This is a unique spin on one of my favorite soups of all time – French onion soup! All of the traditional flavors in that soup come together perfectly for this creamy French onion pasta – the buttery caramelized onions, the dry red wine, and creamy gruyere cheese all make this feel just like the original, with a fun twist!

I have been home sick with Covid for the last 6 days, and I was really craving something savory and cozy and this dish was just that. With the buttery onions, savory beef broth, and creamy gruyere cheese, there is no shortness of flavor in this one. It is salty and umami and exactly what my body was craving.

LET’S BREAK DOWN THIS CREAMY FRENCH ONION PASTA

CARAMELIZED ONIONS

A true labor of love. I’m very confident that any dish that incudes caramelized onions is going to be a good one. Not only because they’re loaded with butter (which *does indeed* make everything better), but because they require TIME and PATIENCE. They cook low and slow, and to get them really caramelized you really have to tend to them frequently. It will be a true test to your patience in the kitchen, it always is for me – that’s for sure.

3 things to remember for caramelized onions: Low and slow, lots of butter, patience.

DRY RED WINE

For this specific recipe I used a dry red wine – a Cabernet Sauvignon to be exact. I found one at Trader Joe’s for legitimately $3.99. So, I’m going to assume this one will NOT be one I’ll be drinking. The red wine helps to caramelize the onions at a quicker rate. It also gives that slight tang to the creamy french onion pasta that you often find in the traditional soup.

GRUYÈRE CHEESE

This cheese is a necessity for this recipe – I wouldn’t use substitutions for this one. It is the cheese that is traditionally used in the recipe. Gruyère is creamy, melty, and has a deep savory flavor. It pairs really well with the sweetness from the caramelized onions and the acidity from the red wine. This cheese is on the pricier side, but you should only need one block of it for the recipe.

BEEF BROTH

You can use whatever brand of beef broth you’d like here. I used Kettle & Fire’s beef bone broth for a little added nutritional benefits, but feel free to grab whatever your heart desires. I used beef broth instead of chicken broth in this because it’s richer in flavor, a bit saltier, and is consistent with the traditional recipe.

Other fun additions to add to this pasta

1. MUSHROOMS – you would add these in towards the end of your onions caramelizing. They would sauté with your onions for a bit until they too are cooked through and slightly caramelized. Mushrooms would add in another vegetable while also bringing in more umami flavor.
2. BREADCRUMBS – Traditional French onion soup is served with bread under the melted cheese. The pasta here definitely makes up for that part, but adding toasted breadcrumbs on top of your melted cheese would be a nice little crunch addition to this dish.
3. PARMESAN CHEESE – If you wanted to add in another salty cheese, freshly grated parmesan right out of the oven would be a nice touch to this as well.

As always, let me know in the comments if you make this!

Creamy French Onion Pasta

megan sheley

Everyone's favorite soup in pasta form! Including all of the classic French Onion Soup flavors – the savory caramelized onions, creamy gruyere cheese, and dry red wine, this pasta tastes exactly like the soup, just in a different form!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, French

Servings 4 people

Equipment

• 1 large soup pot
• 1 oven safe dish

Ingredients

  

• 2 large white onions sliced thin
• 5 tbsp butter
• 1 lb short pasta I used rigatoni
• 3/4 cup dry red wine I used a cheap Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1/2 tbsp garlic minced
• 3.5 cup beef broth
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt add more to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper add more or less to taste
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
• 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese I buy the block and shred at home
• 1/4 tsp cayenne

Instructions

 

• Thinly slice your white onions and begin caramelizing by heating 3 of your 5 tbsp of butter in a large soup pot. Set heat to low-medium.
• Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees.
• Sauté your onions for about 8-10 minutes until softened. Add in 1/4c red wine, continue sautéing and stirring frequently until wine is absorbed. Add in another 1/4c of red wine and continue sautéing until absorbed. This whole process of caramelizing onions should take about 30 minutes. Add the other 2 tbsp of butter if you need more to caramelize – the onions should not be dry as you do not want them to burn! Patience here!
• Add in fresh thyme leaves, garlic, and cayenne and stir. Sauté for another 5-7 minutes. Your onions should be really cooked down and deeply caramelized (this process takes time and patience). Keep your heat low and make sure to not char or burn your onions.
• Add in the last of your wine (1/4c), heavy cream, beef broth, worcestershire sauce, and the pasta. Stir well. Leave uncovered and continue stirring frequently until liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente (about 10-11 minutes).
• Add in 3/4c of your gruyere cheese and mix well. Taste test and add more salt or cheese to your liking. Test your pasta's doneness as this will determine your baking step.
• Transfer your pasta to an oven safe baking dish. Top with more gruyere cheese.
• If your pasta is fully cooked & already soft, cover with cheese and BROIL for 3 minutes. Remove from oven. If your pasta is al dente (slightly undercooked), bake for 8-10 minutes and then broil for 2 minutes at the end.
• Remove from oven, top with more cheese if you please, fresh time, and serve hot! Enjoy!

Keyword dinner, easy recipes, pasta