Caramelized Onion Goats Cheese Tart (Printable Version)
Savory tart featuring sweet onions and tangy goats cheese in crisp pastry, ideal for any meal.
# What You'll Need:
→ Pastry
01 - 1 sheet pre-rolled shortcrust pastry (approx. 8.8 oz)
→ Caramelized Onions
02 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
03 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
04 - 4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
05 - 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
06 - ½ teaspoon salt
07 - ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
08 - 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
→ Filling
09 - 5 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
10 - 3 large eggs
11 - ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
12 - ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
13 - ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
14 - Salt and black pepper to taste
→ Garnish (optional)
15 - Extra fresh thyme sprigs
16 - Fresh arugula leaves
# Method:
01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out pastry to fit a 9-inch tart pan. Press pastry into pan, trim excess edges, and prick base evenly with a fork. Chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
02 - Line pastry with parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove beans and parchment and bake 5 additional minutes until base is pale golden. Remove from oven and set aside.
03 - Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add sliced onions, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 20 to 25 minutes until onions are soft and golden. Stir in thyme and cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
04 - In a bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream, whole milk, ground nutmeg, salt, and pepper until smooth.
05 - Evenly spread caramelized onions on the baked pastry base. Scatter crumbled goat cheese over onions. Pour the custard mixture carefully over filling.
06 - Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until custard is set and golden on top. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
07 - Decorate with extra thyme sprigs and fresh arugula leaves if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
# Chef's Tips:
01 -
- Caramelized onions taste like you've been cooking all day, even though the real work is just patient stirring.
- That contrast of creamy goat cheese against sweet onions and crisp pastry feels fancy enough for guests but simple enough for a quiet weeknight.
- It's the kind of dish that looks impressive plated but honestly forgives small mistakes and imperfections.
02 -
- Don't skip the blind bake—wet pastry ruins everything, and blind baking is your insurance against a soggy bottom.
- Your filling will look slightly underdone when you pull it from the oven, and that's exactly right; it sets as it cools and stays creamy instead of turning rubbery.
- Caramelized onions really do take 20–25 minutes, and no amount of high heat speeds this up without burning them.
03 -
- If your pastry cracks during blind baking, don't panic—patch it with a small piece of raw pastry and it will seal itself in the oven.
- Caramelized onions are worth making in double batches and freezing; they're gold for quick meals and taste like you spent an hour cooking when you actually spent two minutes.