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If you love a bubbling, hot bowl of French onion soup topped with golden, bubbling Gruyère cheese, you’ll love this recipe. This French Onion Soup Pasta recipe takes all those flavours – rich, caramelised onions, meaty beef stock, white wine, and plenty of Gruyère – and makes them into a creamy, one-pot pasta bake with a crispy top. It is so delicious and very easy.
It’s the kind of weeknight dinner that does take a little time but it’s so hands off and builds such delicious flavour. The onions are slow-cooked until jammy and sweet, and it’s worth having a little patience here. Then the pasta is simmered right in the pan for maximum flavour, and the whole thing is finished with a generous cheesy top. Best of all? It’s made in one pan, feeds a crowd and takes less than an hour start to finish (just like my one-pan Greek chicken and potatoes)
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- The whole dish comes together in one pan for maximum ease and minimal washing up.
- It takes all the delicious flavours of French onion soup but makes it a pasta so it’s a full meal.
- The mix of the creamy, rich pasta and the crispy cheese topping gives it a contrasting texture, which is so good.
- It takes about 45 minutes, start to finish.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
White onions – large white onions are best here.
Gruyere – this is traditional in a French onion soup so I like to use it here.
Short pasta – I like shells (conchiglie) to scoop up oniony broth in every bite. But you could also use rigatoni, fusilli, penne or lumache. Any short pasta works well, one to catch the sauce. I wouldn’t use a long pasta as it can clump together in a one pot dish.
Substitutions and Variations:
Cheese: You could use a mature cheddar, emmental, parmesan or comté even. I wouldn’t use only mozzarella as whilst it turns nice and melty, it doesn’t have a strong flavour so I would use one of the previous choices alongside the mozzarella.
Vegetarian or vegan: Swap the beef stock for a rich mushroom stock, and add 1 tbsp miso paste for depth. A splash of soy sauce or tamari replaces Worcestershire. For vegan, swap double cream for oat cream and use a dairy-free melting cheese.
Lighter version: Replace half the cream with semi-skimmed milk.
Protein: Stir in leftover roast chicken or crispy bacon/pancetta into the French onion pasta.
Here’s how to make one-pot French onion soup pasta:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
ONE: Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan over a medium–low heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt and cook gently for around 30 minutes, stirring often, until they are deep golden and caramelised.
TWO: Add the garlic and thyme, and cook until fragrant, around 2 minutes. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for a minute to cook off the alcohol. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and balsamic glaze.
THREE: Add the pasta, beef stock, and water. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
FOUR: Cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has absorbed. Add the double cream and a large handful of Gruyère, stirring together. Season with salt and black pepper.
FIVE: Preheat your grill (or heat your broiler). Top with the remaining Gruyère (and a little Parmesan or mozzarella if using).
SIX: Place the pan under the grill for 5 or so minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden.
Cooking Tips:
Onions burning too quickly? Add a splash of water and lower the heat. Keep stirring – caramelisation is low and slow.
Sauce too thick or pasta sticking? Add a splash more stock or water to loosen.
Use a wide pan. More surface area means better caramelisation and faster reduction when simmering the pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
You could make the whole dish in the morning, and then just reheat and make it crispy in the evening when ready to serve. To make sure it’s fully heated through, I would undercook the pasta for 1-2 mins in the pan in the morning then place it in the oven like a pasta bake at 200c for 10-15 minutes until bubbling and hot.
Yes, replace beef stock with mushroom stock, add 1 tbsp miso paste and a splash of soy sauce. This keeps the deep savoury note without meat.
It usually means too much liquid or not enough simmering. Keep cooking uncovered to reduce, or stir in a little cornflour slurry.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
This French onion soup pasta is sweet, cheesy and crispy, so if you like this, you will also love my butternut squash pasta, pumpkin risotto or creamy lentil ragu. For more vegetarian ideas, try my tomato cavolo nero bean stew or my cheesy truffle pasta.
Easy Pasta Recipes
Creamy Sausage Pasta (Pasta alla Norcina)
Weeknight Supper
Bolognese Pasta Bake
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Marry Me Chicken Pasta
Easy Dinner Recipes
Aubergine Pasta Bake with Giant Shells and Ricotta
If you tried this French Onion Soup Pasta or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Cheesy One-Pot French Onion Soup Pasta
Ingredients
- 350 g pasta, shells, rigatoni, or fusilli work well
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 medium–large white onions, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 100 ml white wine
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp balsamic glaze, or balsamic vinegar
- 700 ml beef stock
- 250 ml water
- 200 ml double cream
- 1 handful Gruyère cheese, grated
- Optional: a little grated Parmesan or mozzarella for extra meltiness
Instructions
- Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan over a medium–low heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt and cook gently for around 30 minutes, stirring often, until they are deep golden and caramelised.
- Add the garlic and thyme, and cook until fragrant, around 2 minutes. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for a minute to cook off the alcohol.
- Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and balsamic glaze.
- Add the pasta, beef stock, and water. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has absorbed.
- dd the double cream and a large handful of Gruyère, stirring together. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Preheat your grill (or heat your broiler). Top with the remaining Gruyère (and a little Parmesan or mozzarella if using).
- Place the pan under the grill for 5 or so minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden.
- Bring the dish straight to the table and serve hot, ideally with crusty bread and a crisp green salad.
- The video below will help with this recipe.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious! I made this for my sons for dinner and they asked to have it in their lunch the next day. I used 5 year old aged Cheddar by Balderson and added small cubed pieces of leftover ham from Thanksgiving. Will definitely make again. Thank you!
This makes me so happy! Thank you!
Love a one pot recipe, and this is THE ONE. I’m not a skilled cook in the slightest, but this was delicious even with me making it. Super easy, you can’t go wrong. Will be making again!
this makes me so happy! thank you! xx