Caramelised Onion Tarts are super quick and easy to make! Full of flavor these tarts will disappear fast. Perfect as a 2 bite finger food they can get the party started right 😉. These goats cheese and caramelised onion tarts are sweet, savory and sure to delight!
Recipes like the Apple Crumble Tartlets, Cranberry Brie Tarts, Crab Tartlets and Mini Croissant Sandwiches are fun and popular recipes.
The Quick Caramelised Onions recipe will show you how to make the key ingredient for this recipe and the Caramelised Onion Burger, Caramelised Onion Sausage Rolls and Caramelized Onion Brie show you another ways to use the cooked onions.
For your info: to make these tarts super quickly, I recommend making your caramelised onions the day before. Simply follow the recipe above which uses red onions, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Then store the caramelised onions in the fridge and whip them out when you are ready to bring these tarts together. If however, you want to make them on the same day, add an additional 30 minutes to the total recipe time and give the onions about 5 mins to cool slightly before adding them to the raw pastry.
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🤍 Recipe Highlights
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about this caramelised onion tarts recipe in the points below:
- Super quick: I know you ain't got time to make your own pastry from scratch! So I recommend you use store bought 😁👌.
- Super easy: we are simply bringing separate ingredients together and letting them cook as one .
- Full of flavor: as much as we all think sweet treats go down a treat. (And they do!). There is something to be said about a delightful savory treat with notes of sweetness to it. They will disappear fast!
- Versatile: take these to a morning tea, pot luck, Christmas party, picnic or make for snacks at home. These caramelized onion tarts are versatile, please a crowd and suitable for many occasions.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make these mini caramelised onion tarts. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Thyme: we use fresh thyme as a garnish for the tarts. The sprigs need only have the leaves pulled off. Sprinkled over the top, they make the perfect aromatic and fresh herb finishing touch.
- Goats cheese: a caramelised onion tart on its own is delightful. A caramelised onion tart with goats cheese is next level yum! 😍 This soft crumbly cheese is sweet and the perfect compliment to the jam like onions.
- Caramelised onions: I like to make these the day ahead of the tarts. Then we simply need to bring all of the elements together. Homemade caramelised onions are super easy to make, store well in the fridge and can also be frozen if needed!
- Short crust pastry: this is store bought sheets of short crust pastry. Then we simply let it thaw slightly and use a cookie cutter to cut the pastry into our tart cases.
Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which you can skip down to if you wish 😉👌.
🍳 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by preparing the tart trays. I use 'patty pan tins' but you could also use a mini muffin tin if you wish to (the tarts will be smaller than you see in these photos). It is also a good idea to remove the pastry from the freezer to begin so that it can soften.
- Grease the tart tins (Photo 1)
- Cut the pastry for the tart shells (Photo 2)
- Place the cut pastry onto the patty pan tin (Photo 3)
- Gently push the pastry into the tin (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Caramelised Onion Tarts
To make the tarts, start by taking unsalted butter and greasing 2 x 12 hole patty pans. Then working one sheet at a time, use a cookie cutter to cut rounds from the pastry for the shells. To make 24 tarts, you will need 3 sheets of pastry.
Keep going until you have all of the raw pastry rounds cut and place them on top of the patty pan holes.
Once done, gently push the pastry into the holes and let them stick to the greased surface.
You can see these steps in the photos above.
Next spoon a teaspoon of the caramelised onion mixture into each of the pastry shells. Repeat this process for the 2nd tin also.
- Spoon caramelised onion into the pastry (Photo 5)
Once done, crumble the tangy goats cheese over the top of the caramelised onion as shown in the photo below.
- Top with goats cheese (Photo 6)
When you have finished adding goats cheese to each tart then you can place the 2 tart tins into the oven. They need to cook for 12 minutes.
Once the 12 minutes of cooking time is up, use oven mitts to remove the tart tins and place them onto a cooling rack.
Let them sit for a couple of minutes and then use a teaspoon to gently push the tarts out of the pan and place them back onto the cooling rack.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
When it comes to serving your tarts, I like to add some fresh thyme leaves and a drizzle of balsamic glaze (different to balsamic vinegar). It is thick and makes the perfect finishing touch.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Remove the tart pans from the oven using an oven mitt. Place them onto a cooling rack. Let the tarts cool for 3-4 minutes then use a teaspoon to gently remove each of the tarts from the patty pan. Then place them back onto the wire rack and let them cool for a couple of minutes.
How to Freeze
Make the tarts as per the recipe above. Then use a large freezer bag and wrap it around the pastry tin. Next use a layer of cling wrap around the freezer bag to seal the tarts. The tarts can be frozen for 3 months and then place into a hot oven (from frozen) to cook until warmed through.
How to Reheat
Place the tarts onto a plate and transfer them to the microwave. Reheat on high for 10-15 seconds or until warmed through.
Alternatively place the tarts (can be back in the pan) onto the middle shelf of the oven and bake until filling and pastry is hot (test with a finger tip).
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- If you want to use store bought caramelised onions from a jar, you can.
- If puff pastry appeals to you more than short crust pastry, you can make that switch. In which case, after pushing the pastry into the pan, use a fork to gently pierce the base of each tart. Doing so will ensure that the pastry doesn't puff up too much at the base as it cooks.
- Feta cheese is an alternative to goat's cheese if you want to change the type of cheese used.
- Blue cheese (hello gorgonzola) is another cheese alternative that can be used in place of the goat's cheese.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the caramelised onion and goats cheese tartlets from the get go:
- We want the pastry to thaw so that it is easy to cut and doesn't crack. For that reason, grab it out of the freezer as a starting point, pop it on the bench and let it soften to start with.
- We want to use unsalted butter to grease the tart tins. This is because we don't want to add extra salt to the recipe as well as ensuring that the tarts will be easy to remove from the pan once cooked.
- Let the tarts cool in the pan before removing them. This helps the shells to set and harden before you remove them to finish cooling.
- If you love making mini foods, then you might also like to try the Puff Pastry Bites or the Apple Custard Tarts 😉👌.
- Or if it is festive baking that calls your name try the Fruit Mince or Fruit Mince Pies recipes.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
To store the tarts, place them onto sheets of baking paper in an airtight container. They can be kept refrigerated for 3 days.
A tart consists of a pastry base with filling. More often than not, the whole tart is then oven baked, although sometimes the tart cases can be baked and the tart filling added once the pastry has cooled.
No, feta and goat cheese are different. Feta is made from sheep's milk whereas goat's cheese is made from the aptly named goat's cheese.
😍 More Easy Finger Food Recipes
If you love the food more than the socialising at the party (I hear you!) then you might like to have a look at some more ideas to get your party started. These recipes are fun, easy and loved by all ages!
- Mini Sausage Rolls
- Spinach Cob Loaf Dip
- Mini Pancakes Recipe
- Baked Brie With Pepper Jelly
- Bacon Crackers
- Cheese and Bacon Pinwheels
- Roast Beef Roll Ups
- Cheese and Tomato Pinwheels
- Wagyu Meatballs
- Tater Tot Cups
It is time to get our caramelised onion tarts on my friend! You can also find all of my appetizer recipes or dips and spreads recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Caramelised Onion Tarts
Ingredients
- 3 sheets short crust pastry Note 1
- 1 ½ cups caramelised onions Note 2
- 160 grams/5.6 oz goats cheese Note 3
To serve
- balsamic glaze
- thyme leaves removed from the stems
Instructions
- Preheat your oven: to 180°C/400°F/gas 6.
- Pastry: remove your shortcrust pastry from the freezer and let it soften at room temperature.
- Tart pans: use unsalted butter to grease 2 x 12 hole patty pan tins.
- Tart shells: use a 6.5 cm (2.5 inch) cookie cutter with fluted edge to cut the pastry into 24 rounds. Once done, place these cut rounds onto at the patty pan tin then use your fingers to gently push the pasty into the holes.
- Filling: once all of the pastry has been pushed into the holes, use a teaspoon and spoon the caramelised onion into each shell. Next crumble goats cheese over the top of the caramelised onion.
- Oven bake: place the 2 tart pans into the oven on the middle shelf and let the tarts cook for 12 minutes. Once the cook time is up, use an oven mitt to remove the tart pans from the oven and place them onto a heatproof surface. After a couple of minutes, use a teaspoon to gently remove each tart from the tin.
- To serve: drizzle the caramelised onion tarts with balsamic glaze. Then sprinkle thyme leaves over the top.
Notes
- Note 1 - Shortcrust pastry: we want to remove the pastry from the freezer to allow it to soften at room temperature before working with it. This will ensure that it is soft and flexible and won't crack. You will be able to get 9 tart shells per square of pastry. So to make 24 tarts, we need to use 3 sheets. There will be a small amount leftover on the 3rd sheet, however, this ensures that each shell is a full round and not cut and stuck together from 2 sheets.
- Note 2 - Caramelized onions: I like to make my caramelised onions the day before. This means on the day all you need to do is to bring your tarts together. I use my 'quick caramelised onions recipe' and store them in the fridge in an airtight container. If you want to make them on the same day, add 30 minutes to the total recipe time and let the onions cool slightly. Then when you have finished cooking them allow to cool slightly before adding them to the raw pastry.
- Note 3: Goat's cheese: this is a delightful sweet cheese made from, you guessed it Goat's milk. It is very soft and squishes when cut. For this reason, I recommend crumbling it over the top as opposed to trying to slice it and place pieces over the top. Simply add the cheese to a small bowl, push it together with a fork and then crumble chunks in your fingers and sprinkle.
Rebecca says
Love. Cant wait to give these a go. They look so cute!
Adrianne says
Thank-you Rebecca. I appreciate your feedback.
Amanda says
Came out great.
Adrianne says
Thanks Amanda for your feedback! 😄