Creamed Onions
These vegan creamed onions are sweet, savoury, and rich. A cashew-based sauce replaces the dairy with delicious results!
Creamed onions are a classic side dish that often pops up around the holidays. While it might not be as common as green bean casserole and mashed potatoes, it’s a tradition for many families, so I wanted to give this traditional recipe the vegan treatment.
Here, instead of cooking pearl onions in cream and butter, I use a roux and cashew cream. Using all cashew cream would make the sauce a little too rich, but combining it with a roux for thickness without heaviness is perfection. These vegan creamed pearl onions are the perfect easy side dish to add to your Thanksgiving dinner!
Why You’ll Love This Creamed Onions Recipe
- Rich flavour. Creamed onions have that perfect balance of sweet and savoury, plus richness from the creamy sauce.
- Versatile. You can use creamed onions as a side dish, or spoon them over another savoury dish as a sauce. (I think they’d be excellent with vegan meatloaf.)
- Easy to make. This is a stovetop recipe that comes together with minimal effort, but it looks (and tastes!) fancy, which is why I love it as an option for the holidays.
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Cashews – You’ll need to soak these in water to get them to blend smoothly into the sauce. Use raw cashews, not roasted.
- Plant-based milk – Any kind you like, as long as it’s unflavoured and unsweetened.
- Vegetable broth – I like to use my homemade vegetable broth.
- Nutritional yeast flakes – This adds cheesy flavour to the sauce.
- Pearl onions – You can usually find these in bags near the regular onions, but not all grocery stores carry them. In that case, thawed frozen pearl onions can be swapped in and you can skip boiling them.
- Vegan butter – Use my homemade vegan butter or store-bought.
- All-purpose flour – To thicken the roux. Although I haven’t tried it myself, I think a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour would work as well.
- Seasonings – Ground nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- Fresh parsley – For garnish, if desired.
How to Make Creamed Onions
- Make the cashew cream. Drain the cashews and blend them with the plant milk, broth, and yeast.
- Boil the onions. Add the onions to a pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes, then drain.
- Make the roux. Melt the vegan butter in a skillet set over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook until it’s golden.
- Finish the sauce. Slowly whisk in the cashew cream and keep whisking until the sauce thickens. Whisk in the seasonings.
- Add the onions. Stir in the onions and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste.
- Serve. Transfer the creamed onions to a serving dish and garnish with parsley, if desired.
Tips and Variations
- Blanch the onions first. Pearl onions can be a pain to peel since they’re so small. I recommend blanching the onions by boiling them for a minute, then transferring them to an ice bath. This will make them easier to peel.
- Add other herbs. Thyme, rosemary, and sage all pair well with creamed onions. You can add them instead of parsley as garnish, or stir them into the sauce before adding the onions.
- Top the onions. If you’d like, you can transfer the creamed onions to a baking dish and top them with shredded vegan Parmesan or a mixture of panko and melted vegan butter. Place the dish under the broiler to melt the cheese or toast the breadcrumbs.
What to Serve With Creamed Onions
Pair your creamed onions with a hearty vegan main dish like Vegan Wellington or Vegan Turkey. As part of a holiday dinner, I love serving them alongside other classic sides like Cranberry Orange Sauce, Vegan Garlic Parmesan Dinner Rolls, and Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
How to Store
- Refrigerator: Leftover creamed onions can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezer: Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- Reheat: Place the creamed onions in a saucepan and warm over medium-low heat until warmed through, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, you can reheat them in the microwave.
More Vegan Side Dishes
Enjoy friends! If you make this creamed onions recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Creamed Onions
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or for 30 min in hot water, 65g
- 1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk, 220ml
- ½ cup vegetable broth, 110ml
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 ½ pounds pearl onions with peels removed, 700g
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper, to taste
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Drain the soaked cashews and place them in a blender with plant-based milk, vegetable broth, and nutritional yeast.
- Blend until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the peeled pearl onions and boil for 5 minutes, until slightly tender. Drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt the vegan butter over medium heat.
- Stir in the flour to make a roux, and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the flour is lightly golden.
- Gradually whisk in the cashew cream, ensuring there are no lumps. Continue to whisk until first bubbles appear and the sauce begins to thicken.
- Stir in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Add the cooked onions to the sauce and stir to coat them evenly. Allow the onions to simmer in the sauce for 5 minutes, so they absorb some of the flavor. If the sauce thickens too much, add a bit more vegetable broth.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Carefully add the pearl onions to the boiling water. Let them boil for about 1 minute. This will loosen their skins.
- While the onions are boiling, prepare a bowl of ice water. After 1 minute, remove the onions from the boiling water using a slotted spoon and immediately transfer them to the ice water. This will stop the cooking process and make them easier to handle.
- Once the onions are cool enough to handle, use a small knife to cut off the root end and peel the skin off.
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
So creamy and delicious! I followed your recommendation to sprinkle with cheese and panko, and this was simple next level! Scrumptious
I will be making these for thanksgiving, but I’ll be adding peas at the last minute. In our house, we always add peas to creamed onions. 🤷🏼♀️ you can’t mess with tradition.