French Onion Pasta Casserole is a caramelized combination of French onion soup and pasta. If comfort food had a face, this delicious one-pot recipe would be it! We love a hot bowl of classic French onion soup, and whoever the genius is that added cheese and bread on top is hands down one of our favorite people in history. How can you possibly make it any better? Hold our baguette, because we’re upping the ante on this classic by mixing in pasta and turning this soup into a hearty casserole that your whole family will love. Don’t worry, we definitely didn’t skip the cheese and bread on top!
Follow up dinner with a French classic for dessert, like our Easy Crème Brûlée or 5 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse.
Why Our Recipe
- All the goodness of French onion soup in a one-pot pasta casserole.
- Real caramelized onions, no gimmicks, for real French onion flavor.
- Topped with croutons and melty cheese for the perfect finish!
Our French Onion Pasta Casserole starts with browning and caramelizing the onions, and if you don’t feel like a chef after that step, just wait. You’re pretty much making homemade French Onion Soup, and if that doesn’t make you feel like an accomplished chef, the yummy noises your family will be making when eating this certainly will!
Ingredient Notes
- Yellow Onion: Thinly sliced. Do not substitute with a white onion, you won’t get the same sweetness when it’s caramelized.
- Beef Broth: You can use a low-sodium option to better control the flavor.
- Dry Sherry: A traditional ingredient that deepens the flavor of the broth. The alcohol all cooks out, but we understand you may still want to leave it out and that is totally fine too!
- Pasta: We recommend a tube shaped pasta for this one. Penne and ziti also work, and you could get away with elbow as well.
- Garlic Croutons: Bags of croutons can be found in the salad dressing aisle of the grocery store.
- Cheese: Provolone or Gruyère both work well, but Gruyère is our pick for anything to do with French Onion.
Provolone vs. Gruyère
Gruyère is most often used with French Onion Soup because it has a bolder more flavorful taste, and even though it’s a hard cheese, it melts beautifully and creamy.
Provolone is a little easier to find in the grocery store and also melts really well, but is more subtle in flavor. This is a good substitution if you can’t find Gruyère.
Oven-Safe Pots
This is a great one-pot dish, but that pot does need to be oven-safe. Enameled Dutch oven pots are our favorite oven-safe pots to use because they transfer from stovetop to oven with ease.
To check if your pot is oven-safe, look at the bottom or handles for any labels or symbols that indicate it can withstand oven temperatures. Many stainless steel or cast iron pots are oven-safe, while those with plastic handles or non-stick coatings likely won’t be.
If you don’t have an oven-safe pot don’t worry! You can still make this dish by preparing the pasta as directed and then transferring it to a 9×13 pan. Top with the croutons and cheese and then bake as directed.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat portions in the microwave in a covered microwave-safe dish in 30-second increments, stirring in between for even heating, checking until heated through.