French Onion Soup Mini Pies.

Think of these like your favorite bowl of French onion soup meets a flaky, savory pastry. The perfect holiday appetizer! Buttery puff pastry filled with caramelized onions, mushrooms, herbs, and melty Gruyère cheese — baked until golden and bubbling. Everyone loves these cute little pies! Bring them to your next holiday dinner and they’ll disappear fast.

We’re continuing on with all things Thanksgiving this week — I’m trying to get the recipes to you as fast as I can. Can you believe Thanksgiving is already so close?

Every holiday meal needs a few easy appetizers, and these little pies are one of my new favorites. Normally, my go-to is a retro three-ingredient recipe that my Nonnie used to make for her parties (it’s in Half Baked Harvest Super Simple). I’ll be sharing an update on that one soon!

But for now, we have these cozy French Onion Soup Mini Pies. I’ve had them on my Thanksgiving menu since the moment I started planning. For some reason, as soon as November hits and the days turn cold and short, I always crave French onion soup.

I know so many of you love caramelized onions, and while my mom isn’t the biggest fan (so I don’t often make onion-forward dishes), these were simply too good not to share. I made them again this week, and we’ve been loving them!

They’re such a wonderful, cozy appetizer to serve this month — and again next month, too. Simple, impressive, and full of flavor.

These are the Details

Ingredients 

• salted butter
• yellow onions
• white wine – or use apple cider
• garlic
• mushrooms
• fresh thyme
• fresh sage
• broth
• heavy cream – milk is nice too
• Gruyère cheese
• puff pastry – or skip mini pies and make pastry cups
• an egg

Kitchen Tools

For this recipe, use a skillet and a sheet pan. Not much else is needed here.

Steps

Step 1: caramelize the onions

So many people get intimidated by caramelizing onions, but it’s really not tricky at all. Start by thinly slicing sweet yellow onions. Cook them down slowly in butter until they soften. Then, pour in a splash of dry white wine — or, if you don’t cook with wine, apple cider works beautifully!

Let the wine (or cider) cook down into the onions. The natural sugars help them caramelize evenly and turn a deep, golden brown.

Step 2: add everything else

Next, stir in the garlic, mushrooms, thyme, and sage. Pour in a bit of broth and cream to create a rich, savory onion soup–style base. Let everything simmer together to bring out all those cozy, French onion flavors.

Step 3: make the pies

Now for the fun part — assembling the pies! Unroll your puff pastry and cut each sheet into circles (you should get around 8 per sheet). Spoon the caramelized onions onto half of the circles, then top with a little Gruyère cheese. You can fill them generously — they’ll bubble up a bit in the oven, but that’s part of the charm!

If you’re feeding a crowd, double the recipe and use two boxes of puff pastry.

Step 4: bake

Before baking, brush the tops of each pie with a beaten egg — this gives them that glossy, golden finish. Sprinkle over more cheese and a few fresh thyme leaves.

Bake until the pastry is puffed, flaky, and beautifully golden brown, and the cheese has melted over the tops.

To serve

These bake up quickly and are best served warm with a pinch of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Guests can easily grab them by hand — perfect for nibbling and chatting during cocktail hour!

Make them ahead

These are great for prepping ahead! Assemble the pies completely, then chill them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. Or freeze for longer storage — just bake straight from the freezer, adding about 10 extra minutes of baking time.

You can also bake them off and serve them at room temperature. They’re delicious either way!

Looking for other easy holiday appetizers?? Here are my favorites: 

Whipped Goat Cheese Candied Bacon Dip

Sweet and Savory Cheesy Bacon Wrapped Puff Pastry Twists

Goat Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates

Pull Apart Roasted Garlic Pizza Dip Sliders

Lastly, if you make these French Onion Soup Mini Pies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!