One Pot French Onion Pasta gives you the flavors of French Onion Soup in a filling, slightly creamy pasta recipe. Start with caramelized onions in a large pot then add the remaining ingredients, including the uncooked pasta. Everything cooks up in the one pot for easy clean up!
One Pot Pasta recipes are such a good hack to make a filling meal with far less effort and dishes! Some other favorite one pot pasta recipes you should check out is this One-Pot Lemon Chicken Pasta, One-Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta, and One-Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta.
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⭐Why I Love It
- One-Pot: Hello easy clean up! You'll caramelize onions and then cook the pasta right in the same pot.
- Simple Ingredients - Only a handful of easy to find ingredients.
- Caramelized Onions - Is there anything better than caramelized onions? They're super flavorful, slightly sweet, and the star of this dish! For another French Onion Soup inspired recipe try these French Onion Baked Potatoes.
🥘Ingredients
Only easy to find ingredients are needed to make this creamy, flavorful French onion pasta recipe!
- Unsalted butter - You can also use salted butter, but I recommend using less salt to start and season to taste at the end.
- Yellow onions - halved and thinly sliced
- Sherry Cooking Wine - If you don't have sherry, you can sub in a little more white wine.
- White Wine - For cooking, I like to use a dry white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc. If you don't want to use wine (white wine or sherry) at all, then you can use extra broth for liquid and add a splash of lemon juice or red wine vinegar to add acidity.
- Sprigs fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish - You can tie the thyme together with cooking twine or just add them as is.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- Uncooked rigatoni - Or another short pasta like penne or ziti.
- Beef broth or stock - Beef broth and stock can be pretty salty so be light on the added salt until you taste it at the end.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Freshly grated parmesan - plus more for serving
- Heavy cream - Or half and half for a lighter pasta
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🔪Step by Step Instructions
I love that this recipe is super impressive, but also an easy one pot recipe. The bulk of the cooking time is caramelizing the onions then it comes together so fast!
Photo 1 - Start by caramelizing the onions in a large dutch oven. You can start the onions on a higher heat for the first 5ish minutes to help speed up the process.
Photo 2 - Pour in the sherry and white wine to the onions. Scrape any bits off the bottom and let cook for a couple minutes so the wine reduces slightly.
Photo 3 - Add the sprigs of thyme, a pinch of salt, heavy pinch of pepper, the uncooked pasta, beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine. Bring h to a boil, give one big stir, and immediately lower the heat and cover the pot so it simmer. Allow to simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is al dente.
Photo 4 - Turn off the heat and remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cream until combined.
Photo 5 - Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if needed, and add a little more Parmesan Cheese on top.
Photo 6 - Serve the pasta in bowls. I like to top with a light sprinkle of extra thyme leaves.
💭Recipe Tips
- Cook Pasta to Al Dente - Be sure to cook the pasta to just al dente as it will continue to cook when you stir in the remaining ingredients. You don't want to have soft, overcooked pasta.
- Perfect Use for Leftover Caramelized Onions - To save time, you can use onions that have been caramelized in advance. Such as from a big batch of Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions. Just add about 2 cups of caramelized onions to the pot and heat up before continuing with the recipe.
- Add a Protein - I love how filling and comforting this pasta recipe is on its own, but you can also add a protein to round out the meal like serve alongside Air Fryer Steak Bites or this Air Fryer Parmesan Crusted Chicken.
🧅Other Ways to use Caramelized Onions
In addition to this pasta recipe, here are some other great recipes with caramelized onions:
- Caramelized Onion and Pancetta Quiche – Skip the onion step in the recipe and just use about ¾ cup of caramelized onions for the filling.
- Caramelized Onion Dip – Mix the onions sour cream, mayo, spices, and chives to make a yummy, creamy dip for chips.
- BBQ Chicken Sliders – Instead of the sliced, raw red onions use caramelized onions on top of the bbq chicken.
- Use as a Topping! Burgers, pizza, sandwiches, and more.
🍽Leftovers and Storage
- Storage - Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freeze - For longer storage, you can freeze the pasta tightly covered, for up to 3 months.
- Reheating - Leftover pasta can be reheated in the microwave or in a pot on the stove until warmed. You can add a splash of cream or broth when reheating to help loosen everything up.
👩🍳Recipe FAQs
All you need to do is swap out the pasta for your favorite gluten free option! The time it takes to cook the noodles will vary, so cook until the noodles are al dente.
Sherry is a grape wine that has been fortified with brandy. It helps add a slightly sweet, but also a nutty flavor to recipes. You can find it at most grocery stores.
🍝Related Pasta Recipes...
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PrintRecipe
One Pot French Onion Pasta
One Pot French Onion Pasta gives you the flavors of French Onion Soup in a filling, slightly creamy pasta recipe. Start with caramelized onions in a large pot then add the remaining ingredients, including the uncooked pasta. Everything cooks up in the one pot for easy clean up!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Category: Pasta
- Method: One Pot
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 large yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup sherry cooking wine
- ½ cup white wine, prefer a dry white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 1 lb uncooked rigatoni
- 4 cups beef broth or stock
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for serving
- ½ cup heavy cream, or half and half
Instructions
- Caramelize Onions - Heat up a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the thinly sliced onions and cook over medium for about 5 minutes until starting to soften. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 30 minutes until caramelized. Stir the onions occasionally to keep them from sticking to the bottom.
- Deglaze Pan - Pour in the sherry and white wine to the onions. Scrape any bits off the bottom and let cook for a couple minutes so the wine reduces slightly.
- Add Pasta Ingredients - Add the sprigs of thyme (you can use twine to tie them together in a bundle), a pinch of salt, heavy pinch of pepper, the uncooked pasta, beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine.
- Boil - Bring the broth to a boil, give one big stir, and immediately lower the heat and cover the pot so it simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is al dente.
- Finish Pasta - Turn off the heat and remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cream until combined. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve - Serve the pasta in bowls. I like to top with fresh parmesan and a light sprinkle of extra thyme leaves.
Notes
Leftover pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat leftovers in the microwave or in a pot on the stove - you can add a splash of cream or broth to loosen things up.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ of recipe
- Calories: 475
- Sugar: 6.6 g
- Sodium: 525.5 mg
- Fat: 14.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 66.5 g
- Fiber: 3.9 g
- Protein: 15.3 g
- Cholesterol: 36.4 mg
Jackie D says
Only deviations: I added fresh minced garlic, Gruyère & pecorino Romano. It was delicious & my Italian husband loved it.
Kathleen Hansen says
Your deviations sound delicious! So glad you and your husband approved!
Karen Hawkinson says
I made this tonight and it was fabulous! I add more onion because I’m an onion freak and Gruyère cheese instead of parm. This recipe is a keeper
Kathleen Hansen says
I’m so glad you loved it, Karen! Thank you for your comment 🙂
Dianne Starr says
I made this last week, only addition was carmelized quarterd brussel sprouts and only used white wine, did not have sherry, I only had fusilli did not have rigatoni. I was divine!!! my three guest and me loved it...next time I will double the recipe so I have leftovers. The taste and texture was so satisfying. Great recipe, I will make tis again and again
E Fuguet says
So good! Followed recipe but added Gruyère. Will add chicken next time for protein!
Kathleen Hansen says
I’m glad you liked it! Thank you for your comment 🙂
Emily says
Absolutely delicious!!! And super easy clean up! This is a new family favorite for sure!
Kathleen Hansen says
I'm so glad! Thank you for your comment 🙂
Maria says
Made some for dinner today and it was so delicious! I added some frozen meatballs for protein but I'd love to try this with chicken too. 5 stars!
Kathleen Hansen says
I'm so glad that you loved it! Adding meatballs is a great idea! Thank you for your comment 🙂
Paige says
Talk about yum! Loved the flavoring and definitely no over powering onion flavor here. Also I love for the one pot stop! Was able to whip up dinner without making a mess.
Kathleen Hansen says
I’m so glad you liked it!! Thank you for your comment 🙂
Maky says
What would you suggest to substitute the beef broth to make it a meatless meal for lent? Would vegetable broth work? Would Campbell Mushroom or French onion soup work? Thank you for sharing;). Can’t wait to try it.
Kathleen Hansen says
Vegetable broth would work great! Let me know how it goes 🙂
River says
I used veggie broth and it was SO good. Adding an extra pinch of salt is good though because the veggie broth isn’t quite as salty as beef broth 🙂 We loved it!
Lindsey Suko says
So delicious! Saw this recipe on TikTok, made it, and I'm in love 😍. Thanks for making it a one-pot recipe, it was so easy!
Kathleen Hansen says
I’m so glad you loved it Lindsey! THANK YOU for your comment :). I’m all about super easy (many one-pot) recipes around here!
Katie says
This was dangerously good! I love that it is made all in one pot too.
Kathleen says
Yay! I’m glad you loved it!
Dianne Starr says
I don't have sherry but I have sherry vinegar. Can I leave the sherry out or can I use the sherry vinegar or can you suggest another common pantry item, I wanted to make this tonight. I hope can can answer me quickly thank you
Kathleen Hansen says
Hi Dianne! Sherry is a cooking wine, so sherry vinegar is going to be more acidic. I would recommend just using a little bit more white wine to deglaze the pan - it will still taste great.
You can give it a taste and if you feel it needs a little more acidity, you could add a small splash of your sherry vinegar, but I would not do an entire 1/4 cup. Let me know how it turns out!