Tarts aren’t just for dessert! With this Feta & Caramelized Onion Tarts recipe, you’ll have a fabulous party-starting appetizer.
Savory Tarts That Will Become a Fast Favorite For Holidays, Dinner Parties or a Game Day Treat.
There’s nothing like greeting your guests with warm hors-d’oeuvres. These tarts are seriously addictive and are always the first things to go at any party or family gathering.
Why This Recipe Works
- The creamy, salty flavor of the feta mixed with the sweetness of the onions is a perfect combination.
- The buttery pastry crust is the perfect base making them like warm cheese and crackers.
How To Caramelize Red Onions
For this recipe, I caramelize the onions with the help of brown sugar and a little honey. This works perfectly to get that sweet, golden, caramelization.
Homemade or Store Bought Pastry Crust
For this recipe, you can use store-bought crust if you are short on time, but I recommend using homemade because, to me, nothing tops homemade.
I’ve included my homemade crust in the recipe. It’s a tried and true recipe that I love and know works with both savory and sweet pies and tarts.
How to Make Feta and Caramelized Onion Tarts
Start with rolling out the dough for the crust.
Using 4½ cutter, cut out twelve circles and line 12 sections of a muffin pan with the circles. 
Add the circles to a 12 section muffin pan and chill while you make the filling.
Heat the oil in a lidded frying pan, add the red onions and cook over high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often to keep them from sticking to the pan. Lower the heat, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until soft.
Add the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar.
Followed by the honey.
Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are caramelized. Season to taste with salt & pepper if desired and set aside to cool.
Put the feta cheese, cream cheese, egg, and half the parsley in a food processor.
Blitz until smooth and creamy.
Add the onion to the chilled tart crusts with 1 tablespoon of the onion mixture and flatten with the bottom of the spoon.
Top with the feta mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and the filling is just golden brown and set Sprinkle chopped parsley and serve.
Serve warm.
Enjoy every last bite.
- When using frozen pastry or pie crust, allow thawing overnight before using. This will make the pastry pliable without becoming too soft.
- Flour your worktop before rolling the dough. This helps to roll out smooth and prevent sticking or pulling.
- Don’t Skip the Docking of the dough. Docking before filling will make the edges puff up and the center will stay down.
FAQs
How do you store Feta and Caramelized Onion Tarts? Store the tarts in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They will last up to 3 days.
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Let's Make Feta and Caramelized Onion Tarts
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3-6 tablespoons ice water
- For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 medium red onions sliced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 ounces feta cheese
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- To make the crust, sift the flour onto some baking paper and then add it to a food processor.
- Add the sugar, and salt and pulse a couple times to mix.
- Add about half of the butter and pulse several times.
- Then add the rest of the butter and pulse 6 to 8 times until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of large peas.
- Sprinkle the mixture with about 2 tablespoons of the ice water (leaving the cubes behind) then pulse again.
- Then add more ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing once or twice after each addition until the dough just barely begins to hold together.
- You know that the mixture is ready if when you pinch some together with your fingers and it holds together. Be careful with the amount of water you add, too much and the crust will be tough.
- Empty the crumbly dough mixture from the food processor onto a clean, dry, floured surface.
- Form a mound with the mixture and knead briefly (just a couple of turns). Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour (although it can be up to a few days or even frozen at this point).
- Once chilled, let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling.
- Roll out the crust on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. Using 4½ cutter, cut out twelve circles and line 12 sections of a muffin pan with the circles. The dough should overlap enough to be able to crimp the edges.
- Prick the bottom of each one with a fork and chill in the pan in the fridge while you make the filling.
- preheat the oven to 350F/175C
For the filling:
- Heat the oil in a lidded frying pan, add the red onions and cook over high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often to keep them from sticking to the pan.
- Lower the heat, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until soft.
- Add the vinegar. sugar, and honey and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are caramelized. Season to taste with salt & pepper if desired and set aside to cool.
- Put the feta cheese, cream cheese, egg, and half the parsley in a food processor and blitz until smooth.
- Fill the chilled tart crusts with 1 tablespoon of the onion mixture and flatten with the bottom of the spoon.
- Pour cheese mixture over the onions.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and the filling is just golden brown and set Sprinkle chopped parsley and serve. These tarts are good warm or cold.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in January of 2015 but was republished in January of 2018 with new photos, a video, and step by step instructions.
Melissa says
These came out delicious and were perfect cold for a picnic. I cut down the sugar in the onions a lot, they have their own natural sugars and 4 tbsp of sweetener is a bit overkill.. salt really helped to round out the flavour of the onions too.
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Melissa. I’m thrilled to hear that the Red Onion & Feta Tarts turned out delicious for you, and that they were perfect for a picnic! It’s great that you adjusted the sugar in the onions to suit your taste. You’re absolutely right about the natural sugars in onions, and it sounds like you found the right balance with the addition of salt to round out the flavor. Thank you for leaving feedback and for trying our recipe.
Anne McBride says
I used a jar of caramelised onion chutney after I realised that I didn’t have enough red onions on hand.
The tarts turned were absolutely delicious. The combination of the sweet and savoury was perfect. I took them to a family picnic and they were gone in no time at all.
This was such a great alternative to the usual mini quiches, etc. I will definitely be making these again and again!
Erren Hart says
Thank you for trying the recipe and sharing your feedback with us! Using caramelized onion chutney is a great idea, and we’re glad to hear it turned out delicious. We’re delighted that it was a hit at your family picnic and that you’ll make them again. We hope you continue to enjoy our recipes in the future!