Caramelized Onion Goats Cheese Tart (Printable Format)

Savory tart with caramelized onions and goats cheese on crispy, buttery pastry.

# What You Need:

→ Pastry

01 - 1 sheet (approximately 8.8 oz) ready-rolled shortcrust pastry

→ Caramelized Onions

02 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
03 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
04 - 4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
05 - 1 teaspoon sugar
06 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
07 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
08 - 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

→ Filling

09 - 5 oz soft goats cheese, crumbled
10 - 3 large eggs
11 - 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon double cream
12 - 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
13 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
14 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish (optional)

15 - Extra thyme sprigs
16 - Fresh arugula

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out pastry to fit a 9-inch tart tin. Press pastry into the tin, trimming excess edges. Prick base all over with a fork and chill for 10 minutes.
02 - Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove beans and parchment, bake an additional 5 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside.
03 - Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add sliced onions, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook gently, stirring frequently, for 20 to 25 minutes until onions are soft and golden. Stir in thyme and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
04 - In a bowl, whisk together eggs, double cream, whole milk, ground nutmeg, salt, and pepper until fully combined.
05 - Spread caramelized onions evenly over the chilled pastry base. Distribute crumbled goats cheese on top. Pour the egg and cream mixture over the filling.
06 - Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the filling is set and golden on top. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
07 - Optionally garnish with extra thyme sprigs and fresh arugula. Serve warm or at room temperature.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • The caramelized onions do all the heavy lifting flavor-wise, so you can make this with pantry staples and still impress people.
  • It works for brunch with a salad, lunch as a light main, or dinner when you want something that feels effortless but tastes intentional.
  • The pastry gets crispy on the bottom and the filling stays creamy in the middle—it's honestly hard to get wrong once you've blind baked the shell.
02 -
  • Do not skip blind baking the pastry—if you don't, the bottom will stay soggy and ruin the whole thing, learned that the hard way.
  • The caramelized onions need real time to develop their sweetness; rushing them on high heat just gives you burnt onions that taste bitter.
  • Watch the filling in the last few minutes of baking; it sets faster than you'd think and you want it creamy, not rubbery.
03 -
  • Make the caramelized onions the day before if you want; reheat them gently and they actually taste better after the flavors have had time to settle.
  • If your goats cheese is very soft and hard to scatter, crumble it straight from the fridge when it's firmer, or freeze it for 15 minutes first.

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