This Vidalia onion tart will have everyone around you gushing about it. Even my husband – who isn’t crazy about onions, went back for a third helping!
Alternative titles for this post:
- the best thing I’ve ever eaten
- that one time I ate an entire onion tart myself (just kidding – but I could have!)
- sweet goodness in a pie crust
- do I have to share?
This Vidalia onion tart with bacon and thyme – aka the best thing I’ve ever eaten – is another creation that my mom and I came up with. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but my mom and I love to cook together. We just have a blast and we work together so well. In fact, she’s one of the few people that I truly, truly enjoy cooking with. Other people just get on my nerves.
Just kidding – I love everyone. Just not in my kitchen.
I’ve teamed up with Vidalia® Onions to bring you this tart recipe and also roasted Italian sausage with Vidalia onions and vegetables. So good!
I swear, every time I partner with a brand, I learn something new. It’s one of my favorite things about blogging. Here are some tidbits about Vidalia onions that I found really interesting and I hope you do too:
- The soil in the fields of South Georgia are what give Vidalia onions their sweet flavor. This was discovered when farmers first planted onions there in the 1930s during the Great Depression. To their surprise, the onions they planted turned out to be “sweet” instead of hot like regular onions. The discovery of our now-famous sweet onions was actually a fluke! Crazy, right?
- Vidalia onions are only grown in 20 Georgia counties – only these sweet onions can be called Vidalia onions (Hint: look for the number 4159 on the small sticker that’s on each onion to make sure it’s a true Vidalia onion).
- For over 20 years, the Vidalia onion has been the Official State Vegetable of Georgia. I had no idea!
- President Jimmy Carter presented Vidalia onions as White House gifts. (I’d take that!)
- About 12,000 acres of Vidalia onions are planted each year – all by hand!
- About 5-million 40 pound boxes of Vidalia onions are shipped out each season.
- Vidalia onions are fat-free, low in calories and a good source of vitamin C.
I think learning more about the food we eat makes it so much more enjoyable. Maybe that makes me a nerd but I’m okay with that.
Let’s talk a little more about this tart though. After you fry up some bacon, you’ll save the grease and cook the sliced onions in bacon grease. By cooking them for a good amount of time, you’ll be adding to their sweetness and giving this tart an unbelievably addicting flavor. Add in some baby kale and fresh thyme for both color and flavor. The last thing you’ll stir in is some feta. Because you should always add cheese in situations like these.
Pile the filling on a pie crust and fold the edges of the pastry over the filling . Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect because you’re going for kind of a rustic look here.
After it comes out of the oven, the onion tart will look pretty juicy. Give it 10 minutes to let the juices reabsorb and thicken.
Then just try and hold yourself back from eating the whole thing. I dare ya.
Vidalia Onion Tart with Bacon, Kale, and Feta
Ingredients
- 3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into small pieces
- 4 small Vidalia onions, cut into half-moon slices (about 5-6 cups of sliced Vidalia onions)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 loosely packed cups of baby kale
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup reduced-fat feta cheese
- 1 pie crust
Instructions
- In a saute pan (medium-sized with high sides), fry the bacon over medium-high heat.
- Remove bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Reserve grease.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Reduce heat to medium and add onions and pepper to bacon grease; continue cooking, stirring frequently. Cook onions for 10-15 minutes or until softened and translucent.
- Add baby kale, bacon, and thyme. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes or until kale is wilted. Remove from heat and stir in feta.
- Roll out pie crust to a circle about 14 inches in diameter. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (you can roll it right on the parchment paper to keep things easy!).
- Place onion mixture in the middle of the pie crust, leaving a 1 1/2-inch to 2-inch border clear around the edges. Carefully fold the edges over on top of the filling.
- Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
- Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes or more before serving warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!Verdict: OH MY GOODNESS YOU GUYS. Stop what you’re doing and go out and buy the ingredients for this Vidalia onion tart! It’s ridiculously good and it’s totally healthy because there is kale.
Husband’s take: The man is not a major onion fan, but he went back for thirds.
Changes I would make: None. NONE.
Difficulty: Moderate. I know my recipes are almost always easy, but this one is completely worth a teensy tiny bit of extra effort. And it’s really not tooooo terribly hard. Just read through the recipe ahead of time, prep everything and be gentle when folding the pie crust over. Try to avoid holes. We had one small hole and only lost a tiny bit of filling/juice. This recipe is completely doable. Do it!
No seriously, do it.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Vidalia Onions. I have been compensated for my time but as always, all opinions are my own! I want to eat this tart all day every day. Thanks for supporting Rachel Cooks by reading about brands I use and love!
Oh, how I love a sweet Vidalia. I toured the onion fields in Vidalia, GA last year – it was such a great experience with great people behind the product. It makes these onions all the sweeter for me! :)
This sounds fabulous! I can imagine just sitting and eating one whole tart all by myself. I mean, bacon and feta and kale and vidalia… my 4 food groups!
Slap a few pieces of that buttery tart on my plate. This recipe looks amazing. See you Thursday at the chat!
Oh yeah. That’s what I’m talkin’ about. We have a potluck to go to this weekend, and this little gem may just be what we take. Or maybe I’ll make two and keep one all to myself. Yum!!!
Oh, girl. Looks so good! I buy a GIANT bag of vidalia onions every time I go to Costco. We love the sweetness. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I would totally eat this by myself. No sharing! :) Pinned.
I love Vidalia onions and everything you have going on in this tart, it sounds amazing!
Rachel, This looks amazing. I love Vidalia onions and kale! Bacon will keep everyone happy in my house :)
I could probably eat an entire one of these myself, too! I love onion tarts as is, but have never had one with bacon, kale, and feta involved!
I am a major Vidalia Onion LOVER, especially when you pack it into the flaky pastry goodness and add…BACON?! UM YES, I would definitely eat the whole thing myself! Pinned!