Shallot confit is pure kitchen magic. Slowly roasted in olive oil until meltingly tender and deeply caramelized, their sharp bite mellows into a jammy, melt-in-your-mouth sweetness — and the infused shallot oil is just as valuable.
Slow-roasted shallots make everything better: toast, pasta, roasted vegetables, eggs, grain bowls. Simple ingredients. Minimal effort. Maximum payoff.
Why this Shallot Confit Recipe Works
- Transforms raw and pungent raw shallots. Slow roasting shallots brings out their sweetness resulting in a tender, rich and jammy shallot morsels.
- Multi-use condiment. Delicious enough to eat on its own or use to enhance any savory dish. The infused oil, deeply flavorful and fragrant, is equally valuable there’s infinite possibilities!
- Keeps well in the fridge! The shallot confit will keep up to 2 months, in an airtight container, completely submerged in olive oil.
What are Shallots?
Shallots are a type of onion with a mild flavor and hint of garlic (yum!). They’re members of the allium family. Clutch to cooking and building flavor, including onions, garlic, scallions, leeks, and chives.
I’m officially a more-alliums-the-better-kinda gal!
What is Confit?
Confit literally means ‘to preserve’ in French and refers to any type of food cooked slowly, at a low temperature, for a long period of time.
The most classic example is duck confit, but the term can be used to describe any ingredient.
Here we’re cooking shallots, slowly in olive oil, with fresh herbs, salt and pepper. That’s it.
Please don’t be intimated by this seemingly fancy schmancy sounding French word.
It’s a simple and pretty passive cooking technique. Most of the active work in this recipe is peeling the shallots.
How to Make this Shallot Confit
Peeling shallots is a labor of love.
Peel shallots and place in a baking dish with olive oil, fresh herbs and spices. Cover with foil and bake until fork tender.
Recipe can be scaled up or down; spices and herbs can be experimented with and swapped.
Notes: It’s an all- other -alliums-are-welcome-kinda recipe.
Keep in mind that alliums vary in cooking time and adjust accordingly.
Uses for Shallot Confit
Add the shallots and infused oil to vinaigrettes, dips and spreads, cheese plates, roasted veggies, grilled meats, spread on flatbreads, toasts, sandwiches and pizzas, spooned over pasta and more!
Cooks Tips
- Small shallots can be left whole; larger ones can be halved.
- Don’t toss the shallot-infused olive oil — it’s liquid gold. Pour it over everything - toast, veggies, eggs, pasta, and more.
- Shallot confit will keep 1–2 months in the refrigerator, stored in an airtight container with the shallots completely submerged in olive oil. Let cool before storing.
- It’s an equal allium opportunity recipe! Garlic, onions, leeks, and other alliums can be used in place of shallots — just keep in mind cooking times vary and adjust accordingly.
- When possible, buy local shallots grown sustainably.
More Easy Confit Recipes
Love low-and-slow-roasted flavor? Try these other easy confit recipes:
- Garlic Confit - meltingly tender, caramelized, spreadable garlic cloves with fragrant infused garlic oil.
- Tomato Confit - low-and-slow roasted cherry tomatoes in olive oil until sweet, jammy, sweet and bursting with umami.
Same technique, different seasonal personality.
If ya tried it, I'd love to hear — leave a comment below and tag me on IG, @danielagerson, so I can see too!
There's a whole lot more seasonal recipes and colorful produce guides waiting for ya on the site.
Let's make waves in the kitchen.
Shallot Confit
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds shallots peeled, halved if large
- 3 cups extra virgin olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs thyme and/or basil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Peel the shallots, halving any large ones and leaving small ones whole.
- Place the shallots in an ovenproof dish. Cover completely with olive oil, add the herbs, and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
- CCover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the shallots are fork-tender, about 1 hour (exact time will depend on the size of the shallots).
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1-2 months, completely covered with olive oil.
Notes
- Small shallots can be left whole; larger ones can be halved.
- Don’t toss the shallot-infused olive oil — it’s liquid gold. Pour it over everything - toast, veggies, eggs, pasta, and more.
- Shallot confit will keep 1–2 months in the refrigerator, stored in an airtight container with the shallots completely submerged in olive oil. Let cool before storing.
- It’s an equal allium opportunity recipe! Garlic, onions, leeks, and other alliums can be used in place of shallots — just keep in mind cooking times vary and adjust accordingly.
- When possible, buy local shallots grown sustainably.
I love garlic confit - can't believe I never thought of shallot confit - so smart!
Thank ya so much Lizzy! Both the shallots and that infused oil come out dreamily delicious! I'm pretty much an any-allium-confit kinda gal! Thanks so much for the sweet feedback :).
Never tried having Shallot Confit. It sounds really delicious. Maybe it's time for me to try something new. Can't wait to go to my kitchen.
Yesssss!!! Def try it I *highly* recommend! Confit-ing the shallots turns the into luxuriously tender morsels that melt in your mouth! And that oil can be used in so many delicious ways too!
This one is a new one for me but I'm always looking for some new fun recipes to try. I love the versatility for this too. I can't wait to stir this into some hummus or top a pizza with it!
Yesssss so super stoked to hear that Heather! These shallots are dreamy on just about anything savory... on hummus or pizza sounds absolutely positively delish to me :)!
This confit looks really delicious with shallots, and I for sure am going to try it. Thanks for sharing.
Absolute pleasure Colleen and I'm so super stoked to hear you're gonna try this! Please do let me know how it comes out...I'd absolutely love to hear :).
I love this recipe! It's so full of flavor, and I am imagining all of the things that I can serve this with.
Yessss exactly Anne! There's so many uses for these shallot confit jewels and the infused oil! Happy cooking + serving :)!
Now, this is an interesting recipe I need to try. Growing up, the shallot is a staple ingredient; hence, we always have them ready anytime or in cooking. Can't wait to try this version.
Thanks so much for sharing Linda! Where did ya grown up I'm so curious. And very stoked to hear you're trying this :)!
I am a big lover of both shallots and olive oil. Can't imagine what I'm missing without that flavoured oil in my life. I like the idea of using them on pizza. Definitely going to try this recipe!!
Yessss!!! So stoked to hear that Eva! I've been drizzling this shallot oil on all my savory dishes lately... it's scrumptiously delicious!
What an absolutely beautiful dish you have here! I've never had this and I'm very intrigued to give it a try! Thanks for making this look so appealing!
Absolute pleasure Leslie! Thanks so much for the super sweet feedback! Would love to hear how it goes after ya make it :).
This is one beautiful and creative dish!! You have intrigued me and now I need all these yummy flavors of Shallot Confit in my life. Thanks for sharing this , it is now on my radar and I will be trying this ..another reason to love shallots 🙂
Absolute pleasure Debbie and thanks so much for the super sweet feedback! Stoked to hear you're intrigued and wanna make this :). And yes I agree.... ya need some shallot confit goodness in your life!
OMG this is EPIC! I am not a huge fan of regular onions but I LOVE shallots, especially when they are roasted or as a confit! I cannot wait to try this!
So super stoked to hear that Lori! Confit-ing the shallots turns them into mouthwateringly tender shallots that melt in your mouth! And the oil can be used in so many delicious ways too! Thanks so much for the feedback :).
Wow. This is a beautiful dish and I am in love with the flavor combos! I’ve never had anything like this so I’m excited to share this recipe around the table with my family!
So super stoked to hear that Amy! Hope you're family absolute adored it! Did you use the yummy shallot oil for anything else :)?
Do you think you could freeze this? I was given A LOT of shallots from my farming daughter. I don't know enough people who would use it in two months time.
Deb
Yep! Allow the shallot confit to cool, transfer to an airtight container, covered with oil, and freeze up to 3 months. That's so rad that your farming daughter gave ya a lot of shallots. ENJOY :).