My mother always made creamed onions at Thanksgiving. I remember one of those old celebrity cookbooks she had with recipes by John Wayne and other stars from that era. This came from that book, I think, but I never actually saw her use a recipe to make it. She would show up at my house with the little onions and small bit of grated Cheddar. We almost always made these the day before and refrigerated them overnight. One less thing to do on the big day.

It uses those little pearl onions. I’ve used frozen ones before when I’m feeling overwhelmed but it is better with fresh onions. You parboil them, peel them, then cook them in simmering water for 10 minutes or so. Drain the onions. Then make a thin white sauce with just a small bit of grated Cheddar (or Parmesan) and a bit of sherry if you’d like. Put the onions in the white sauce and then put them in a baking dish. Cover and refrigerate at this point and pull out to let warm to room temperature before baking about half an hour in a 350 F oven. It’s easy to warm them up while the turkey is resting.

Print Recipe

Creamed Onions

Course: Side Dish

Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 Pound fresh pearl onions
Salt
3 Tbsp Butter
3 Tbsp Flour
1 1/2 Cups Light cream or half and half
2 Tbs Sherry Optional
2 Tbs Cheddar or Parmesan or a combo Grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut the root ends of the onions off while you bring a pot of water to boil.
Prepare an ice bath for the onions to cool off in so you can peel them easily.
When the water comes to a boil, add the onions and simmer 2-3 minutes, then use a strainer to put them in the ice bath. After they’ve cooled to the point that you can handle them, slip the skins off the onions by pinching the top end and squeezing.
Put the peeled onions back in the pan and cover with water and add a bit of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes, then drain.
Put the pan back on the burner over low heat and make a roux by adding the butter, melting it, then whisk in the flour and cook for 5 minutes or so, continuing to stir. Whisk in the half and half and cook until thickened, another 5 minutes or so. Take off the heat and the sherry (if using), the grated cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
Return the onions the pot with the sauce and stir, then pour into a baking dish. You can cover and refrigerate overnight at this point if you’d like. If you do, bring to room temperature before baking. Bake covered with foil or the lid of the baking dish at 300-350 F until heated through.