Since Italian immigrants introduced pizza to the US, it has become a staple of American cuisine, delighting taste buds with every bite. When a craving strikes, you can never go wrong by ordering your favorite pizza online or visiting your local pizzeria.
While pepperoni, mushroom, cheese, and sausage are America’s most popular pizza toppings, adding onion to the mix is a winner for many, especially when caramelized on a deep-dish pizza. Read on to discover the best onions for your pizza to maximize your flavor experience.
White Onions
White onions are versatile and pair well with most toppings, making them ideal for pizza. Many Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas incorporate white onions by grating and adding them to the thick tomato sauce for a subtle flavor that stimulates your taste buds.
You can combine them with your favorite toppings, from mushrooms and spinach to extra cheese and pepperoni. They have a stronger taste than red and yellow onions, but other pizza ingredients can help tone down their spiciness, ensuring a more balanced flavor.
But that’s not all. White onions have thinner, papery layers, making them a distinctive and appealing topping for pizza. They retain their crunch texture and bite, complementing other toppings. You can enjoy them raw, lightly cooked, or heavily caramelized to change up your pizza experience.
Yellow Onions
Yellow onions are a staple of classic Chicago-style pizzas. Whether grated or diced, yellow onions add a strong, complex flavor. They complement other toppings well, including pepperoni and extra cheese, creating a mouthwatering treat.
Depending on your tastes, you can slice, cube, or caramelize them. When added raw, their crisp, firm texture provides a satisfying crunch, making them ideal for deep-dish pizzas. Yellow onions are high in sulfur, so they benefit from caramelizing or cooking. When cooked, they become tender and develop a sweet, savory tang that’ll leave your taste buds yearning for more.
Yellow onions are readily available, so you’ll often find them among the toppings on the menu of most classic pizza restaurants. Their affordability and long shelf life make them an ideal option if you’re a budget-conscious pizza lover.
Red Onions
If you really want to elevate your pizza experience, try red onions. Whether on a thin crust or deep-pan pizza, these onions will add a sweet and tangy flavor to your meal. Their flavor is milder compared to other onions, allowing you to savor the thick tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and other toppings on your pizza.
Some pizza lovers enjoy red onion raw for added crunch. Alternatively, some prefer sauteed or caramelized red onions for their tender texture and enhanced flavor. The best part is that they retain much of their crunchiness when lightly cooked, making them the ideal choice for pizza.
A topping of red onions adds color to your pizza, with their rich red hue making it look more appealing. Red onions also pair well with other toppings, from mushrooms to meats, and have numerous health benefits, as they’re rich in minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants.
Shallots
Shallots are the ultimate choice for gourmet-style pizzas. These small onions have a mild, slightly spicy yet sweet flavor that enhances the taste of your pizza without overpowering the other toppings. They even have a hint of garlic flavor, which brings more depth to your dish.
The reddish-brown hue of shallots adds color to your pizza, making it more appetizing, and they boast numerous minerals and vitamins, making them a nutritionally valuable pizza topping. The best part is that they retain their crispy texture when lightly cooked, adding extra crunch to your favorite pizza. Prolonged cooking makes them silky smooth and unctuous.
The versatility of shallots is unmatched. You can blend them and spread them on the base of your pizza or dice, slice, grate, or caramelize them and add them as a topping.
Green Onions
Winding up the list are the green onions, sometimes called spring onions or scallions. Green onions have tiny white bulbs and long green stalks. They boast a mild flavor with herbal undertones and add a refreshing twist to your pizza experience.
You can chop and sprinkle raw spring onions on your pizza to maintain their fresh, green hue and enhance the appearance of other toppings. Some pizza lovers prefer them lightly cooked, which preserves their crisp texture and flavor.
Green onions are popular because they’re easy to use and don’t require much preparation. Chopping them is straightforward, making them convenient for pizzeria chefs and home cooks.
Should I Cook Onions Before Putting Them on a Pizza?
Whether or not to cook your onion before adding it to your pizza depends on the type of onion, the other toppings, and your preferences. Some onions have a strong taste that might overpower the flavor of other toppings when eaten raw. Other onions are best if you eat them raw, as they add flavor, color, and crunchiness to your pizza.
Sauteing, caramelizing, or charring your onions can help reduce their potency and bring out their natural sweetness without compromising the flavor of other toppings. Cooking onions also softens the texture and reduces their sulfur content, ensuring you can enjoy a delicious meal without potential digestive discomfort.
Visit Pequod’s and Get Onion as a Topping
Onions make an excellent topping for any pizza, complementing other ingredients and enhancing your overall pizza experience. Whether you’re into deep-dish Chicago-style pizzas or more classic options, our chefs at Pequod’s Pizza are ready to add your favorite toppings to your pizza. Visit our Chicago deep-dish pizza restaurant for delicious, lip-smacking pizza with onions.
White Onions by Pixabay is licensed with CC0 license