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the Minnesota Beef Council, with whom we’re thrilled to celebrate comfort food season this winter! As a Minnesota-based food blog, nothing makes us happier than supporting the cattle farmers & ranchers who raise incredible beef right in our backyard. All thoughts & opinions are our own.
Beefed Up French Onion Pasta Makes Classic Soup the Main Course!
We love to play around with classic French onion soup here at the PWWB House (Exhibits A & B – Cheesy French Onion Meatballs & French Onion Chicken Skillet!). While I LOVE French onion soup, it always feels like it needs something else to make it a little more substantial. Plus, my palette always needs a break from all those rich onions!
Enter, French Onion Pasta. 🎉 This dish has the basic components of a classic bowl of soup covered – sweet caramelized onions & melty gruyère cheese, check, check! – but hearty braised beef & al dente pasta make it a full-on meal. The beef plays double duty, adding rich protein & leaving behind a beautiful braising liquid for the pasta to simmer in, one pot pasta-style. It’s the fancy-feeling component of the dish, made even more special by using locally-raised Minnesota beef!
This 3-part French onion soup pasta recipe requires lots of low & slow heat, making it an ideal project for a Sunday afternoon. It starts by braising the beef until meltingly tender & collecting the remaining fortified stock. From there, simply caramelize sweet onions until golden & jammy, & cook the pasta in the braising liquid for extra richness. It may take some time, but it’s truly quite simple & the results are well worth it!
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French Onion Pasta Recipe Highlights
It doesn’t get better than caramelized onion pasta with braised beef! You’ll love this recipe because it’s…
THE PERFECT TWIST. This French onion pasta has all the classic elements of the iconic soup (like gooey gruyère & jammy caramelized onions), plus braised beef & pasta to make it a complete meal. The comfort food classic, with a little bit of something new!
HEARTY & FLAVORFUL. Meltingly tender beef braised with aromatics, herbs, & red wine adds hearty protein to the dish & creates a beautiful braising liquid for cooking the pasta.
A LABOR OF LOVE. One pot French onion pasta is the perfect recipe to make on a slow Sunday. Enjoy as it fills your house with an irresistible aroma of braised beef & sweet caramelized onions all day long. Pure comfort!
The classic soup turned into a comforting dinner! ♡ Read on to learn more about how to make this Hearty French Onion Pasta with Braised Beef & Caramelized Onions, or jump straight to the recipe & get cooking!
Key Ingredients
There are a few components you can’t skip when making French onion-anything (beautifully caramelized onions, dry sherry, gooey gruyère cheese). This French onion pasta recipe embraces these classics but also uses a few heartier add-ins. The goal is to elevate an iconic soup without compromising its beautiful flavor.
Note: Full ingredients list & measurements provided in the Recipe Card, below.
You need…
- Beef stew meat – Pre-cubed stew meat is best here! When beef is the star of a dish, we always opt for local to make it extra special. Minnesota is home to over 16,000 beef farmers & ranchers dedicated to raising cattle in a humane, environmentally conscious way. We buy Minnesota beef not only because it’s delicious & nutrient-rich, but also because it supports local food economies in a sustainable way. Learn more! ⇢ Minnesota Raised Beef.
- Braising liquid – The beef braises with plenty of aromatics (carrots, onion, garlic, sprigs of fresh thyme) plus red wine, Worcestershire sauce & beef stock to infuse the meat with tons of flavor as it slowly cooks.
- Onions – Yellow onions are best for French onion soup pasta because they are fairly mild with a naturally occurring sweetness ideal for caramelizing. Extra-sweet varieties like Vidalia onions also work exceptionally well. Truth is, most onions have enough sugar to get the job done – red onions, white onions, & shallots can all be caramelized, too!
- Dry sherry – This Spanish fortified wine enhances the flavor of the caramelized onions & helps build the French onion pasta sauce. Icons like Julia Child & Ina Garten swear by sherry in French onion soup, so we graciously follow their lead! 👑
- Pasta – Cavatappi is pictured here, but any other short pasta you love will work too – feel free to try uncooked rigatoni, orecchiette, fusilli, or shells!
- Gruyère – Shred the cheese & sprinkle it on top of the assembled pasta, letting it melt into the perfect cheese pull. It’s not French onion without it!
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Buy Now → Meal Prep Tips!
Many components of this French onion pasta recipe need long, slow periods of time to develop a rich flavor. It’s admittedly a little time-consuming, so feel free to cut down on the work by prepping ingredients ahead of time: chop all the veggies for the braising liquid (the carrots, onion, & garlic) & thinly slice the sweet onions for caramelizing, storing them separately in the fridge until you’re ready to begin cooking. You can also pre-shred the gruyère cheese so it’s all set for sprinkling. Then you’re ready to jump right into cooking!
How to Braise Beef
Braised beef is the perfect way to bulk up French onion soup pasta. Braising is a low & slow method that has the power to transform hearty cuts of beef into succulent, fall-apart tender pieces. While it sounds super elegant, braising is a completely inactive, one-pot cooking method that couldn’t be any easier. The stove does all the work!
Full Recipe Directions, including step-by-step photos, are included in the Recipe Card, below.
Brown the beef. Work in batches to sear the cubes of beef stew meat in a large Dutch oven until they have a beautiful golden crust on the entire surface. Why? ⇢ This browning is a magical, flavor-boosting process called the Maillard reaction that gives the beef a deeper, richer flavor. For best results, allow the beef to come up to room temperature before you begin (cold is the enemy of a hard sear!).
Deglaze & build the braising liquid. Drain any drippings from the large pot, then deglaze the bottom with the red wine & scrape up any browned bits. Why? ⇢ This fond is full of flavor! Add in the carrots, onion, garlic, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, & beef stock with the browned beef & bring to a boil.
Braise. Move the boiling pot to a 325-degree Fahrenheit oven to braise for about 2 hours. Why? ⇢ Low & slow heat transforms the connective tissues in the hearty beef until it’s meltingly tender. (While you wait, it’s a great time to start prepping your onions & pasta!)
Shred the beef & save that stock! Remove the beef & pull the meat until it’s shredded into bite-sized pieces. This should be nice & easy since it’s so tender! Strain the leftover braising liquid so you’re left with a beautiful, fortified infused stock. Why? ⇢ We’ll use the rich stock to cook the French onion pasta dish, one pot pasta-style.
How to Caramelize Onions
Caramelizing onions is another step, like braising beef, that benefits from low & slow heat. This process takes at least 40 minutes – don’t rush it! Beautifully caramelized onions are a key component of French onion soup pasta.
Full Recipe Directions, including step-by-step photos, are included in the Recipe Card, below.
Caramelized onion chemistry is pretty cool if you’re curious! 🤓 The carbohydrates in an onion give it a fairly high sugar content great for caramelizing. As the onions cook, the heat transforms the sucrose within the cells of the onions into simpler, small sugars (glucose & fructose) that make the onions even sweeter. They also release a bit of moisture as they cook, which causes the onions to soften.
Tips for caramelizing onions ⇢ Caramelizing onions takes a bit of time but is mostly a hands-off process. Start by giving the onions 8-10 minutes to soften & get a little color, then season them with a generous pinch of salt & continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes. At this point, they should be very richly caramelized. The closer they get to caramelization, the more often you’ll need to stir them to prevent burning. Those first 15-20 minutes are very low maintenance, but you’ll want to stand by near the end.
Assembling the One Pot French Onion Pasta
The rest of the French onion pasta recipe comes together in the same large skillet used to caramelize the onions. We don’t typically prep a lot of one pot pasta dishes here at PWWB, but it makes a ton of sense here. Simmering the pasta in the caramelized onion pan ensures we capture all the leftover rich flavor. Plus, there’s no need to dirty another dish! 🙌🏼
Full Recipe Directions, including step-by-step photos, are included in the Recipe Card, below.
Deglaze the pan. Use the sherry to deglaze the pan & capture any browned oniony bits on the bottom. Why sherry? ⇢ We love using sherry because its crisp acidity cuts through the rich flavor of the caramelly onions. Definitely seek it out! If you can’t find sherry or prefer not to cook with alcohol, use some extra beef stock with a splash of apple cider vinegar for acidity to help keep the flavors balanced.
Cook the pasta. The key to perfectly cooked one-pot pasta is the right liquid ratio & a gentle, steady simmer. How to do it! ⇢ Add 3 ½ cups of braising liquid to the skillet with the pasta (if you don’t have enough braising stock, add some water to get to this amount). Then let it simmer on a steady, low bubble with low or medium-low heat. In our experience, you’ll need to cook the pasta about 5 minutes past the al dente recommendation on the pasta packaging.
Finish & bake! Stir the shredded braised beef into the skillet with the pasta & top with shredded gruyère. Finish by baking in the oven for about 10 minutes. Why? ⇢ A final bake lets all the flavors meld together & gives the French onion pasta a melty, gooey top.
Serving Suggestions
After devoting many hours to this delicious labor of love, it’s finally time to dig in! 🙌🏼 The one pot French onion pasta ends up looking like a giant bowl of the classic soup that definitely deserves to be the main course. Use a spoon to get a big scoop of pasta with caramelized onions, super tender braised beef, & the ultimate cheese pull.
Even with al dente pasta & tender beef to balance the classic French onion flavors, this dish is still deliciously rich. Try serving it with a simple green salad tossed with light & tangy All-Purpose Vinaigrette for a bit of freshness. If you’re craving some extra veggies, try these Crispy Roasted Mushrooms with a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Some crusty bread is also perfect for soaking up all the extra sauce.
This French onion pasta recipe is decadent, flavorful, & super special – great for Sunday supper or a dinner party with friends. If you have any leftovers, add a splash of water to loosen things up before reheating them in the microwave. We don’t recommend freezing French onion soup pasta, so be sure to enjoy it within a few days.
I can’t wait for you to try this Hearty French Onion Pasta with Braised Beef & Caramelized Onions! We love its hearty twist on the classic soup, & think you’ll agree that the effort is totally well worth it.
If you do give it a try, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. We LOVE seeing your PWWB creations! ♡ Happy cooking!
More Recipes Like This:
Comfort Food Dinner Recipes
Hearty French Onion Pasta with Braised Beef & Caramelized Onions
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 ½ hours
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 6
- Category: Main Dishes, Pasta Recipes
- Method: Braise, Stovetop
- Cuisine: French-Inspired, American
Description
The ultimate French onion soup-inspired pasta! Complete with sweet caramelized onions & irresistibly melty gruyère cheese, this French onion pasta has the main components of the iconic soup covered, but the addition of fall apart tender braised beef & al dente pasta makes it a full-on meal. Rich & hearty comfort food at its finest!
This pasta dish comes together in 3 phases:
- Braised beef plays double duty in this recipe. Not only does a low & slow cook ensure that a humble cut, like stew meat, is fall-apart tender, it also creates an extra-rich fortified braising liquid, which is used to cook the pasta.
- Caramelized onions, which you’ll want to begin cooking just as the beef finishes braising. This is an easy process, but one that requires a little bit of time to coax out all of the onion’s natural sweetness.
- Pasta. Cooking the pasta one-pot pasta-style eliminates the need for an extra pot, plus simmering the pasta right in the fortified beef braising liquid ensures that we capture every last drop of flavor in this dish. Finish it with a pile of gruyere cheese, then pop it in the oven until it’s melty comfort food perfection.
It’s truly a labor of love, but the results are totally worth it! To help keep cooking streamlined & easy, prep all the ingredients (chopped & sliced veggies, chopped herbs, grated cheese, etc.) as the beef browns. By the time you’re ready to begin braising, the stove takes over & does practically all the work for you.
It’s the BEST Sunday supper, & a showstopping recipe for whenever you’re trying to impress. We hope you love it as much as we do. ♡ Happy cooking!
Ingredients
for the braised beef:
- 1 ½ pounds beef stew meat, trimmed of excess fat
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 2 medium carrots, sliced into 2–3 large pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
- 10–12 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups beef stock / beef broth
for the French onion-inspired pasta:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
- ½ cup dry sherry (see Recipe Notes)
- beef braising liquid & braised beef (above)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (roughly 8–10 sprigs or substitute with a generous pinch of dried thyme)
- 8 ounces cavatappi or short pasta of choice
- 8 ounces gruyère cheese, shredded (approx. 2 cups)
Instructions
Braised Beef:
- Beef prep: If time allows, 20-30 minutes before you’d like to begin cooking, pull the beef stew meat from the refrigerator to allow to come up to room temperature. Just before cooking, use a paper towel to pat all sides of the beef as dry as possible. Season liberally with kosher salt & ground black pepper; a good rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon kosher salt per pound of beef. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, ensuring a rack is positioned in the center of the oven.
- Brown the beef: Add the olive oil to a large, oven-safe pot with a tight fitting lid (I use a 5-qt Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Once the oil in the pot is shimmering hot, carefully add in the seasoned beef. Work in batches, as necessary, to avoid overcrowding the pot (which prevents browning). Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Transfer the browned stew meat to a plate & set aside. Repeat, as necessary, with the remaining beef. Once all of the beef is browned, carefully drain off the drippings from the pot & discard once cooled.
- Braise the beef: Return the pot to medium-high heat. Deglaze the pot with wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits formed at the bottom of the pot. Add the beef back into the pot, along with the carrots, onion, garlic, & thyme. Pour the Worcestershire sauce & beef stock/broth over top. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover & transfer to the oven to braise for 2 – 2 ½ hours, or until the beef is fall-apart tender & easy to shred with a fork (at which point I typically begin caramelizing my onions for efficient prep, French onion-inspired pasta Step 1 – below).
- Finish the braised beef: Use tongs to carefully transfer the braised beef to a plate or cutting board. If desired, use 2 forks to shred the beef into smaller bite-sized pieces, discarding any excess fat as you go. Set the shredded beef aside. Working carefully, strain the braising liquid – I set a fine mesh strainer over a large liquid measuring cup then pour the contents of the pot through; the mesh strainer catches the spent aromatics & the measuring cup captures the deliciously infused beef stock. Discard spent aromatics. Use a spoon to carefully strain & discard any excess fat that rises to the top of the beef stock. From there, add enough water to the beef stock so the total amount of liquid equals 3 ½ cups (i.e. if you have 2 ½ cups reserved braising liquid, add 1 cup of water to total 3 ½ cups for cooking the pasta). Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, ensuring a rack is positioned in the center of the oven.
French Onion-Inspired Braised Beef Pasta:
- Soften the onions: Add the butter to a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the sliced sweet onions, stirring to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes until softened & browned. The onions shouldn’t require too much attention at this point, this is a great time to finish the braised beef (Braised Beef Step 4, above).
- Caramelize the onions: Once softened, reduce heat to medium-low. Season the onions with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, stirring to combine. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, fragrant, & deeply browned, 20-30 minutes more. Helpful hints: Be sure to adjust heat as needed to allow the onions to caramelize slowly & prevent burning. The closer the onions get to reaching caramelization, the more often you will want to stir to promote even browning & prevent burning.
- Deglaze: Once the onions are caramelized, deglaze the skillet. Slowly pour in the dry sherry, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits formed on the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high to bring the wine to a simmer, then simmer 2-3 minutes or until reduced by half.
- Cook the pasta: Add the 3 ½ cups reserved braising liquid to the skillet, seasoning with the fresh thyme & ½ – 1 teaspoon kosher salt as needed. Once the liquid reaches a simmer, add the pasta. Cook, stirring often until the pasta is al dente, 10-12 minutes. In my experience, this is 4-5 minutes longer than the al dente cook time noted on the pasta package directions & you’ll want to actively adjust the heat as needed to maintain a steady simmer – not a fast boil, not a low simmer.
- Finish the French onion-inspired pasta: Once the pasta is cooked to al dente (it’s okay if it still has a little bite, as it continues to cook in the oven), stir the braised beef into the skillet & top with the shredded gruyère cheese. Transfer to the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese is as melty as you like.
- Serve: Carefully remove the skillet from the oven. Serve the pasta immediately, alongside a simple green salad or crusty bread to soak up the extra sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Sherry is a Spanish fortified wine, meaning it is a wine that is “fortified” with a distilled spirit, most often fortified with brandy. While sherry ranges in style, you will want to use dry sherry (often labeled “Fine” or “fino“) for this recipe. Dry sherry is often used in French onion soup (just take a look at Julia Childs’ & Ina Garten’s iconic recipes!), as its nutty flavor complements the nuttiness of gruyère cheese & its crispness helps cut through the rich flavor of the caramelly onions. You should be able to find dry sherry easily in the fortified wine section at your favorite wine or liquor shop. Sherry substitutes ⇢ If you cannot find dry sherry, you can substitute with dry vermouth or dry, unoaked white wine for this recipe. If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, substitute with an equal amount of beef stock with a splash of apple cider vinegar whisked into it.
- Storage & Reheating: Transfer cooled braised beef pasta to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through, adding a splash of water or beef stock as needed to loosen up the caramelized onion sauce.
- 15-Minute Meal Prep: Nearly all of the active prep work for this French onion pasta comes from prepping the veggies & shredding the cheese. Take care of this while the beef browns or up to 5 days ahead of time to keep cooking streamlined & fun:
- Braising veggies: Slice 2 medium carrots into 2-3 large pieces. Quarter 1 yellow onion & half 1 head of garlic crosswise. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (<5 minutes active prep).
- Caramelized onion pasta: Thinly slice 2 large sweet onions. Shred 8 ounces gruyère cheese, yielding approx. 2 cups. Store in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (<10 minutes active prep).
Recipe and Food Styling by Jess Larson, Plays Well With Butter | Photography by Rachel Cook, Half Acre House.
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I skipped the pasta and turned this into a pie instead. I used a roux and the braising liquid to make a gravy and left the carrots (plus a bit of celery) in there with the meat. Oh my lanta! What a pie! I’m sure the pasta is also an incredible option but this also makes an amazing pie and I will be doing it like that again. Well worth the long hours.
French onion PIE?! Yes please!! That sounds so delicious, Jess! Thanks so much for the kind review!
This was so good. I will be making this again, may add mushrooms next time(a request from the fam). Thank you
Mushrooms would be a great addition to this pasta, Gretschen! Thank you for your review, and we’re so happy to hear it turned out great for you!
Shut the front door! The flavor developed in this dish is out of this world. I know it seems like a lot of work, but it’s really not that bad and it’s more than worth it. Will absolutely be making this again and again and again.
Thanks so much Aimee! So glad it was another hit 🙂
*WARNING* if you have problems with self control, please prepare yourself prior to making this recipe. My house FILLED with the most insanely delicious aroma. I stared at the stove/oven willing the meat to braise faster and the onions to caramelize quicker. I didn’t even have the patience to wait for a weekend to make this. So. So. So. delicious.
I ended up throwing a lid on my pan when the pasta was cooking to avoid losing any liquid. This was probably only necessary because I had the heat too high to cook the pasta faster because…well….I was impatient. Self awareness is the first step?
Haha we love this review, Rachel! A house filled with smells from slowly simmered anything is the best problem to have & we’re so glad you enjoyed!! 🙂