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This One Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta Bake is the ultimate cold weather comfort food. Think French onion soup, with the addition of pasta, a creamy sauce, and melty Gruyere cheese. The secret to this one-pot pasta is a little bit of wine, to keep those classic French onion soup flavors we love so much. This pasta dish is great any night of the week but is also perfect for your next dinner party. Every last bite is delicious…everyone LOVES a GOOD cheesy baked pasta…especially when caramelized onions are involved. This dish will be your new go-to when serving family and friends over the holidays…and other times throughout the year too.
It’s that time of year when all I want to be cooking, eating, and sharing with you is comfort food recipes. As I type this, I’m looking out my NYC window to freezing cold rain. The question I keep asking myself is, when will the rain turn to snow? I’m channeling my mom and little sister (snow dance please!) and putting out the positive thoughts for snow. Because what’s more magical than a snowy NYC in December? It’s going to happen. I will document it for you all.
Regardless of rain or snow, December days call for only the best comfort foods and easy dishes that we can feed our friends and family. When I return home from New York, I’ll only have a week or so until the bulk of my family members start arriving for the Christmas holiday. With that in mind, I’ve been working to come up with some creative recipes to feed everyone this year. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over my many years of serving large groups, it’s that pasta dishes are key.
Most everyone enjoys pasta and what I love about a baked pasta is that I can prepare everything in advance if need be. This pasta is extra special though…if you love French onion soup, you will absolutely love this pasta bake. It has all the rich flavors you get in a bowl of steaming French onion soup. But made better with the addition of pasta and a touch more cheese. You simply cannot go wrong.
Here are the details.
Start with the onions. They need to be deeply caramelized, just as you do when making French onion soup. My secret to the best caramelized onions? Butter, a touch of honey, and in today’s case…dry red wine.
The butter is used for obvious reasons…fat, flavor, and deliciousness. The honey helps to cook and caramelize the onions faster. I always find these ingredients to be key when trying to achieve the perfect caramelized onions.
Now, the wine. Use a dry red wine. Cabernet Sauvignon is pretty traditional in most French onion soups, so I wanted to carry those flavors over into this pasta. You’ll cook about half of the wine into the onions. This not only helps the onions to caramelize quickly and evenly, it also infuses the onions with incredibly rich flavor.
If you prefer not to cook with wine, I recommend using about half a cup of pomegranate or cranberry juice when caramelizing the onions. For the remaining amount of wine called for (another half cup), use chicken or vegetable broth.
Once the onions have deeply caramelized, add mushrooms, garlic, and fresh thyme. Cook all together until the mushrooms have caramelized. Add the broth and dry pasta right into the pot. I know it may seem odd, but trust me, it works. Just bring the mix to a boil and cook until the pasta is al dente. Cooking the pasta together with the sauce only takes a few minutes and saves you from having to break out another pot. It’s my secret to keeping pasta recipes simple and easy.
When the pasta has cooked, add the cream and a little cheese. Transfer everything to the oven and bake until the cheese on top is melty and golden and everything looks and smells delicious.
The best thing about one pot recipes?
Everything starts in one pot, and ENDS in the very same pot. YES. Dishes be gone!! Granted, I tend to transfer my dishes to a baking dish for a prettier look, but if using an oven safe pot, you can bake this right in the very same pot you started with.
One and done and so easy. It’s just what’s needed this time of year, easy dinners that are incredibly delicious.
Serve this with…
Since this is such a hearty pasta, I love serving this with a bright salad. This pretty salad is always my favorite (I leave the chickpeas off when serving this as a side salad).
Of course, you can also add some bread, which is never a bad idea in our house.
With that, you’ll have a complete dinner that will be great any night of the week. My recommendation? Serve this up on the next super cold night when you’re craving a steaming bowl of soup…but also a plate of mac and cheese. This pasta is soup and mac and cheese in one. It’s creamy, cheesy, and swirled with caramelized onions. So…it’s insanely GOOD!
If you make this One Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta Bake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and 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!
watch the how to video:
One Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta Bake.
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 515 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2-3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 cups cremini or wild mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth (use vegetable broth, if vegetarian)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (use soy sauce, if vegetarian)
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- 1 pound of your favorite short cut pasta
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper using more or less to your taste
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, whole milk, or canned coconut milk
- 1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (optional)
- 2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Melt the butter, onions, and honey together in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. At this point, you want to slowly add 1/2 cup of the wine, 1/4 cup at a time, until the wine cooks into the onions. Continue to cook another 8-10 minutes until you've used the 1/2 cup of wine and the onions are deeply caramelized. 2. Add the garlic, mushrooms, thyme, and season with salt and pepper, cook another 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup wine, the broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and the pasta. Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir frequently until the pasta is al dente and the broth has been absorbed, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the cayenne, cream, gorgonzola, if using, and 1/2 cup gruyere cheese. Remove from the heat.3. If needed, transfer the pasta to a baking dish. Top with the remaining gruyere cheese.4. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned on top. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh thyme. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on December 11, 2019
I had all the wrong ingredients for this. I had no yellow onions, so I used red. I had no cream, so I used milk. I had no mushrooms so I threw some spinach and extra onions in. I had no gruyere or Gorgonzola so I used assorted parmesans along with some white cheddar I had in my fridge. Only dried thyme, and full sodium chicken broth. It was ~incredible~! So so so good and my entire family loved it.
Haha that is so amazing!!! I love that you still tried this with what you have and it turned out so well for you, Kat! Thank you! xTieghan
Nothing can beat a one pot meal the less dishes the better? This would be the perfect go to meal for any weeknight. Well done on the recipe.
Thank you so much Shanna!! xTieghan
Excellent dish, very tasty and filling?
Everyone loved it so now, unfortunately, no no leftovers ?
That is so great!! Thank you so much Anne! xTieghan
HI it’s 2020 and I’m making this for the second time in a month. A ton of people saw me post photos on Instagram the last time I made it, demanding to know the recipe. I’m sure you already know this but…it’s incredible.
Wow that is so amazing! Thank you so much Stefania! xTieghan
Another fantastic recipe!
Thank you so much Ellie! xTieghan
Another winner! My family and I loved this dish! I added asparagus and prosciutto and a crusty herby baguette and it was unreal!! Thank you T!
Thank you Whitney! xTieghan
Can I substitute the mushrooms for something else? What would you recommend?
Hi Laura,
You can leave the mushrooms out and add another veggie that you enjoy! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This is So yummy!! I tweaked a few things because I didn’t have all the ingredients, but even with Greek yogurt and diluted red wine vinegar As subs, it was delicious! I love the flavor, I haven’t had anything like it before. Next time I’d love to add some spinach!
You definitely should! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Chloe! xTieghan
Could I get the “old” recipe of this? I make this all the time and prefer the other one. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks…
Hey Anne, this is the original recipe. Nothing has changed. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
This recipe was fantastic. Thank you for sharing it with us. The only change I made was I used chickpea pasta. Everything else was as written. Excellent instructions.
Yum! I am so glad this turned out so well for you Linda! xTieghan
Love pasta dishes without using tomatoes. This recipe had great depth of flavor. Couldn’t stop eating it, it was excellent. This will now be a In the Saturday rotation. Also loved all the suggestions of ingredients such as heavy cream or coconut milk. Your recipes are well written, and precise.
You really are a truly gourmet cook.
As always, thank you!
Cheryl
Aw you are too kind, Cheryl! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I hope you continue to love others of mine! xTieghan
I am curious about your thoughts of halving the recipe ( or other pasta bakes)? I have made a few and all delicious and making this tomorrow. But it’s just 2 of us and makes so much. I usually freeze a little but still cannot get through the leftovers! Thanks.
HI! Yes, you can easily just cut this recipe (an other pasta bakes) in half. That works really well! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I have made a lot of your recipes, but THIS ONE IS AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING! Thanks so much!
Thank you so much Mari! xTieghan
I messed up a bit and mixed most of the cheese in, so didn’t have as much for topping. Totally delicious! Definitely will make again.
Thank you so much Arlene! xTieghan
So. GOOD! What in this world is better than carmelized onions and mushrooms?! Pretty much nothing! Thank you for sharing!
AGREED. They are so good! I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Taylor! Thank you! xTieghan