French Onion Pasta

If you are a French onion anything fiend, then this french onion pasta is for you! Heck, even if you are not crazy for anything French onion this dish is for you. This is that delicious, easy to make, vegetarian and a one-pot dish to boot. An ode to the iconic French onion soup but as the name suggests this is the viral pasta version and is very much plant forward. Onions are caramelized until jammy and it brings all the bold flavor and all the deliciousness to this dish.

Add the pasta, stock, herbs, seasoning, cheese and voila! You have a beautiful dish that does NOT come together quickly but its totally worth it! Caramelizing onions might seem like a long process but keep reading to see how you can still incorporate in to your weeknight dinner line up because you will totally want to. This can also be made completely vegan and gluten-free with easy substitutions.

Ingredient list

The ingredient list is short and most of them will be pantry staples at home.

• Onions – You can use any onions of your choice although I prefer yellow or red onions. I used the latter here. The amount of onions used depends on how much pasta you are cooking. For 1 lb(454 g) or 16 oz of dry pasta, I would recommend 2- 2 1/2 large onions or 3 medium ones. You can either dice or slice it.
• Pasta – You can use any pasta of your choice. Both long and short pasta will work great. I actually used a combination of a bucatini and fettuccine since I had half a pound of each left. If you do combine pastas, make sure the cook time are the same or cook them separately before adding it to the caramelized onions.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic is important for flavor and those garlic notes in the dish. Not to mention garlic has great health benefits.
• Cheese – I would actually say cheese is optional. I used aged Gruyere cheese and it adds a lot of creaminess and nutty flavors. You can also use Swiss or Parmesan. However if you are avoiding dairy or simply want to keep this vegan, then feel to skip the cheese. The onions bring most of the flavor anyway. You could also include nutritional yeast or a vegan cheese alternative if you still want the cheesy flavors.
• Herbs De Provence – This classic herb mix which includes dried lavender flowers adds to the flavor and fragrance profile of this delicious pasta. I would highly recommend adding it to your shopping list if you dont have it at home. However, if you are looking for alternatives any other dried herb mix like Italian herbs seasoning. You can also use individual dried/fresh herbs you may have including rosemary, thyme, basil, marjoram, oregano etc.
• Vegetable Stock – We will use the vegetable stock for cooking the pasta after we finish caramelizing the onions. You can substitute stock with buillion cubes or paste like this one.
• Sugar – I add a tablespoon of sugar while caramelizing the onions but this is again optional.
• Wine or Vinegar – Usually white wine or vinegar is used to deglaze the pan at the end of the caramelization process. I did not use wine since I dont really like the flavor that the wine leaves behind. You can absolutely skip doing this or just use water/ vegetable stock instead.
• Water – I use water to add to the stock to cook the pasta. I also use it to help caramelize the onions quicker. This is again optional but I find it really helps. It helps soften the onions and cook them quicker which overall helps fasten the caramelization process.

Process for making the French Onion Pasta

Caramelizing the onions

The base of this pasta like its namesake soup is the caramelized onions. The natural sugars in the onions slowly caramelize with heat bringing an intense and wonderful flavor to the dish. Caramelizing onions is not a quick process. It takes patience to leave the onions alone while making sure they dont burn.

You might wonder if you would be better off cooking this only on the weekends and I will say this is a perfectly acceptable weeknight option as well. Here’s how to get it done.

1. Caramelizing onions is slightly hands off – Although you can’t place the pan on the stove and walk away, you dont have to hover over the stove for an hour either. You will need to check every 5-7 minutes to ensure nothing is burning but otherwise I feel you can go about doing other tasks while the onions keep caramelizing. It should take around 60 to 90 minutes for the onions to finish. You can also finish doing this step earlier in the day if you happen to work from home or have time in the morning before you head out.
2. Meal Prepping – You can get the caramelization part out of the way on a weekend and keep it stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the dish. It should easily store in the refrigerator for 5-7 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Add the stock and pasta

Once the onions are caramelized, add the stock and bring it to a gentle boil. Season with salt. Add the pasta and make sure to keep gently mixing to keep the pasta separated. Add water to top off as the pasta cooks. Cook until al dente or as per package instructions. When the pasta is almost done cooking, mix in the herbs de provence. Top with cubes of gruyere cheese and mix well until melted. Season with more salt(if needed) and pepper. Serve topped with fresh parsley.

Meal Prep and Storage Options

As I mentioned in the section above, meal prepping for this pasta is all about prepping the caramelized onions. You can make it a few days ahead and store it in the refrigerator to use later in the week. If you want to freeze extra caramelized onions or even freeze it entirely to use at a later time, then that will work too. Use a silicone tray or freeze individual portions in a freezer safe bag. This way, you dont have to worry about breaking off right amounts of frozen chunks of caramelized onions while cooking.

You can also prepare the entire dish and freeze it for later use. Once cooked, place the food in a freezer safe container and let it cool down to room tempertaure before freezing. If not freezing, this dish can be stored in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Reheating

Reheat the refrigerated pasta in the microwave or on a skillet. If reheating the frozen pasta, I would recommend thawing it overnight if possible before reheating. Else, reheat in the oven at 350 deg F for 45 minutes or until completely warm.

Serving suggestions for the French onion pasta

Since this pasta is not high on vegetables, I would highly recommend serving it with some roasted vegetables or a fresh salad. You can of course add some vegetables in the pasta as well after the onions are caramelized. You can also serve with a side of bean salad or a lentil based salad for extra protein.

If you want to avoid the cheese, sub with a vegan version or just top with some nutritional yeast for a nutty cheese like flavor. P.S. Nutritional yeast has around 3g of protein in every tablespoon and is a plant based source of vitamin B12.

I hope you enjoyed this French onion pasta! If you have any questions or comments, please reach out below in the comments and let me know.I would love to hear how you like the recipe, what challenges you had or maybe you found a cool substitute? Whatever it is, please feel free to type away! You can also follow along on social media including Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.