This Creamy, One Pot French Onion Soup Pasta Recipe is a decadent dish filled with deeply caramelized onions, fragrant thyme, and melty Gruyère cheese, bringing all the classics of this beloved soup to your pasta bowl. Best of all? It's all made in one pot!
Have you all seen this viral pasta recipe blowing up on TikTok and Instagram? It's for good reason. It's a decadent dish perfect for French onion soup lovers. I'm not sure who originally came up with the concept, but thank you! This one-pot pasta dish takes all the best flavors of French onion soup and puts it into pasta form. I've tinkered around with this one a bit, and it's one of my new favorite pasta dishes. Prepare to fall in love with this deliciously rich and cheesy pasta dish!
In This Post
Why I Love This Creamy French Onion Pasta
- Those sweet caramelized onions! As a lover of both French onion soup and pasta dishes, this recipe brings together the best of both worlds in a single, satisfying meal. The caramelized onions lend a sweet richness to the dish and while it takes a little bit of time to make them, it's totally worth it.
- One pot! The simplicity of cooking everything in one pot means less time spent on cleanup and more time enjoying this delicious, homemade meal. (Looking for another easy one-pot meal? This Buffalo Wild Wings Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta is made in the crockpot for an incredibly easy chicken pasta dish, and my One Pot Marry Me Chicken Pasta is also delicious. Or, try this Lazy Lasagna Using Frozen Ravioli!)
- The melty cheese. I love how the cheese completely melts into this pasta sauce, creating a creamy consistency that coats each strand of pasta.
Key Ingredients
You'll find the usual suspects for French onion soup in this recipe, plus a few more. Here's what you'll need.
- Yellow onions. These form the base of our dish, caramelizing to perfection and providing that signature sweet onion flavor. You can really use any type of onion you want here. I had yellow onions on hand when I made it so that's what I used. I used about 3 large onions for this recipe - it will feel like a huge amount of onions when you first start, but they cook down a lot during the caramelizing process.
- Dry white wine and dry sherry. The white wine provides acidity to the dish and the sherry offers a subtle nuttiness.
- Fresh thyme. A fragrant herb that enhances the savory notes of the dish.
- Beef broth. Beef broth or beef stock provides a rich, savory base for the sauce and that classic French Onion Soup taste. (Don't have this on hand? Check out this post to find a great beef broth substitute.)
- Gruyere cheese. Honestly, my favorite part of French onion soup! Melts beautifully into the sauce, adding a creamy texture and nutty flavor.
- Pasta. Choose your favorite pasta! I used shells but you could use any other short pasta such as bow ties or penne, or even longer noodles to soak up the delicious sauce.
How To Make French Onion Soup Pasta
- Caramelize the onions. To start, melt butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized to a deep golden brown color, about 45-60 minutes. (Note: it really does take this long to properly caramelize onions. Any shorter and you won't get as good of a flavor from the onions.) Be sure to stir the onions every 5 minutes or so to prevent them to sticking from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the wine and sherry. Once the onions are caramelized, add a little bit of wine and sherry to the pot and allow everything to come to a boil for about 3-4 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up any brown bits of onion from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the broth. Stir in flour to thicken the mixture, then add beef broth and bring to a boil.
- Cook the pasta. Add the dry pasta to the pot and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the cheese. Stir in half of the grated Gruyere cheese until melted and combined.
- Top with cheese and breadcrumbs. Combine melted butter and panko breadcrumbs in a small bowl, then sprinkle the remaining Gruyere cheese and breadcrumbs over the top of the pasta.
- Melt and toast. Place the Dutch oven under the broiler on high for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are lightly browned and toasted.
Variations And Substitutions
This recipe is great as is but here are a few different ways to switch it up:
- Make it veggie! For a vegetarian version, substitute vegetable broth for the beef broth.
- Add some protein. Add cooked ground beef or chicken for extra protein.
- Try different cheeses. While Gruyere is the classic cheese used in French onion soup, you can experiment with different types of cheese, such as Parmesan cheese or Fontina, for some different flavors.
- Make it even creamier! I felt like the cheese added enough creaminess to this dish, but you could amp up the creaminess even more by adding a ¼ cup of heavy cream, or even half and half to this dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this recipe ahead of time?
Yes, you can prepare this one-pot meal up until step 6, then refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 2 days. When ready to serve, simply place it under the broiler to finish cooking.
Can I freeze leftovers?
While this dish is best enjoyed fresh, you can freeze any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Can I use sweet onions instead of yellow onions?
Yes, sweet onions will work well in this recipe and will add a slightly sweeter flavor to the dish. In fact, you can really use any type of onion you want or even a combination of onions.
If you make this Creamy One Pot French Onion Pasta, let me know what you think in the comments below. And don't forget to tag me @frontrangefed on Instagram so I can see your masterpiece!
More One-Pot Recipes
- One-Pot Spanish Chicken And Yellow Rice Recipe
- One-Pot Chicken Minestrone Soup
- Easy Cornbread Cowboy Casserole With Beef and Beans
- Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs With Sausage And Potatoes
- Sheet Pan Nachos
- Loaded Skillet Steak Fajita Nachos
- Truffle Pasta
- How To Make Frozen Ravioli - 5 Easy Dinner Ideas!
- Boursin Cheese Pasta With Chicken And Tomato
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta Bake
Recipe
Creamy One Pot French Onion Soup Pasta Recipe
This Creamy, One Pot French Onion Soup Pasta Recipe is a decadent dish filled with deeply caramelized onions, fragrant thyme, and melty Gruyere cheese bringing all the classics of this beloved soup to your pasta bowl. Best of all? It's all made in one pot!
Start Cooking
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil
- 5 large yellow onions peeled and thinly sliced
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup cooking sherry
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 lb pasta
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cups grated gruyere cheese
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven. Add the onions and toss to coat in the butter, then allow to cook and caramelize over medium heat (reduce the heat if the onions start browning too quickly). Cook for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
- Once the onions have caramelized, add the salt, wine, and sherry to the pot and allow everything to come to a boil. Stir in the flour and allow the mixture to thicken for a couple of minutes.
- Add the broth to the onion mixture and allow it to come to a boil. Add the uncooked pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the black pepper, the thyme leaves, and ½ of the grated gruyere cheese.
- Combine the melted butter and panko bread crumbs in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle the rest of the gruyere cheese over the top, along with the buttered breadcrumbs.
- Place the entire dish under the broiler on high for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the breadcrumbs have slightly browned. Sprinkle extra thyme over the top of the dish.
Notes
- It may be tempting to shorten the time caramelizing the onions, but don't! It takes 45-60 minutes to caramelize onions and if you don't cook them long enough, they won't develop that delicious sweet, deep flavor that we want for this dish.
- If you want an extra crispy topping, you can toss the butter and breadcrumbs into a pan and toast for 1-2 minutes before adding to the top of the pasta and placing everything under the broiler.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
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Nutrition
Calories: 457kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 18gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 778mgPotassium: 376mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 454IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 305mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
Reilly Fite says
Hi! I typically don’t make any pasta dishes without a protein but this looks so good. Do you think it would be good with cubed chicken and I could add it in with the cheese just before baking?
Sarah Jenkins says
Ooohh - good idea. Yes, it would be great with chicken, but also really good with some type of cubed beef or steak because of the beef broth. Let me know what you try and how it turns out!
Christine says
I tried this recipe and it has become a new favorite in our household! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Sarah Jenkins says
Thanks Christine! So glad you liked it!
jane says
This Creamy One Pot French Onion Soup Pasta Recipe is so good. Thanks for sharing!
Wendie says
So good even my kids loved it!
Sarah says
This is so good, tastes just like French onion soup!
Kia says
This tastes so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Sarah Jenkins says
Thank you Kia!
Tracy says
Great recipe. As much as I love French onion soup, I will never make it, so this recipe is the next best thing.
Sarah Jenkins says
Haha - Yes - all the same feels!