Food World Cuisines European Cuisines French Cuisine 16 French Onion Recipes Beyond Soup, From Pasta to Baked Brie Melty caramelized onions and cheese make everything better. By Cheryl Slocum Cheryl Slocum Cheryl Slocum is a James Beard Award-winning food writer, editor, and recipe developer. She has spent over 16 years creating food and entertaining content that resonates with the home cook. She ran the food department and test kitchen at Country Living for 10 years and was on staff as the senior editor at Cooking Light. Cheryl has also worked in a freelance capacity at Martha Stewart Living, Everyday with Rachel Ray and Food Network Magazine. As a contributor, her writing and recipes have appeared in several top publications including O, The Oprah Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Eating Well, and Essence. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 5, 2024 Close Photo: Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Start with thinly sliced onions, cooked slowly to coax out their sugar so that they reach a deeper level of sweetness while still retaining their savory, oniony character. Add a splash of sherry and a tiny dollop of beef bouillon paste, plus a smattering of Gruyère cheese, and you get the recognizable (and beloved) flavors of French onion soup. French onion soup is about as comforting and comforting as food gets. We'll never tire of this combination of flavors, and have long been willing to pair them with baked cheese, a bowl of pasta, a hearty sandwich, and more. Try it yourself with these easy French onion–ified foods, perfect for a bistro meal at home, or any night that needs melty cheese. 01 of 16 French Onion Loaded Baked Potatoes Food & Wine / Photo by Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Sue Mitchell Pack your baked potato with Frenched onions, Gruyère cheese, and a sprinkle of fresh thyme. Then pop the potatoes under the broiler to get the cheese nice and melty. Before serving, add a dollop of sour cream — or crème fraîche, if you’re feeling fancy. get the recipe 02 of 16 French Onion Pasta Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen The jammy, sweet caramelized onions in this recipe — combined with an umami-packed mixture of broth, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, Parmesan and cheese — make this French onion pasta unforgettable. The sauce, based on classic French onion soup, has body and richness, while still being light enough to delicately coat the al dente bucatini. get the recipe 03 of 16 French Onion Baked Brie Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Amelia Rampe If that first spoonful of French onion soup — with toasted bread, melted cheese, and savory caramelized onions — is your favorite, then you’ll love this appetizer, which is a decadent mash-up of French onion soup and baked Brie. Get the Recipe 04 of 16 Caramelized Onion and Bread Soup with Brûléed Blue Cheese Greg DuPree In their book Wine Food, sommelier Dana Frank and recipe developer Andrea Slonecker pair funky, bright wines with flavorful, vegetable-forward dishes, including this French onion soup recipe. In this vegetarian version of classic French onion soup, blue cheese and Oloroso sherry bring new layers of flavor and depth that you'll want to make again and again. Notes of toasted nuts and fruit compote in the sherry pair well with caramelized onions, and its briny acidity cuts through the richness of the cheese. Get the Recipe 05 of 16 Frenched Onions Chris Simpson / FOOD STYLING by MARGARET MONROE DICKEY / PROP STYLING by AUDREY DAVIS The process of slowly sautéeing onions until their sugars release and brown is a fundamental cooking technique, and it works best with onions that have a high sugar content, like yellow onions. This recipe, with its savory beef notes from bouillon and nutty sweetness from dry sherry, can be used as the basis for a classic French onion soup as well as the other dishes on this list. get the recipe 06 of 16 French Onion Roast Beef Sliders Chris Simpson / FOOD STYLING by MARGARET MONROE DICKEY / PROP STYLING by AUDREY DAVIS Layer roast beef, Frenched onions, and Gruyère cheese between a split slab of sweet Hawaiian rolls. Brush tops of bread with melted butter, then cover well with foil. Bake at 350°F until the cheese melts; uncover and let cook a little longer until the top is toasted. get the recipe 07 of 16 French Onion Mac and Cheese Chris Simpson / FOOD STYLING by MARGARET MONROE DICKEY / PROP STYLING by AUDREY DAVIS F&W food editor Paige Grandjean upgrades mac and cheese by stirring Frenched onions into the mix, then topping it with buttered, torn sourdough bread right before baking. get the recipe 08 of 16 French Onion-Style White Bean Soup This soup goes back, as Gwyneth Paltrow writes in My Father's Daughter, to a French restaurant called La Serre in Los Angeles where she used to eat with her father. "I've always loved the idea of French onion soup," Gwyneth says, "without actually liking the soup itself." She cooks the onions slowly with fennel and lots of garlic, makes the soup with vegetable stock and the nontraditional addition white beans, then sets the filled bowls under the broiler topped with a slice of toasted bread and a generous handful of grated cheese. Best part? This soup can be made ahead and enjoyed in the fridge for up to three days. Get the Recipe 09 of 16 French Onion Chicken Pot Pie Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christine Keely While it isn't a classic French onion soup recipe, this French onion chicken pot pie is about to be your new favorite comfort dish. Roasted and shredded chicken thighs form the base of the pie, along with the deeply caramelized onions and carrots that lend some sweet notes to the dish. Get the Recipe 10 of 16 French Onion Soup with Roasted Poblanos Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee Montiel At Tzuco, in Chicago, the French onion soup arrives to the table piping hot, topped with a bubbling layer of Gruyère cheese. Hiding under the blanket of cheese, a thick slice of baguette soaks up a soup suffused with flavor from a mountain of jammy onions, balsamic vinegar, and bay leaves. French onion soups can lean quite beefy, but chef Carlos Gaytán uses a gentle base of chicken broth that allows the allium flavors to truly shine. Poblano chiles add a mild, vegetal heat and slight charred flavor. To ensure even caramelization, keep the onions in an even layer while they cook. Get the Recipe 11 of 16 French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches © Yunhee Kim Former F&W food editor Grace Parisi reinvented the classic grilled cheese sandwich with this version, which emulates the gooey, cheese-y top of a bowl of French onion soup. Give yourself time to cook the onions slowly; caramelized onions take almost an hour to achieve their sweet flavor and melty texture, but are worth the wait. Get the Recipe 12 of 16 Caramelized Onion Dip Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen A mix of five different alliums—shallots, scallions, and sweet, yellow, and red onions—upgrades this classic caramelized onion dip with layers of flavor. Yellow and red onions give it bite, while Vidalia onion and shallots lend a pleasant sweetness. Taking the time to cook the onions low and slow concentrates their flavor, while adding scallions halfway through cooking keeps them just fresh enough to serve with chips, toasted bread, or vegetables. Get the Recipe 13 of 16 French (Canadian) Onion Soup Hugue Dufour makes a pork broth for his French onion soup using bacon for smokiness and a pig's foot for richness (yum!). You can omit the pig's foot for a lighter broth; either option yields a rich and delicious soup. Get the Recipe 14 of 16 French Onion–Stuffed Onions Chris Simpson / FOOD STYLING by MARGARET MONROE DICKEY / PROP STYLING by AUDREY DAVIS This whole roasted onion hints at the pleasures of French onion soup with its stuffing of beefy caramelized onions. The white onion itself, already mild, mellows further while roasting and offsets the sweet intensity of the Frenched onions. get the recipe 15 of 16 French Onion-Stuffed Butternut Squash Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Sweet, nutty butternut squash gets the French onion treatment when it’s stuffed with slow-cooked onions, Gruyère cheese, and toasted croutons. get the recipe 16 of 16 French Onion Dip Jordan Provost / Food Styling by Thu Buser Caramelized onions, Worcestershire sauce, and a beef bouillon cube mixed with sour cream and cream cheese make the perfect creamy, tangy dip for game days and parties. get the recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit