French Onion Mac and Cheese
Get ready for the ultimate comfort food meets comfort food combination. French Onion Mac and Cheese melds together two classic comfort food dishes – French onion soup and the creamy, cheesy macaroni and cheese, and the result is simply lovely in every way possible.
French Onion Mac and Cheese is warm, gooey, and delicious. The all popular macaroni and cheese is taken to a whole new level of deliciousness with the addition of caramelized onions along with a toasty breadcrumb topping.
French Onion Macaroni and Cheese Bake
I’m dedicating this recipe to all French onion soup and macaroni and cheese lovers out there!
Our version of French Onion Mac and Cheese is savory with a slight tinge of sweetness from the caramelized onions.
Caramelized onions merge seamlessly with the creamy macaroni and cheese, providing a chewy, tasty contrast to the soft, gooey cheese.
We use gruyere cheese in this recipe in addition to deluxe American cheese to tie the two dishes together, and then finish off our French Onion Mac and Cheese dish with crispy toasted breadcrumbs.
This is such an elegant twist to traditional mac and cheese. There’s something about it that makes it classy, and almost fancy, but it is also not hard to make. Prepare to say goodbye to the orange, powdery, gritty mac and cheese!
You. Will. Love. This.
Prepare French onion mac and cheese as an elevated side dish for special occasions and holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter etc. It goes great with turkey, ham and all your favorite holiday sides.
But do not limit this fabulous dish to just the holidays! It goes great with everyday protein such as Baked Chicken Cutlets, Pork Tenderloin with Apples and much more!
French onion mac and cheese is a unique dish, but don’t worry, the lovely flavors and textures of macaroni and cheese is still very prominent and distinct.
Ingredients
Combined the ingredients below to create the creamy and dreamy caramelized onion mac and cheese…it’s truly a foodie’s dream.
Here is everything you will to make French Onion Mac and Cheese.
- white onions – or sweet onions. We will be sautéing onions in cooking oil until it is soft and golden brown. This process brings out the sweetness in onions along with a whole lot of beautiful flavors.
- Gruyere cheese – or Swiss cheese, or a combination of both to really reflect the flavors of French onion soup in this mac and cheese recipe
- deluxe American cheese – always get the deluxe American cheese for best taste. We are also using American cheese so to capture the flavors from classic mac and cheese.
- milk
- heavy cream
- all-purpose flour
- elbow macaroni pasta – other short pasta such as shells or fusilli can be used as well.
- cooking oil – use a neutral oil such as canola oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil
- butter – I used salted butter. If you use unsalted butter, you may need to add even more salt to open up the flavors at the end.
- salt – it is so important to use salt to really open up the flavors of the caramelized onions and the sauce. When you are done making the creamy cheese sauce, taste it and add more salt as needed.
How to make French Onion Mac and Cheese
Caramelize onions
The first thing you’ll want to do is to caramelize the onions. Caramelizing the onions will soften the onions and bring out the sweet flavors from the onions.
Here are step-by step instructions and pictures on how to caramelize onions:
- Sauté diced onions in a large deep 12-inch skillet that can eventually hold everything (macaroni, cheese sauce etc) under medium low heat.
- Stir occasionally to avoid burning onions. The process will take 10-15 minutes. Towards the last few minutes, stir constantly to avoid burning the onions, and lower heat if needed.
- Onions are done when they are soft, and brown in color, indicating caramelization. Bring them onto a separate plate and set aside.
Boil Pasta
- While onions are cooking, go ahead and boil water and cook macaroni pasta based on package instructions. I like to do this while I wait for the onions to caramelize because it does take a little while for the onions to turn brown.
Make the Macaroni and Cheese
- Using the same large non-stick deep skillet, melt butter and whisk in flour. Then add and stir in heavy cream.
- Slowly add milk, and whisk to remove clumps
- Add cheeses. Stir until cheeses melt.
- Bring in caramelized onions, followed by cooked pasta.
- Combine everything together, then add salt to open up the flavors.
Bake in the oven
Lightly grease a an 11-inch oval baker or 9′ x 9′ square dish, and fill it with French onion macaroni and cheese.
Sprinkle panko breadcrumbs all over the top of the caramelized onion mac and cheese, then send it into the oven to bake.
Bake caramelized onion French mac and cheese at 400℉ until bubbly, about ~20 minutes.
If you like a crustier top, you can broil it for 3-4 minutes.
Then serve and enjoy the beautiful concoction that is French onion mac and cheese.
The insides should be gooey cheesy and creamy, with caramelized onion flavors woven into the cheese sauce. Panko breadcrumb topping will be crispy, bringing a lovely contrast in textures.
Yum yum yum!
Tips and Tricks
A few notes to ensure success when making this French Onion Mac and Cheese recipe:
- Cook onions slowly – to achieve caramelized onions that are sweet and soft, cook them slowly on medium-low heat. This process may take a while, but it’s entirely worth it.
- Cheese choices – while classic mac and cheese uses American cheese and/or cheddar, for this French onion-inspired version, try using Gruyere cheese for its strong flavor and creaminess. If you want a more budget-friendly option, Swiss cheese can be a good substitute.
- Crisp up the bread crumbs – for a crispy topping, broil it for an extra few minutes at the end.
- Reheating – when reheating leftovers, add a splash of milk or water to keep the mac and cheese creamy and prevent it from drying out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Any type of pasta that can hold onto the creamy cheese sauce well will work. Elbow macaroni is a traditional choice, but other short pasta such as shells, fusilli and rigatoni can also work.
I like to use a combination of American cheese and gruyere cheese, as a nod to cheeses respectively use in macaroni and cheese and French onion soup. This is a great way to great flavors from both dishes. Use good quality American such as deluxe cheddar. If you don’t want to use gruyere, Swiss is a good alternative.
Absolutely! You can prepare the dish up to the point of baking and then refrigerate it. When you’re ready to serve, simply bake it covered at 350℉ until it’s hot and the cheese is bubbly. This usually takes 20-30 minutes, then uncover and broil for 3-4 minutes in the oven to brown the tops.
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More Delicious Side Dishes
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Milk Bread Rolls
- Macaroni Ham Salad
- Apple Stuffing with Celery Herbs and Onions
- Potato Casserole with Andouille Sausage
French Onion Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
Caramelized Onion
- 2 tbsp olive oil more if needed
- 2 large onions diced
- 1 tsp salt
Mac & Cheese
- 8 oz macaroni pasta cooked, drained
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 cup Gruyere & Swiss cheese
- 2 slices deluxe American cheese
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and diced onions. Cook slowly to caramelize the onions. Make sure to stir occasionally.
- Once onions start to caramelize, add salt. Keep cooking low and slow; stirring occasionally.
- Cook macaroni according to package directions. Set aside.
- In a separate deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until fully incorporated making sure there are no lumps.
- Slowly whisk in the heavy cream.
- Add the salt and cheeses. Mix until cheese is fully melted. Add the milk and stir to incorporate.
- Add the caramelized onions and macaroni noodles. Stir well.
- Transfer the mac & cheese to a lightly greased 11" oval baker or 9"x9" square dish. Top with breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
