I Made the Viral Caramelized Onion Pasta With Over 20 Million Views, and It’s as Good as Promised

The internet strikes again, this time with a viral caramelized onion pasta that is honestly droolworthy. With over 20.6 million views and 442,000 likes, this viral pasta recipe made by Chhaya Joshi combines three of my favorite things in one recipe: caramelized onions, chili garlic oil, and cheesy pasta.

But is the recipe just as good as the video makes it look? The sizzling pasta with dollops of chili garlic and freshly grated Parmesan cheese certainly looks appetizing, but does the combination of all of these different tasty ingredients actually work? I put my taste buds to the test to find out if this recipe is worthy of such fast internet fame.

Get the recipe: Caramelized Onion Pasta

Cook the long pasta (either spaghetti, linguini, or bucatini) in a large pot of boiling salted water. When the pasta is al dente, drain and set aside.

Cut a large white or yellow onion into thin slices. Heat olive oil and butter in a cast-iron skillet over low heat, then add the slices. Cook on low, stirring constantly, until the onions have caramelized. This process will take a while, be patient. Remove the caramelized onions to a separate bowl when finished.

In the same skillet, heat the chili garlic oil. Add minced garlic, then slowly pour in the heavy cream. Sprinkle in salt, then stir until everything is combined. When the sauce is bubbling, add the cooked pasta and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Stir everything until the sauce is thick and the cheese is melted.

Serve on plates with extra chili oil, Parmesan, and chopped flat leaf parsley.

I can confidently say that the hype surrounding this recipe is absolutely warranted; it’s that good! I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. Sure, caramelizing onions is a process and takes a lot of time (40 minutes, to be exact), but the result was absolutely worth it. Especially when tossing together the pasta at the end takes less than 5 minutes and tastes incredible.

I like how the spicy chili garlic oil was added to this recipe. I think it pairs really nicely with the sweet caramelized onions and the creamy cheese sauce. I found myself dolloping extra chili garlic oil on top of my pasta, and it was awesome.

Joshi also recommends pairing this pasta with a crisp wine, like a white or a rosé. I chose a chilled Vinho Verde I had on hand, and I can confirm that this pairing absolutely works. The creamy and spicy pasta with the crisp, acidic wine made for the perfect summer dinner.

My only issue with this recipe is how sweet it was, despite the spicy chili garlic oil. The caramelized onions did give the pasta this extra hint of sweetness, and I feel like it needed to be contrasted with more salt. Maybe even a salty meat tossed in, like bacon or sausage.

However, this does not deter me from making the recipe again. In fact, I already made it a second time, but with my favorite Italian chicken sausage. So, so good.

• Use salted butter: For even more added flavor, I would use the salted butter you have on hand when caramelizing your onions. I did find I had to add a touch more salt to the finished product, and I have a feeling this could have been avoided with a seasoned butter.
• Save your pasta water: While this recipe keeps things simple by using a heavy cream for the sauce, you could also save some of the pasta water to whisk in, helping to loosen up the sauce while also thickening it up. This way the cream doesn’t curdle when it sits and you still get a nice, creamy sauce.
• Add sausage: I found this recipe to be even better with a little added protein. Bacon could work, but I can confidently say that sausage is the answer here. I like adding sliced chicken sausage (either Italian or red pepper flavored), or a spicy crumbled Italian sausage. It contrasts nicely with the sweetness in this pasta and balances everything out nicely.

Get the recipe: Caramelized Onion Pasta