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About This Baked Apples and Onions Side Dish
Apples and onions complement each other fabulously and both have an affinity for pork that is not only well-known, but well-loved.
I always enjoyed it when my grandmother baked sliced apples and onions together and dished them up with pork steak, pork chops or a slice of pork ribeye roast. Or when she also baked pork sausages along with the apples and onions, nestled in between them.
This old-fashioned recipe works because:
- It is simple - a bit of prep work centered around peeling and cutting, a quick toss of the ingredients and the oven takes over.
- It is versatile - the variety of apples and onions as well as the herbs and seasonings are easily modified to stir the flavor profile.
- It is easy to scale - you do not need to maintain a certain ratio of the ingredients, nor cook a certain quantity.
Ingredients
Apples. Firm, crisp baking apple varieties hold their shape and do not become mushy. On that note we recommend Pink Lady (in the pictures), Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Jonathan etc. That being said, you can go with many other varieties. You can also mix and match a tarter variety with a sweeter one to create more nuanced flavor experience.
Onions. From yellow onions, through all the sweet varieties and to red onions, your options are many. Mix and match if desired.
Herbs and spices. Fresh or dried, herbs that complement onions and apples can be added in any combination and in the amount that satisfies your preferences. We like to use sage and thyme as in the demonstration for this post. Other viable options include yellow mustard seeds, cloves (use sparingly), cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, caraway seed, rosemary, dill, yellow curry powder and more.
Seasonings. Kosher salt or sea salt flakes are indispensable and we always add black pepper as well as dark brown sugar. The brown sugar helps create caramelization yet it does not add too much in terms of sweetness, rather a hint of molasses-like robustness.
Oil. Regular olive oil works great in this recipe.
Workflow
Prep. Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat (silt pad). Peel, core and slice the apples. Peel and cut the onions into thin wedges.
Mix. In a large bowl, add the raw sliced apples and onions, the herbs/spices and seasonings and the cooking oil. Toss to combine and coat, then tip the entire mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread aroudn evenly.
Bake. Bake for about 35 minutes before you start checking for doneness. You are looking for tender pieces and a nice char. Ultimately you are the judge of what constitutes doneness here.
Tips & Ideas for Flavor Variations
- Just because it is called baked apples and onions does not mean that you should favor the apples:) Use any ratio that pleases you and lean into more sweetness and tertness with the fruit or more savoriness with the onion. Keep in mind that onions reduce in size much more than apples during baking.
- Do not slice the apples and onions too thin - they will dry out and could even burn if you are not watching them closely. Do not slice them too thick either - they will cook for much longer and being larger will not be as palatable. Aim for bite size pieces.
- Do not skip using a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or silt pad). The baked slices of apples and onions are quite tender and it makes it easier to lift them with the paper or silt pad and slide them into a serving dish. Additionally, nothing will be stuck to the bottom of the pan, making clean up easier.
- If you are looking for heavier caramelization you can add more brown sugar in the beginning.
- Drizzle the finished side dish with a bit of balsamic reduction - both for visual effect and for the rich, dark fruit and molasses influenced acidity it lends.
- Add a handful or raisins or dried cranberries when you first mix the raw ingredients with the oil.
Serve: Pork Chops with Apples and Onions & More
Pork chops. Prepare skillet pork chops or baked thick cut pork chops.
Sausages. Chicken (apple) sausages or pork sausages pair famoulsy with the apple and onion combination. You can simply nestle raw sausages in between the wedges and baked them together with the apples and onions.
Pork steak. Whether a skillet pork steak or baked, it is a straight forward pairing.
Pork roasts, braises and ribs. From pork ribeye and pork collar to braised pork shoulder and pork spare ribs.
Ham. Not only as a side to holiday ham renditions, a scoop of these delicious morsels brightens ham sandwiches and wraps.
Rice and mashed potatoes. If you have one of these starches on the menu, the baked apples and onions will be complementary.
What to Do With Leftovers
Store leftover baked apples and onions in an airtight contained in the refrigerator. To reheat them - the microwave will do. Accept that reheated they will not taste as good as when fresh out of the oven, nor will their texture be as appetizing. Perhaps consider my suggestion below on how to repurpose them for gustatory enjoyment.
I make one of my favorite cream soups ever with the leftovers from this side dish. Sometimes I actually bake apples and onions on purpose so that I can make the soup. It is fragrant with curry spice and rich with the flavor and creaminess of coconut milk. It has a bit of tartness and a bit of sweetness from the apples and so much umami from the onions. And it is very forgiving in terms of ingredient ratios - you can make it thicker or thinner as you please.
This is how to prepare my Curried Apples and Onions Soup - more of a guideline than a recipe. It is intuitive work:)
- Combine the leftover baked apples and onions with about and equivalent quantity of chicken broth in a suitably sized soup pot; place over medium heat.
- Add a generous amount of yellow curry powder (to taste) and coconut milk in reasonable amount vis-a-vis the amount of apples and onions you have (usually one can of coconut milk, about 13.5 oz or 400 ml).
- Simmer for about 10 minutes to thicken and then take it off the heat. Use a handheld blender to cream to a smooth consistency, season with salt and pepper as needed, and enjoy!
You Might Also Like
Apple Chutney | Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Onions | Onion Rings | Onion Tart | Roasted Onions | Apple Fritters
Recipe
Baked Apples and Onions with Herbs
Equipment
- 1 half-size sheet pan, 18x13 inches
Ingredients
- 3 large baking apples, such as Pink Lady or Granny Smith
- 3 large onions, yellow, sweet or red
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- fresh thyme or sage, or both, to taste*
- kosher salt or sea salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F (204 °C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silt pad.
- Peel the apples, quarter them, core them and then cut each quarter lengthwise into wedges. Peel onions, halve and cut each half into wedges to roughly match the apple pieces.
- In a large bowl combine the apple and onions pieces, the herbs, seasonings, brown sugar and oil. Toss to combine and coat well.
- Transfer the coated apples and onions onto the prepared baking sheet and spread them out evenly.**
- Bake for about 20 minutes and then using kitchen tongs or a large spoon carefully flip over all the wedges to ensure more even baking.
- Continue baking for another 20 minutes, but do check on the progress at around the 35 minute mark to make sure they have not browned too much. When satisfied with the results, remove from the oven. Transfer to a serving dish or plate as a side individually. Enjoy!
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