This cozy French Onion Pasta recipe has a rich and creamy sauce with caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, mushrooms, pancetta, and pasta! You can’t beat this gourmet-style dish!

Be sure to try my Chicken Mac and Cheese and Mushroom Chicken Pasta recipes next!

A wooden spoon scooping up French Onion Pasta from a skillet.

French Onion Pasta

This incredible gourmet-style French Onion Pasta should go down in comfort food history! Orecchiette pasta is smothered in an amazing French Onion Sauce with creamy Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, along with earthy mushrooms and savory pancetta. 

This dish is definitely something that you would find in a restaurant, and you’ll be so proud to create it at home. Caramelizing the onions takes patience and time, but the end result is SO worth it.

There are different varieties of pasta, cheese, and meat that you can use for this recipe. Be sure to check out my pro tips below for everything you need to know!

How to Make It

Note: This is an overview. See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Sauté the mushrooms and pancetta in olive oil and set aside. Deglaze the skillet with wine and add butter.

A skillet of sauteed mushrooms and pancetta next to a skillet being deglazed with white wine.

Add the onions and cook until caramelized, stirring frequently. This will take about 45 minutes. Add garlic and flour and stir to combine. Add the sauce mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Stir in gruyere (or mozzarella) and Parmesan cheese.

A skillet of caramelized onions next to a skillet of French onion sauce.

Add cooked pasta and toss to combine. Serve!

Adding orecchiette pasta to a skillet of French onion sauce and stirring to combine.

Pro Tips

  • Wine: Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay are great wine choices for this recipe. Chicken or beef broth can be used if you don’t cook with wine.
  • Pasta: Orecchiette is a fun pasta choice for this, but other options include penne, ziti, medium shells, cavatappi, farfalle, and rigatoni.
  • Cheese: Shred the cheese from a block, it will melt and taste much better than packaged shredded cheese. I use Belgioioso Parmesan and Emmiusa Gruyere.
  • Mozzarella Cheese can be used instead of Gruyere. Use whole milk, low moisture mozzarella. I like using Galbani or  Dragone. 
  • Add the cheese over low heat, a base that’s too hot will cause the dairy to separate and create a grainy consistency.
  • Mushrooms: White button mushrooms work well in this, baby portabella mushrooms or cremini mushrooms are great varieties too.
  • Onions: Do your best to slice them all the same size so that they cook evenly.
  • Hot Sauce: This is a flavor enhancer in this recipe and doesn’t make the end result spicy, I use Frank’s Hot Sauce.
  • Pancetta: I use Veroni diced Pancetta. Bacon or even finely diced ham can also be used. If you go meatless, consider adding 1/2 bouillon cube to the sauce to replace some of that savory depth of flavor.
  • Broth: It may seem counterintuitive to use chicken and beef broth in this recipe, but it adds a nice depth of flavor. All beef or all chicken broth may also be used.
  • Pasta Water: Always feel free to reserve pasta water as a precaution for creamy sauces. If the sauce becomes thick/clumpy, a small splash of pasta water will smooth it out.

Storage

  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. 
  • Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave (I use “melt” mode which is lower power), or in a makeshift double boiler on the stovetop, which is an even better way to reheat.
  • Cream sauces don’t always reheat quite back to their original consistency, but this one comes close!

A skillet of French Onion Pasta with mushrooms and pancetta.

Tools For This Recipe

(Amazon affiliate links*)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.

  • 3-Quart Stainless Steel Sauté Pan– The same size as pictured in this recipe.
  • Large Measuring Cup with a Spout -This is what I use to combine the sauce ingredients at the beginning. The spout makes it easy to add it to the roux in small splashes. 
  • Spice Rack– This is the one I have, it’s a snap to measure out your seasonings quickly and easily. (Big time saver.)
  • Box cheese grater – This recipe should be made with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, as it tastes better and melts much creamier.
  • Pasta Strainer – This is mine 🙂 
  • Measuring Spoons– I have these magnetic ones which stay nice and organized in my utensil drawer.
  • Better Than Bouillon– This is what I always use for broth in my recipes. It takes very little space and makes it easy to measure out customized amounts of broth.
  • Gravy Master: A few drops of this into the sauce at any point in the process will add a darker color. You can use up to 1/2 teaspoon in this recipe. Note that this doesn’t alter the flavor as much as just adding a darker color.

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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A wooden spoon scooping up French Onion Pasta from a skillet.

French Onion Pasta

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
5 from 2 ratings
Servings: 6 people
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This French Onion Pasta recipe has a rich and creamy sauce with caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, mushrooms, pancetta, and pasta. You can't beat this gourmet-style dish!

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Sauce

  • 1 cup beef broth
  • ½ cup chicken broth, or beef broth. See notes.
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, can sub mustard powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • ½ teaspoon EACH: dried thyme, oregano

Pasta

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 oz. white button mushrooms
  • Salt/pepper, to taste
  • 4 oz. Pancetta, diced
  • 2/3 cup dry white wine, see notes
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 medium yellow onions, sliced into ¼-inch strings. (About 15 oz.)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • ½ cup gruyere cheese, shredded. Can sub mozzarella
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • ¾ pound orecchiette pasta

Instructions

  • Combine the sauce ingredients in a large measuring cup with a spout and set aside. Measure out remaining ingredients before beginning. (Although you can shred/grate the cheese while the onions cook.)
  • Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, this will further enhance their flavor. Add the pancetta and sauté for 3 to 4 more minutes. Remove and set aside.
  • Turn the heat off. Add the wine to the same skillet and set the heat to medium. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the skillet, this will add more flavor to the sauce.
  • Add the butter and the sliced onions. Cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until caramelized, about 35 more minutes. Reduce heat slightly if the onions begin to cook too quickly. Add a splash more olive oil or wine to the skillet if additional moisture is needed.
  • While the onions caramelize, begin boiling a pot of water for the pasta. Once a boil is reached, stir in salt. (I use ½ tbsp. kosher salt.)
  • Add the garlic to the onions and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
  • Add the combined sauce mixture (from step 1) in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, while you cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Drain once cooked.
  • Reduce the heat of the sauce to low. Gradually sprinkle in the cheese, stirring continuously, until combined.
  • Add the mushrooms and the pancetta and stir to combine. Add the cooked pasta gradually, until your desired sauce-to-pasta ratio is obtained. Serve!

Notes

Pro Tips:
  • Wine: Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay are great wine choices for this recipe. Chicken or beef broth can be used if you don't cook with wine.
  • Pasta: Orecchiette is a fun pasta choice for this, but other options include penne, ziti, medium shells, cavatappi, farfalle, and rigatoni.
  • Cheese: Shred the cheese from a block, it will melt and taste much better than packaged shredded cheese. I use Belgioioso Parmesan and Emmiusa Gruyere.
  • Mozzarella Cheese can be used instead of Gruyere. Use whole milk, low moisture mozzarella. I like using Galbani or  Dragone. 
  • Add the cheese over low heat, a base that's too hot will cause the dairy to separate and create a grainy consistency.
  • Mushrooms: White button mushrooms work well in this, baby portabella mushrooms or cremini mushrooms are great varieties too.
  • Onions: Do your best to slice them all the same size so that they cook evenly.
  • Hot Sauce: This is a flavor enhancer in this recipe and doesn’t make the end result spicy, I use Frank’s Hot Sauce.
  • Pancetta: I use Veroni diced Pancetta. Bacon or even finely diced ham can also be used. If you go meatless, consider adding 1/2 bouillon cube to the sauce to replace some of that savory depth of flavor.
  • Broth: It may seem counterintuitive to use chicken and beef broth in this recipe, but it adds a nice depth of flavor. All beef or all chicken broth may also be used.
  • Pasta Water: Always feel free to reserve pasta water as a precaution for creamy sauces. If the sauce becomes thick/clumpy, a small splash of pasta water will smooth it out.
Storage:
  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 568kcal, Carbohydrates: 56g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 690mg, Potassium: 510mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 506IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 268mg, Iron: 2mg
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Course: Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine: American, Italian
Author: Stephanie