Five Onion Tart with Arugula Salad

Like a quiche but with fewer eggs, a golden, buttery crust, and a medley of onions cooked to caramelized perfection this onion tart is ideal for brunch, but makes a delicious dinner, too.

Onion Tart, S'il Vous Plait!

The whole idea of an onion tart is so very French—take a few ingredients, cook them just-so and then bring them together so carefully, so thoughtfully that voila, an elegant meal is born from almost nothing. Perhaps the most famous onion tart was served at New York City’s iconic Lutèce, prepared by its (maybe equally iconic) chef André Soltner as an homage to a favorite meal from his childhood in Alsace. So the story goes, his mother would take him along with her when she had errands to run, and when they were finished, they’d stop at a café where they’d have a glass of wine (for her) and a slice of tart l’onion (for him). We’ve taken the inherently humble tart—if something with a cream-laced custard and a butter crust can be truly called “humble”— and leaned even harder into its onion-ness by using not one but five kinds of onion in the tart. We serve it with a simply dressed arugula salad, which is—in our opinion—the ideal complement to this rich tart.

onions, shallots, chives, leeks, green onions, flour, butter, creme fraiche, arugula and eggs on a counter

A Caramelized Onion Tart Recipe, All Dressed Up for Spring

Honestly, you could make this tart any time of the year, because it’s so easy to find these onions in grocery stores. But alliums like chives and scallions are early harbingers of warmer weather, and in the spring and early summer especially, we crave their verdant color and bright, sharp flavors. In this onion tart, we combine the onion-y power of these five wonderful alliums:

Scallions
Shallots
Yellow onion
Leeks
Chives

flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a food processor

flour, butter, shortening, and salt blended together in a food processor

flour, butter, shortening, and salt blended together in a food processor with ice water

How To Make The Best Caramelized Onion Tart

Every good tart begins with a terrific crust, and this stunner is no exception. We use a combination of butter and shortening to make for a supremely flakey, rich crust that you’ll blind bake so that it stays lovely and crisp—no soggy bottoms here! From there, the success of your tart is largely dependent on your patience. You must have the patience to caramelize the onions before adding them to the custard mixture. It’s not hard to do, but it does take a little time. Here’s our step-by-step guide to making the very best French onion tart.

Caramelize the onions. Cook the onions, leeks, scallions and shallots on low heat, covered for 10 minutes, uncovered for about 30, until they’re caramelized. Let them cool.
Make the custard base. Whisk together the eggs, crème fraîche, salt, nutmeg, pepper, chives and caramelized onions.
Assemble the onion tart! Pour the custard mixture into the blind-baked crust.
Bake! It’ll take about 25 minutes—just until the eggs are set.
Bonus! This onion tart can be made up to a day ahead. Store it in the fridge overnight and when it’s time to warm it up, cover it and bake at 300°F until it’s warmed through.

shallots, leeks, green onions and yellow onions being cooked in a pan with butter

beaten eggs in a bowl with minced chives, salt and pepper

shallots, leeks, green onions and yellow onions caramelized in a pan with butter stored by a wooden spoon

egg and caramelized onion mixture for onion tart

Tools You’ll Need

onion tart with a slice removed with and arugula salad

Elegant, Springy Egg Recipes for Brunch, Lunch or Dinner

Sophisticated, Easy, and Always a Favorite

If you whip up this magically both easy and impressive onion tart recipe, we’d love to hear about it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!