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French onion soup pasta fills a large gray Staub skillet that sits atop a white and gray marble surface. A dark gray linen napkin rests underneath the skillet while a small white bowl filled with fresh thyme, a white pasta bowl filled with a serving of french onion pasta, a glass of white wine, and pieces of crusty bread rests alongside. A silver spoon rests inside of the skillet for serving.

Hearty French Onion Pasta with Braised Beef & Caramelized Onions

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 4 reviews
  • Author: Jess Larson
  • 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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

Scale

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:

  1. 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.Seasoned beef stew meat rests atop a white plastic cutting board atop a white textured surface. A small ceramic bowl filled with kosher salt rests alongside with a small wooden spoon resting inside.
  2. 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.Browned beef stew meat rests atop a white plate that sits atop a white marble surface.
  3. 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).Browned beef, carrots, onion, garlic, and thyme fill a large white Staub Dutch oven. The pot sits atop a white and gray marble surface.
  4. 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.Shredded braised beef stew meat rests atop a white oval platter that sits atop a white and gray marble surface. Two forks rest on the platter and a large glass mason jar filled with reserved beef stock rests alongside the platter.

French Onion-Inspired Braised Beef Pasta:

  1. 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).Thinly sliced sweet onions fill a large gray Staub cast iron skillet that sits atop a white and gray marble surface. The onions soften and wooden spoon rests inside of the skillet for stirring.
  2. 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.Caramelized sweet onions fill a large gray Staub cast iron skillet that sits atop a white and gray marble surface. A wooden spoon rests inside of the skillet for stirring.
  3. 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.Caramelized sweet onions, deglazed with sherry fill a large gray Staub cast iron skillet that sits atop a white and gray marble surface. A wooden spoon rests inside of the skillet for stirring.
  4. 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.Cavatappi pasta cooks inside of reserved beef stock along with caramelized onions in a large gray Staub cast iron skillet. The skillet sits atop a white and gray marble surface and a wooden spoon rests inside of the skillet for stirring.
  5. 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.French onion pasta with braised beef and caramelized onion fills a large gray Staub cast iron skillet. The pasta has been finished with melted gruyère cheese and the skillet rests atop a white and gray marble surface with a dark gray linen napkin resting underneath the skillet at center.
  6. 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!Three servings of french onion soup pasta fill three separate white pasta bowls arranged atop a white and gray marble surface. A spoon rests inside two of the bowls and a piece of crusty bread rests a top one of the bowls. The bowls are surrounded by two glasses of white wine, a piece of crusty bread, and a small white ceramic bowl filled with fresh thyme. One blue and white striped linen napkin rests underneath one of the bowls.

Equipment

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).

Find it online: https://playswellwithbutter.com/french-onion-pasta-with-braised-beef-and-caramelized-onions/