Braised Cipollini Onions with Dried Cherries
Updated Oct 28, 2025
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These braised Cipollini onions (a version of cipollini in agrodolce) are gently cooked until meltingly tender in a sweet-savory sauce with dried cherries, creating a stunning, make-ahead side dish that works beautifully for holiday dinners or paired with simple roasts.
Cipollini onions make every meal feel a little more special, and braising them brings out their natural sweetness. Here, they soften into silky perfection in a sauce that’s brightened with chewy dried cherries, giving this side dish a lovely balance of sweet, savory, and tangy. It’s make-ahead friendly, gorgeous on a holiday table, and pairs so well with everything from beef tenderloin to pork chops.
This is a version of cipollini in agrodolce, the classic sweet and sour Italian preparation for these diminutive onions. Cipolline are very similar to pearl onions but even a bit sweeter and softer when cooked. They are enhanced with balsamic vinegar, which forms a beautiful glaze. Tiny cipollini onions cook to a melting tenderness and have a mild and sweet flavor.
They go perfectly with Lemon-Garlic Semi-Boneless Leg of Lamb, Fall-Apart Roasted Pork Shoulder with Rosemary, Mustard, and Garlic, or a Roast Turkey on Thanksgiving.
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What's In This Post?
Braised Cipollini Onions recipe (Cipollini in agrodolce): A wonderful sweet and sour preparation for these charming little onions.
Ingredients
- Dried cherries – You can also use raisins or cranberries if you want.
- Hot cider – For rehydrating the fruit and offering a sweet yet tart flavor.
- Olive oil – For sautéing. You can use butter instead if you like.
- Cipollini onions – You can find cipollini onions in well-stocked supermarkets, especially in the fall and during the holidays. You can also find them at farmers markets. You can also use pearl onions in this recipe. This peeling trick works on all kinds of small onions, from pearl to Cipollini or Cipolline (not spelled Cippolini, which is a common mistake)!
- Balsamic vinegar – For the sweet and slightly tart balsamic glaze.
- Sugar – For a touch of sweetness.
FAQs
Cipollini onions look like pearl onions, though they are a bit bigger and sweeter. They are more squat in shape as well, small and flat, kind of like mini Vidalia or other sweet onions in appearance. They grow in Italy and the U.S. Cipollini onions are often served with roasts, either cooked until they’re soft or pickled. They take some effort to peel, but man, are they worth it.
Pearl onions and cipollini onions are both smaller onions (cipollini translates from Italian to “little onion” in English), but cipollini onions have a bit more natural sugar in them, so they are a touch sweeter. They can be used interchangeably in most recipes.
Variations
- I used dried cherries because they are my favorite dried fruit, but you can use dried cranberries if you wish. They’re cheaper than dried cherries and very easy to find.
- You can also use pearl onions instead of cipollini onions.
How to Make Braised Cipollini Onions
- Rehydrate the dried fruit: Place the dried fruit in a small bowl and add the hot cider to cover.
- Braise the onions: Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 8 minutes. Add the dried fruit with the cider, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until the onions are soft and tender and the sauce thickens and glazes the onions, about 8 minutes. Serve hot.
Storage
These will keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
What to Serve With Braised Cipolline Onions
These tiny braised onions make a holiday table look very holiday-ish. And they go with EVERYTHING you would serve for the holidays, and more.
Pair Braised Cipollini Onions With
- Roast Eye of Round Beef with Thyme and Rosemary
- Fall-Apart Roasted Pork Shoulder with Rosemary, Mustard, and Garlic
- Pork Chop Marsala
- Herbed Boneless Leg of Lamb with Mustard Crust
- Grilled Provencal Chicken and Peppers
- Chicken Marsala
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Braised Cipollini Onions with Dried Cherries (Cipollini in Agrodolce)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dried cherries (dried cranberries or raisins)
- ¾ cup hot cider
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound cippolini onions (peeled and halved)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Place the dried fruit in a small bowl and add the hot cider to cover. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and sauté, stirring only occasionally, for 8 minutes or so until they are caramelized in spots and starting to soften. Add the dried fruit with the cider, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens and glazes the onions, about 8 minutes. Serve hot.
I used Angry Orchard Hard Cider and it came out fine. Was that what you used?
I used regular cider, but I bet it was fantastic with hard cider