One-Pot French Onion Pasta
Everything that makes French onion soup good — jammy caramelized onions, a sherry deglaze, nutty Gruyère — collapses into a single pot of pasta. Cooking the rigatoni directly in the reduced broth lets the starches thicken the liquid into a glossy sauce instead of a soup, so every ridge holds onion and cheese. The only real commitment is time: those onions need a full 40 minutes to go from pale to deep amber, and rushing them is the one way to ruin the dish. Serve it the night you want cozy without washing a colander.
Dinner · One-pot, Comfort food • 1 hr
Nutrition (per serving)620Calories·25gFat·74gCarbs·24gProtein
Per serving. Values are approximate and calculated from USDA FoodData Central.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 large yellow onions (about 2 pounds), halved and thinly sliced pole-to-pole
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup dry sherry
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- ½ cup water
- 1 bay leaf
- 12 ounces dried rigatoni (or another short ridged pasta)
- 4 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
- 4 ounces low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
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Steps
- Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and the salt, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes, until the onions are deeply golden brown and jammy, 35 to 40 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low if they start to scorch or darken too quickly — you want deep amber, not burnt.
- Add the garlic, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the sherry and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the sherry bubble and reduce until the pot is nearly dry, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour in the beef broth and water, then add the bay leaf and the black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the rigatoni and stir. Cook, stirring frequently to keep the pasta from sticking, until the pasta is al dente and the liquid has reduced into a glossy sauce that clings to the noodles, 10 to 12 minutes. If the pot looks dry before the pasta is tender, add hot water ¼ cup at a time.
- Remove the pot from the heat and discard the bay leaf. Fold in the Gruyère and mozzarella a handful at a time, stirring until completely melted and glossy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately in shallow bowls, finished with a shower of Parmesan, a scattering of fresh thyme leaves, and a few grinds of black pepper.
Tips & Variations
Make Ahead
The onions carry all the time here, so caramelize them through step 2 (the deglaze) up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate in the pot or an airtight container. When ready to cook, return the onions to the heat and continue from step 3, adding the broth, water, and pasta — the dish comes together in about 15 minutes from that point.
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The sauce tightens as it sits, so reheat gently in a skillet over medium-low with a splash of broth or water, tossing until the sauce loosens and the cheese turns creamy again. Don't reheat hard on high heat or the cheese can separate.
Substitutions
Dry white wine, vermouth, or a splash of brandy can stand in for the sherry. Comté, Emmental, or fontina all melt into the sauce in place of Gruyère — avoid mozzarella-only, which turns stringy and mild rather than creamy. Any short ridged pasta works: penne, campanelle, or ziti all hold the sauce well. For a deeper, beefier version, use regular (not low-sodium) beef broth and skip the added salt until the very end. To keep it vegetarian, swap in mushroom broth — the result is earthier but still rich.
Nutrition
Per serving: About 1½ cups (¼ of the recipe)
Reviews
Reviews coming soon! In the meantime, let us know what you think of this recipe.
