Grandma’s Honey Glazed Onions

Grandma's Honey Glazed Pearl Onions is a yummy side dish that's so easy to prepare. The honey glaze adds such nice balance to the pearl onions. It only takes a few ingredients to make this delicious glazed onion side dish recipe, and it always disappears so fast! This glazed pearl onions recipe is the perfect side dish for any occasion or any night of the week. I keep a bag in the freezer and always make this side when I am in a hurry and want to add something delicious to mealtime. 

This simple side is a perfect addition to any main course!  Grandma’s Honey Glazed Onions are always a crowd pleaser!  They go with everything! And I mean everything!  I always make this recipe right before dinner is served while all of the food is being brought over to the table!

This delicious glazed pearl onions recipe is perfect with beef, pork, chicken, and even fish. I would venture to say that it almost doesn't matter what you serve them with. It will always work. I know firsthand how much of a crowd-pleaser these are because no matter where or when I serve them, they always go fast. And everyone always asks for more! 

This recipe is equal parts deliciousness and nostalgia for me. I make this side all the time because I love the flavor and the memories. I remember trying to stab each of the glazed pearl onions on my plate with my fork when I was a child. It was a lot of fun, and the resulting bite was always so, so good.

Now that I'm an adult, I just slide them right on top of my fork with a knife. It's not as much fun, but it gets them in my belly quicker! 

If you love this quick and easy side dish recipe, you need to check out this air fryer cabbage, Maple Bacon Brussel Sprouts or delicious instant pot asparagus.

Glazed onions are a great side to these easy pan fried pork chops, air fryer chicken breasts, and garlic butter steak bites and potatoes.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Requires few ingredients.
• Only takes about 15 minutes to make from start to finish!
• Pairs well with practically anything.

Ingredients in Honey Glazed Onions

It only takes a few ingredients to make these delicious little bites. The tiny pearl onions are whole, so there's no chopping, and the ingredient list is super short. Put those two things together, and you get a recipe that is full of flavor but not full of work. Take a look. 

• Onion: Fresh pearl onions are typically available year round in the grocery store. If you're in need of a shortcut, they are available frozen and already peeled.
• Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter to have more control over the sodium in the dish.
• Honey: Pure, Raw honey is best but use whatever honey you have. I always have pure, raw honey available to put in my tea so that's what I typically use.
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cornstarch: Acts as a thickening agent.
• Water

See? There are seven ingredients here, and one of those is water! You might have to buy the pearl onions especially for this recipe, but outside of that, I can't imagine that you don't have every one of these ingredients in your kitchen already. They're all pantry staples. 

How to Make Grandma's Honey Glazed Onions

Making this glazed pearl onions recipe is just as simple and easy as the ingredients needed for it. It only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. There's no slicing or dicing. There's not even any baking. All you'll really be doing is boiling some water and doing a minimal amount of sauteeing. That's all there is to it!

You'll find the full recipe including amounts and times in the recipe card at the end of this post, but the highlights are listed below. You'll see in no time that this recipe is ridiculously easy. Ludicrously easy. Just so simple. In a medium sized saucepan add peeled pearl onions to boiling salted water.  Cook until tender.  Drain and return to saucepan.  

In a small bowl combine butter and honey together until blended. 

Add to onions. 

Stir until coated over low heat. 

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Stir and remove onions.    

In a small cup combine cornstarch and water. 

Stir until cornstarch is dissolved completely. 

Add to liquid in saucepan to thicken. 

Increase heat slightly for a moment or two and stir. 

Return onions to saucepan, stir until coated in mixture, and remove from heat.

Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

See? That's all there is to it. You boil some water and do a little sauteeing and that's all she wrote. After that, it's just a matter of enjoying the deliciousness. 

Substitutions

• Substitute honey for maple syrup.
• If pearl onions aren't your thing or you just don't have any on had and don't want to go to the store, you can use shallots. Shallots are more of a leek than an onion, but they have a mild flavor that will work well in this recipe. As shallots are so mild, you can actually skip the boiling portion of the recipe if you use them. Simply make your glaze and pour it over the raw shallots. 
• You could also substitute Cipollini onions or white onion cut into chunks for the pearl onions.

Variations

• Add some fresh herbs, such as parsley, over the top of the finished dish.
• A small amount of crushed red pepper would add some heat to this side dish.
• Bacon. One simple addition to these onions that perfectly complements their flavor is bacon. Simply add crumble crisp bacon to the onions to give them an extra kick of flavor. Onion and bacon work so well together that it's a natural choice. 
• You could also add a bit of balsamic vinegar to this recipe to create honey balsamic glazed pearl onions. Again, the sweetness of these onions, along with the honey, make a perfect pairing with the addition of balsamic vinegar. 

Equipment

• Saucepan

Storage

Refrigerator: This glazed pearl onions recipe will last for about four days in the refrigerator. For longer storage, you can freeze them in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or a heavy-duty freezer bag for a couple of months. 

Freezer: For longer storage, you can freeze them in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or a heavy-duty freezer bag for a couple of months.

Reheat: Utilize the butter in this dish and reheat in a saucepan over low heat. You shouldn't need any extra oil or butter and it should only take five minutes to reheat through.

That being said, I advise making only enough for the current meal when you make these. They are absolutely divine when fresh, and you can never get that initial flavor back after they've been refrigerated or frozen. Oh, they're still good, but they just do not compare to fresh. 

Tips

• Don’t overcook the onions! Pearl onions are best when they’re cooked to just tender. They’re a naturally sweet and mild onion, so there’s no need to cook them down into oblivion as we do with other onions. 
• I find that these glazed onions work best when paired with another firmer vegetable to create a more interesting flavor and bite combination. Some suggestions are Broccoli, Asparagus, Green Beans, Mixed Vegetables, Cauliflower, and Brussel Sprouts.

FAQ

Grandma's Honey Glazed Onions

This glazed pearl onions recipe comes by its name honestly. My grandma really did make these all the time. That's why I have such a great love for them - outside of how good they are, of course. When I make this recipe, I get all the great flavors I love and all the great memories I cherish. 

Of course, you won't get the memories, but you will get the amazing flavors, and that's just as good. This recipe is so, so good and ridiculously easy. There's really nothing to it, and you don't need many ingredients either. It's a beautiful, classy, tasty side that's both a joy to make and to eat. It doesn't get much better than that!

Serving Honey Glazed Onions

This simple, delicious glazed pearl onions recipe is perfect with just about anything you can think of. From high end steak dinners to budget fish stick meals (yes I've done that), these little onion bites are just delicious as a side. 

As far as protein pairings, I'm not kidding when I say anything works. This glazed pearl onions recipe pairs well with: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, lamb, Venison, and Fish.

Try This Glazed Pearl Onions Recipe for Yourself

My grandma's honey glazed onions recipe is so delicious and so simple. It's a side dish that pairs well with everything, and it takes next to no time to make. With donafides like that, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. 

No matter what you serve it with or where you serve it, this glazed pearl onions recipe is always a crowd-pleaser. Everyone gobbles them up so fast that there's never any left. That's perfect because it's best served fresh for optimal tastiness. So give this one a try. I think your family will love it as much as mine does. 

Have a peek at our video of these onions being made below!  We think you will be glad you did and I hope you will let us know what you think in the comment section below!

Grandma’s Honey Glazed Onions Video