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Get all the flavors you love from French onion soup in a delicious, creamy one-pot pasta! French onion pasta is easy enough to make for a family dinner but special enough to serve for date night.
Recipes that can pull double duty are my jam. I love when something’s easy to make but can easily be dressed up for company.
Pasta carbonara? Air fryer rotisserie chicken? Pesto pasta with shrimp? All easy enough to make on a weeknight but easy to turn into a fancy dinner if needed.
This French onion pasta is the same way. It is easy to make but has such big flavors that friends will assume it was trickier than it really was.
Let them think that! I won’t tell.
What is French onion pasta?
I love a good bowl of French onion soup. The sweetness of the caramelized onions, the rich broth, the cheesy crouton on top…it’s so good.
But sometimes it’s too hot for soup. And sometimes I don’t feel like having to assemble the bowls and put them under the broiler, etc.
So what if I told you that we could get all of the flavors we love in a bowl of creamy pasta instead?
Yep, that’s what we’ve got going on here. This French onion pasta is a one-pot pasta dish that has the sweet caramelized onions, rich flavor, and cheesy goodness of French onion soup.
I live for a good one-pot meal, as we know from my one-pot lemon chicken and orzo and one-pot beef stroganoff. And I can promise you that this one-pot French onion pasta is going into the permanent dinner rotation now, too.
How to make my French onion pasta
This pasta is the kind of dish that is fancy enough to serve for a special date-night-in or dinner party, but it’s easy enough that you can make it for a family dinner, too.
It takes a little bit of time to make but all of the steps are easy to do.
(If you’re meal prepping, head down to my meal-prep tip to learn how to make this more weeknight friendly!)
Ingredients you’ll need
A lot of the ingredients you’ll need to make this French onion pasta recipe are similar to the ingredients in my French onion soup – just with a pasta twist!
You’ll need:
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 large white or yellow onions
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ cup dry marsala
- 1 quart beef stock
- 2 cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon beef base (reduced sodium preferred)
- 1 pound uncooked short pasta (such as farfalle, rigatoni, orecchiette, etc)
- 1 cup grated gruyere cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- Additional salt and pepper to taste
3 onions serve as the caramelized onion base for this pasta. Peel and halve the onions, then slice them 1/8-inch thick. I like to use a mandoline to make this process super quick and to get even slices.
If you don’t have dry marsala on hand or don’t want to buy a whole bottle, you can swap in marsala cooking wine instead. Dry white wine would also work just fine.
This recipe uses beef stock to cook the pasta, just like how you traditionally use beef stock in the soup version. I like to boost the flavor with a bit of beef base, too.
If you need to make a vegetarian version of this recipe, use vegetable broth or stock and a vegetarian base. Better than Bouillon has a few different vegetarian options; I would use the no-beef vegetarian base, roasted garlic base, or mushroom base to add some umami flavor to the stock.
Any short pasta works great in this recipe. I really like farfalle or orecchiette pasta, but you can use your favorite shape! Feel free to swap in gluten-free pasta if needed.
Making this recipe
Just like when making the soup, French onion pasta starts out with caramelizing onions.
Grab a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot and place it over medium heat. Add the oil and melt the butter in the pot, then add the sliced onions and a generous pinch of salt.
Stir, letting the onions cook until they are translucent. Once they’re translucent, continue cooking, stirring the onions occasionally until they are caramelized.
If the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a splash of water to loosen them.
This whole process is going to take 45-50 minutes, so be patient! You can’t really rush this step.
If you haven’t caramelized onions before, read my post on how to caramelize onions for even more step-by-step photos and details.
Once the onions are caramelized, add the minced garlic and the thyme and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the wine and stir; cook for 1 more minute.
Add the beef stock, water, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and beef base to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, then add the dry pasta and stir to combine.
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheeses until melted. Add the heavy cream and stir until well combined. Taste and season with additional salt and/or pepper as needed.
At this point, the sauce will be pretty loose; let the pasta rest for 5-10 minutes to let it tighten up before serving.
If desired, garnish the pasta with additional cheese and fresh thyme before serving.
Meal prepping tip!
Onions take a while to caramelize – there’s not a lot you can do to speed things along. But if you want to make this French onion pasta recipe on a weeknight, you can prep the onions ahead of time and cut down on the time it takes to make the pasta itself!
Caramelize the onions as written in the recipe. Add the onion and thyme, then deglaze with the wine.
Move the onions to a bowl and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for 2-3 months.
When you’re ready to make the pasta, add the onions to the pot with the stock, water, and seasonings, bring to a boil, and continue with the recipe as written.
Serving suggestions
This pasta makes a great dinner on its own, especially if you serve it with a big strawberry spinach salad or garlic bread.
If you want to add some protein, try serving it alongside seared strip steak or steak roulade, roasted chicken thighs, or even pan-seared salmon.
French Onion Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 large white or yellow onions peeled, halved, and sliced ⅛-inch thick
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ cup dry marsala or marsala cooking wine
- 1 quart beef stock
- 2 cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon beef base reduced sodium preferred
- 1 pound uncooked short pasta such as farfalle, rigatoni, orecchiette, etc)
- 1 cup grated gruyere cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup cream
- Additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the butter and oil in a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onions along with a big pinch of salt; stir and let cook until the onions are translucent. Once translucent, continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the onions are caramelized. This whole process will take around 45-50 minutes, so be patient. If the onions start to stick, you can add a splash of water to the pot, stirring to loosen them.
- Once the onions are caramelized, add the garlic and thyme. Stir to combine and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Add the marsala cooking wine and stir, cooking for 1 additional minute.
- Add the stock, water, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and beef base to the pot. Increase heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and stir to combine. Reduce the heat back to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the pasta is cooked through and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheeses until melted. Add the cream and stir until well combined. Taste and season with additional salt and/or pepper as desired.
- Allow the pasta to rest for 5-10 minutes to allow the sauce to tighten up before serving. If desired, top with additional cheese and garnish with more fresh thyme.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
