Fast caramelized taste for soup

I want to make soup, a random soup. suppose that I want to to give it a deep taste, like a caramelized onion taste.

because I only need the taste, I don't care about texture. can I get the equivalent of caramelized onion fast? like, 15 minute fast?

I read somewhere that I can brown onion fast if I fry it first without oil,salt or anything, destroying interior speed up the process of carammelizing and browning.

or is giving the soup a storebought caramel bar able to give equivalent deep taste? or caramelized carrots, garlics? I only need the caramelized taste, because the main flavour will be from spice and herbs. the question is this: what are the fast ways (under 16minutes) to give a soup a deep,caramelized taste?