Cream
Chickpea Deli Salad (The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon)
Chickpea Shawarma Stuffed Pita
Chickpea Shawarma with Millet
Chili Baked Potato with Cheese
Chili Lentils over Sweet Potatoes
Chili Roasted Sweet Potato Sandwich
Chipotle Black Bean and Rice Skillet
Chipotle Black Bean Chili
Chipotle Sweet Potato Quesadilla with Cilantro Gremolata
Chipotle Sweet Potato Tacos with Black Beans and Guacamole
Chipotle White Bean Tacos
Chorizo-Spiced Vegetarian Nachos
Coconut Curry Carrot Soup
Cracked Spelt Risotto with Roasted Beets
Cream Cheese Roll-ups with Crepes and Vegetables
Curried Cauliflower Pizza
Delicata Squash Pizza
Delicata Squash Tacos with Black Beans
Egg and Green Bean Skillet
Einkorn Ricotta Gnocchi with Roasted Tomato Sauce
Enchilada Skillet with Eggs
Fall Cornbread Panzanella Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette
Farro Salad with Peas and Lemon-Yogurt Dressing
Freekeh Omelette with Olives and Feta
Freekeh Salad with Sweet Corn and Arugula
Fruit Chutney | Component Cooking
Garlicky Halloumi Tacos
Ginger Butternut Squash Soup
Green Curry with Potatoes and Chickpeas
Grilled Cheese with Balsamic Onions
Grilled Eggplant Rolls with Cream Cheese and Herbed Millet
Grilled Halloumi Skewers with Cilantro-Tahini Sauce
Grilled Peach and Halloumi Skewers with Basil-Jalapeno Sauce
Grilled Sriracha-Tahini Sweet Potato Skewers with Halloumi
Grilled Summer Veg Bowl with Kidney Beans
Halloumi Salad with Spinach and Quinoa
Harissa Cauliflower Lentil Stew with Lemon
Harissa Lentils and Cauliflower
Homemade Veggie Burger with Brown Rice, Oat, and Nuts
Kale Baked Eggs with Dukkah
Late Summer Pasta with Cream Sauce
Lentil Meatballs with Burst Tomato Pasta
Loaded Summer Veg Burger with Fried Egg
Marinated Halloumi Skewers with Summer Veg and Chipotle-Lime Peanut Sauce
Minestrone Soup with Brown Rice and Chickpeas
Moroccan Carrot Salad with Millet
Nut Lentil Bites | Component Cooking
Olive Pizza with Red Onions
Onion Frittata with Goat Cheese and Arugula
Pear Chutney Cheese Toast
Pecan Tomatillo Soup
Pesto Potato Skillet
Pesto Summer Squash Bruschetta with Poached Eggs
Pickled Carrot and Hummus Sandwich
Quinoa Chard Frittata with Balsamic Onions
Quinoa Potato Cakes
Quinoa White Bean Stew
Red Kuri Squash Curry with Chard
Red Lentil Masala with Spinach
Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Roasted Tomato Sauce
Roasted Broccoli Peanut Noodles
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Roasted Chipotle Sweet Potato and Sorghum Salad
Roasted Pear, Gorgonzola, and Honey Toast
Roasted Potato Pizza with Goat Cheese
Roasted Red Kuri Squash with Cannellini Bean and Spinach Salad
Roasted Sweet Potato, Caramelized Onion, and Gorgonzola Quiche
Roasted Tomato Gazpacho
Roasted Tomato Salsa
Romesco Potato Pizza
Root Vegetable Cassoulet
Root Vegetable Hash Egg Skillet
Savory Rye Crepes with Peaches and Blue Cheese
Sesame Kabocha Squash Soup
Shaved Brussels Sprout Potstickers
Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Einkorn and Soy-Mustard Dressing
Shaved Parsnip Salad with Parsley
Smoked Paprika Potato Spinach Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
Smoked Paprika Red Potatoes and Egg Bake
Smoked Paprika Red Potatoes and Spinach Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese
Spiced Chickpea Cucumber Salad
Spiced Lentil Stew with Potatoes
Spiced Pinto Bean Bowls with Avocado
Spiced Sweet Potato Skewers with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Spicy Lentil Vegan Sloppy Joes
Spinach Curried Red Potato Salad
Spinach Enchiladas with Lentils
Spinach Fennel Pizza
Spinach Pizza with Homemade Ranch
Spring Asparagus Flatbread
Stuffed Hatch Chiles with Cilantro-Lime Yogurt
Sumac Cauliflower Salad with Lentils
Summer Squash Soup
Summer Vegetable Frittata
Summer Vegetable Pasta with Chickpeas
Summer Vegetarian Tacos with Avocado Cream
Summer Veggie Omelette
Sweet Corn Pasta with Goat Cheese
Sweet Corn Sorghum Stuffed Peppers
Sweet Corn Soup with Harissa
Sweet Corn Soup with Hazelnut-Dill Garnish
Sweet Potato Barley Stew
Sweet Potato Hash Egg Skillet
Tahini Noodle Bowl with Collards
Three Onion Fried Rice
Three-Bean Vegan Chili
Three-Grain Grilled Vegetable and Feta Salad
Tomatillo Dressing (+ site updates)
Turmeric Cauliflower Egg Skillet
Vegetarian Breakfast Burritos
Vegetarian Chili Cheese Fries
Vegetarian Enchiladas Verdes
Vegetarian Nachos with Chipotle Sweet Potatoes
White Bean Masala Smothered Sweet Potatoes
Wild Rice Veggie Sliders with Herbed Ricotta
Zucchini Bake with Farro and Ricotta
Zucchini Sweet Corn Hash Egg Skillet