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Onion Marmalade is the secret weapon condiment that makes everything taste like you fussed, and this bacon version layers sweet caramelized red onions with balsamic, red wine, and crispy bacon bits. It is sweet, savory, and a little jammy, and Jason puts it on basically every burger we grill. If you love a homemade topping like our homemade BBQ sauce, this marmalade is about to earn a permanent spot in your fridge.
One pan and a little patience turn humble red onions into the most addictive spread on the table.
Onion Marmalade Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 45 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 50 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 1.5 cups
- ⚡ Calories: 802kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet, tangy, and savory with caramelized onion and smoky bacon
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our homemade BBQ sauce
Quick Answer
Cook and crumble the bacon, then saute thinly sliced red onions in butter and a little bacon fat with sugar until they soften and caramelize. Add red wine, balsamic vinegar, and fresh thyme, bring it to a boil, and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed and the onions are jammy. Stir the bacon back in, cool, and serve.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Slow caramelizing builds the flavor. Cooking the onions low and slow draws out their natural sugars for a deep, sweet base that quick cooking just cannot match.
- Balsamic and wine add tang. The acidity from red wine and balsamic vinegar balances all that sweetness and gives the marmalade its rich, jammy depth.
- Bacon brings the savory. Cooking the onions in a little bacon fat and folding in crispy bits adds a smoky, salty backbone to every bite.
- Sugar balances the acid. Just enough granulated sugar rounds out the vinegar and wine so the marmalade tastes sweet and savory, not sharp.
- It keeps beautifully. Stored in the fridge, the flavor only gets better, so it is a perfect make ahead condiment for parties.
- It is endlessly versatile. Spoon it onto burgers, crostini, cheese boards, or roast pork for an instant upgrade.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It turns a few simple red onions into a condiment that tastes restaurant fancy.
- It is a one pan recipe with mostly hands off simmering time.
- It keeps for days in the fridge, like our homemade BBQ sauce, so you can make it ahead.
- A little goes a long way, making any burger, sandwich, or cheese board feel special.
Key Ingredients
Here is the short list of pantry and fridge staples that come together into this bacon onion marmalade.
- Red onions: Sliced thin, they caramelize into the sweet, jammy heart of the marmalade.
- Bacon: Cooked crisp and crumbled in, it adds smoky, salty richness, and its drippings flavor the onions.
- Red wine and balsamic vinegar: They add tang and deep color and cook down into a glossy glaze.
- Granulated sugar: A little sweetness helps the onions caramelize and balances the vinegar.
- Fresh thyme and butter: Thyme adds an earthy note while butter gives the marmalade a silky finish.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This marmalade is easy to adjust to your taste. Here are a few ways we like to change it.
- Skip the bacon for a vegetarian version and add a splash of olive oil in its place.
- Use yellow or sweet onions instead of red for a milder, lighter colored marmalade.
- Swap the red wine for extra balsamic or a splash of apple cider vinegar.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a little heat, like our sweet and spicy corn relish.
- Stir in a tablespoon of brown sugar for an even deeper, molasses like sweetness.
How to Make Onion Marmalade
- Cook and drain the bacon, then add the sliced red onions, butter, and a couple tablespoons of the reserved bacon drippings to the pan along with the sugar.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes until the onions soften and start to caramelize.
- Add the red wine, balsamic vinegar, and fresh thyme, then bring it up to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer on medium low for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the onions are jammy.
- Stir the crispy cooked bacon back into the marmalade.
- Cook a couple minutes more until thick, then take it off the heat, let it cool, and serve.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Slice the onions thin and even so they caramelize at the same rate and turn perfectly jammy.
- Do not rush the caramelizing. Low and slow is what gives the onions their deep, sweet flavor.
- Save the bacon drippings. A couple tablespoons in the pan adds savory depth you cannot fake.
- Stir occasionally near the end so the reducing liquid does not scorch on the bottom of the pan.
- Let it cool before storing. The marmalade thickens further as it cools and the flavor deepens overnight.
- Store it in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week, and gently rewarm before serving if you like.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This bacon onion marmalade is a topping that makes everything better. Pile it on burgers, brats, or a grilled steak, the way we do with our slow cooker beer brats.
Spoon it onto crostini with goat cheese for an easy appetizer, or add a jar to a cheese board next to crackers and sliced apples for a sweet and savory bite.
It is also a sneaky upgrade for sandwiches and sliders. Try a spoonful on our Dr. Pepper sloppy joes or alongside our chunky tomato onion relish for a condiment spread that steals the show.
Onion Marmalade FAQs
Onion marmalade is a sweet and savory condiment that is wonderful on burgers, sandwiches, crostini, cheese boards, roast pork, and steak. A little spooned on top adds a jammy, caramelized flavor to almost anything savory.
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, onion marmalade keeps for up to a week. The flavor actually deepens after a day or two, so it is a great make ahead condiment.
Yes. Leave out the bacon and cook the onions in butter with a splash of olive oil for a vegetarian version. You will lose the smoky note but still get a delicious sweet and tangy marmalade.
Red onions are our favorite for their color and sweetness, but yellow or sweet onions also work well and give a milder, lighter result. Slice whichever you use nice and thin.
It just needs more time to reduce. Keep simmering, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the onions look glossy and jammy. It will also thicken more as it cools.
Yes. Cool it completely, then freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge and gently rewarm before serving for the best texture.
Love a good homemade topping? Try our chunky tomato onion relish next.
Onion Marmalade
Ingredients
- 4 sliced thick cut bacon 1/2 inch dice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 medium red onions thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Cook and drain bacon on paper towels.4 sliced thick cut bacon
- Take two tablespoons of the reserved bacon drippings in the pan, add in the butter, and let it melt.1 tablespoon butter
- Add the onions and toss to coat in the fat.2 medium red onions
- Add in the sugar and stir to combine.1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Cook for 10-15 minutes over medium heat until most of the liquid is absorbed and the onions start to caramelize, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer on medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.1 cup red wine, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- Take off the heat and let the marmalade cool. Serve on top of burgers or any other way you wish.
Notes
- If you want a richer flavor you can substitute brown sugar for regular sugar.
- The onions need to be sliced and not diced, you can dice them but they will cook faster and will have a smaller cut.
- Red wine is essential to the flavor of this recipe, please do not skip this.
- The balsamic vinegar adds a richness to this marmalade that you will want to add, again to not skip!
- If you do not have fresh thyme you can substitute it with dried thyme.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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This was wonderful! But it didn’t say when to add the bacon in. So of course added in at the last.
This was just so delicious. My kitchen smells amazing! The recipe didn’t mention when to add the bacon after cooked so added at the very end. I used brown sugar.
Simmering it took quite a while to reduce to a jammy consistency—longer than 15-20 min.
It was worth the wait! Think I might make a grilled cheese for dinner and add some “marmalade” (I like that name more than jam…) Will need to get a couple more onions…and bacon to make another batch since I actually made and gave as Christmas gifts. I might have to double it next time!!
Delicious and came together so easily. I did add a dash of cayenne during the final 5 minutes of cooking. Thanks for posting this.
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Can you please remove me from the daily e-mails – I like your site but do not want the daily updates
I sure do love a good burguer and I sure did click on this because it said “bacon”. What can I say? I’m a girl of simple taste x)