Should onions be cooked before putting on pizza?
Michael Gray
Updated on April 17, 2026
Onions should be pan sautéed with a little olive oil until soft and caramelized before putting on top of a pizza. Raw onions contain a lot of moisture and will not cook evenly if baked on top of a raw pizza dough. One exception is red onion which can be sliced very thin and placed raw on the pizza to cook in the oven.
How do you soften onions for pizza?
Sautéing the onion slices before topping the pizza is one way to jump-start the breakdown process and thus help prevent burning, but cooking them in oil or butter changes their flavor and texture, making them softer and sweeter—and that's a different topping altogether.How do you cook onions on a pizza?
Peel, then slice the onions into thin wedges. Thinly slice the garlic. Heat the butter and oil in a large wok or frying pan, tip in the onions and garlic and cook over a medium-high heat for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then until golden. Stir in the sugar and cook a minute or two longer.Do pizza toppings need to be cooked first?
Not pre-cooking your toppingsBecause pizza cooks at such high temperatures, it's tempting to just allow your toppings to cook directly on the crust. This is fine for most veggies, but never take the chance with meat. Make sure to cook all meats and even tougher veggies like broccoli ahead of time.