This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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.
Half Baked Harvest At Home
20+ new recipes for wholesome comfort food made with everyday ingredients. Pre-order today! HBH At Home will be released on Tuesday, February 23rd!
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.
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!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
This recipe looks amazing ! I’m a HUGE Fan of your recipes ! Tried the one pot spicy cheesy pesto rigatoni bake and that was really well received by my family ! With this recipe , do you think it’ll work if I add chicken chunks directly into the mix? Wanted to add some extra protein in ! Otherwise , any recommendations ? Thanks so much ! Xx
Hey Yan,
I think that would work well! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So many adds I can’t even get through the recipe. Enough already! Will not follow!
Hey Sally,
So sorry if you are having trouble, if you look at the top you can simply click “skip to recipe” and that will take you directly to the recipe! I hope this helps:) xTieghan
Awesome!!! Tasted great, easy to prepare. Enjoyed it for Christmas dinner, definitely a hit?
Hey Pat,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Literally AMAZING!! Could not stop eating it. So full of flavor & pretty easy to make. This is one of my favorite food items I’ve EVER had.
Hey Elly,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I’ve made this twice, following your recipe exactly. My opinion, and the opinion of all who shared this dish with me, is that this is just outstanding! I’m making it again for Christmas Eve, will serve it with a simple Caesar salad and fried chicken thighs. It is SO good!! This is truly comfort food, and if there was ever a year when we need comforting, 2020…need I say more? Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Hey Darlene,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
CAN YOU MAKE THIS DISH EARLIER IN THE DAY AND REHEAT FOR BEFORE SERVING ??
Hey Suzanne,
I would follow the recipe up until baking and then bake when you are ready to serve. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Thanks for posting this.! It was delicious and the leftovers are wonderful! As others have mentioned I think that I will try it with beef stock and add some beef. It would work well with chicken or turkey. Loved the cheeses!!!
Thank you so much Bill! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan – I made this last night for dinner and it was simply delicious. I followed the directions and used Swiss cheese rather than Gorgonzola. The entire family loved it. My mushrooms were too over cooked (I likely sliced them too thin) so next time I will quarter them as I used baby bells. Now my question – I served it as the main dish with a salad. I loved the flavor but did find it to be a bit dark and was thinking of how to brighten it up, thoughts ? It may be that I should have cooked up some chicken breasts to serve with it ? The parsley garnish was quickly overpowered but did present very well. How do you serve the dish ? I may blister some cherry tomatoes and add them to them when plating. Thank you.
Hey John,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am glad you family enjoyed. I serve this with a large salad as well. It is a heavy, comfort food dish:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Delicious but plan for the recipe taking more time. This is my second time making it. The first time I cooked according to the times listed above. This time I nearly tripled how long I caramelized my onions- so. much. better. Go low and slow. It takes way longer, but it is truly worth it
Thank you Molly! xTieghan
I’ve made this recipe countless times! Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to leave a rating! I made it for family dinner last fall and it was requested THREE WEEKS in a row! Haha finally I had to say can I please cook a different HBH recipe this week?! Great flavors, one pan and only change I’ve made is adding additional broth to finish cooking the pasta. Otherwise 10/10
Hey Samantha,
Fantastic! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Have the best week:) xTieghan
Soooooo good!!!!! I will definitely make again.
Thank you Mark! xTieghan
I would like to add meat in to this and was thinking cut cubes of essentially stew meat.
Like a beef stroganoff but French onion.
What is the recommendation for adding meat? Add to the dish after the dish has been baked ? Or after cooking on the stove top bake it in the oven in the dish? I just don’t want to dry out the meat.
Thank you!
Hey Chelsea,
I have not tested this, but I would add the meat before baking. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
This was great! Such a warming comfort dish for the winter that didn’t feel (too) heavy. Will definitely make again!
Thank you so much Bryn! I am so happy to hear that! xTieghan
I absolutely loved this pasta bake! I made this with baked chicken are roasted brussel sprouts for the perfect combo. The french onion definitely stole the show.. amazing! I am already getting requests to make it again. I used whole grain pasta and heavy whipping cream as my substitutes. I cannot wait to make another one of your recipes.
Hi Heather! I am really sorry this recipe turned out so well for you! Thank you for trying this Heather! xTieghan
Could this be made in advance and frozen? If so, how would you recommend reheating?
Hey Courtney,
Sure that would work. I would bake from frozen for about 1 hour. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Made this tonight, it was so delicious. ??xx
Thank you so much Kelly! xTieghan