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Zibelechueche (Bernese Onion Tart)
A crisp butter shortcrust filled with a heap of slowly softened onions set in a creamy egg custard with nutmeg, the tart of Bern’s November onion market.
Swiss (Bernese) · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 55 min · plus 30 min hands-off time
~407 cal · 9g protein · 39g carbs · 24g fat · 3g fiber · 7g sugars · 14g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Zibelechueche is Bernese dialect for onion cake, and it belongs to one day of the year above all: the Zibelemärit, Bern's onion market, held on the fourth Monday of November. Farmers from the surrounding countryside bring in mountains of onions and garlic, many of them braided into ropes and wreaths, the stalls open before dawn, and the old town fills with people eating slices of hot onion tart with a mug of mulled wine. The market is listed among Switzerland's living traditions.
The tart itself is plain Swiss home baking. A simple dough of flour, butter, salt and cold water lines a tart tin; a big pile of sliced onions is softened slowly in butter until sweet and translucent but not browned; and a custard of eggs, milk and cream seasoned with nutmeg is poured over before it goes into a hot oven. Some cooks stir a little grated Gruyère into the custard.
It is eaten warm, cut into wedges, as a starter or with a green salad as a light meal, and in Bern it is the taste of late autumn.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 200 g plain flour, plus a little for rolling
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus more for the custard
- 80 g cold butter, diced
- 100 ml cold water, add the last of it only if the dough needs it
- 800 g onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp butter (for the onions)
- 3 eggs
- 125 ml milk
- 125 ml single cream
- a good pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
- to taste black pepper
Instructions
- 1Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse flakes. Add most of the water and bring it together quickly into a soft dough without kneading, adding the rest only if needed. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- 2Meanwhile melt the butter in a wide pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until soft and translucent but not browned. Season with a little salt and let them cool.✎ Chef’s noteTake your time here: the onions should turn sweet and floppy, not coloured. Browned onions make a darker, bitter tart.
- 3Heat the oven to 200C (400F). Roll the dough out thinly and line a 26 cm tart tin, letting it come up the sides. Prick the base all over with a fork.
- 4Whisk the eggs with the milk, cream, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spread the cooled onions over the pastry and pour the custard over them.
- 5Bake on the lowest shelf for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custard is set and golden and the pastry is crisp underneath. Let it stand for 10 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve warm.
Bernese tradition, baked for the Zibelemärit onion market.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bern. The country's language border is nicknamed the Roestigraben, the rosti ditch, running between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland, which shows how far one potato cake has travelled as a piece of shorthand. The canton of Bern itself sits on both sides of that line.
🗺️
Switzerland. Rosti belongs to the German-speaking side, so firmly that the cultural line between German and French Switzerland is called the Roestigraben, the rosti ditch. Raclette is both a cheese and a meal, the wheel melted at the cut face and scraped onto potatoes with pickled onions and gherkins beside them.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Switzerland
RöstiSwitzerland’s golden potato cake, crisp outside, tender inside, flipped whole and served with pride.
Swiss Cheese FondueA communal pot of melted Gruyère and Emmental with white wine and garlic, for dipping bread.
ÄlplermagronenAlpine macaroni baked with potato, cream, and cheese, topped with fried onions and served with applesauce.
Browse all Switzerland recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Mould or tin, Whisk.
Storing it: Store in an airtight container. Most keep 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and longer refrigerated.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Zibelechueche (Bernese Onion Tart)?
A crisp butter shortcrust filled with a heap of slowly softened onions set in a creamy egg custard with nutmeg, the tart of Bern’s November onion market.
Where does Zibelechueche (Bernese Onion Tart) come from?
Zibelechueche (Bernese Onion Tart) is a Swiss (Bernese) dish from Bern, Switzerland.
Can Zibelechueche (Bernese Onion Tart) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Zibelechueche (Bernese Onion Tart) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Zibelechueche (Bernese Onion Tart) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Zibelechueche (Bernese Onion Tart) take to make?
About 1 h 55 min in all: 30 minutes prep and 55 minutes cooking, plus 30 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 6.
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