Whether mixed into a sheet pan dinner or stirred into a soup, onions often are treated like a supporting character. But our Roasted Agrodolce Onions flip the script. These golden, soft and sweet wedges are the stars of their own dish, with no competing vegetables in the mix.

While our stovetop Agrodolce Red Onions are vibrant in color and retain some crunch, this version presents a different side of the allium. The onion wedges are dressed and roasted until nearly jammy, striking a balance of sweet, savory and tart. They pair wonderfully with any roasted meat, making them a must-have on this year’s Thanksgiving table.

Packing the onions

This recipe requires few ingredients and even fewer steps—you don’t even have to butter the baking dish. While uncomplicated, it demands that you don’t cut corners. The first step is to arrange the onions in an 8-inch baking dish or pie plate. You might notice that you have quite a few (or several) onion wedges that don’t fit neatly. Don’t omit them.

Make sure you pack, shingle or otherwise fill the gaps with those seemingly extra onions. The onions will be in the oven until completely softened, and a lot of their volume will be lost. While it may look crammed in the beginning, the wedges will eventually shrink and settle in. If you don’t pack the onions here, you could end up with a minimal and underwhelming amount of agrodolce onions—and trust me, you’ll wish you had more.

Why we use sherry vinegar

Onions transform when cooked, from pungent and sharp to mellow and sweet. We take that mellow sweetness and complement it with a dressing of honey, melted butter, sherry vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper. We like sherry vinegar for its rich, nutty and woodsy notes. It also has a more subtle acidity than white vinegar or red wine vinegar, which makes for a more cohesive flavor in the finished dish. We don’t want to overpower the onions with acid, nor do we want to make them cloyingly sweet with a balsamic vinegar reduction. Sherry vinegar balances these flavors and lends an attractive light caramel color. Once whisked until combined, the vinegar mixture is poured over the dish of onions and the entire plate is tightly covered with foil to lock in moisture.

Roasting for fuller flavor

That’s the end of the hands-on portion; the oven takes over from here. The agrodolce onions roast in an oven set to 425°F for about an hour, giving the sweet-tart flavors of the dressing time to permeate the wedges as they cook down. The soft and succulent texture is worth the wait.

After the onions are tender enough to pierce with a paring knife, the foil is removed and the onions are basted in the bubbling dressing and returned to the oven for an additional 30 minutes, uncovered. This last step allows the onions to build a beautiful golden brown color and for the dressing to reduce into a sweet and sour glaze.

These onions make an excellent side for pasta dishes, robust salads and, of course, a roasted Thanksgiving turkey. They also are uncommonly satisfying eaten on thick-sliced sourdough with shaved parmesan, but you can reserve that for a private moment with the leftovers.

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Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Allie Chantorn Reinmann is a Digital Staff Writer for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. She’s a Thai-American chef who earned her diploma for Pastry and Baking Arts at The Institute of Culinary Education and worked professionally for over a decade honing her craft in New York City at places like Balthazar, Bien Cuit, The Chocolate Room, Billy’s Bakery and Whole Foods. Allie took her know-how from the kitchen to the internet, writing about food full-time at Lifehacker for three years and starting her own YouTube channel, ThaiNYbites. You can find her whipping up baked goods for cafés around Brooklyn, building wedding cakes and trying her hand (feet?) at marathon running. She’s working on her debut cookbook and lives in Brooklyn, NY.