This easy and cheesy French Onion Chicken Pasta Bake combines the best of both worlds - classic French onion soup and baked pasta. It's smothered with homemade caramelized onions and melty Gruyere cheese to create a delicious sweet and savory casserole. Talk about cozy!
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A Cozy Pasta Casserole
This French onion chicken pasta is based on the oh-so-classic French onion soup. The traditional version has deeply caramelized onions that create sweetness and color, while beef broth adds liquid comfort. A crispy crouton is dunked into the soup to soak up all that goodness, and then it's smothered with cheese and broiled to golden perfection.
We still get all of that in this casserole, but we swap out the croutons for hearty pasta to up the comfort. And we replace beef broth for chicken to enhance the shredded chicken we'll be adding in! All in all, it's an equally flavorful and cheesy dish but transformed into a complete meal.
To save time, we're using J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's method to caramelize onions from scratch. Instead of cooking onions over low and slow heat for an hour, he recommends sautéing the onions over high heat and deglazing the pan several times to loosen the browned bits on the bottom. The end result: tender, perfectly browned onions in a fraction of the time.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Fast: We're using a shortcut method to caramelize the onions. So, from start to finish, this French onion pasta casserole only needs 45 minutes!
- Cozy: Pasta, soup, and cheese. It's the perfect comfort food to warm and fill up your bellies!
- Complete meal: The main components of this dish are two full onions, shredded chicken, and pasta. It's a full meal in one casserole dish!
Ingredients
- Cooking oil: Avocado oil is my favorite oil to cook, fry, and sauté with because of its high smoke point (500°F). Try to get unrefined avocado oil if you can.
- Butter: Adds more flavor, but will burn if used alone. Combining oil and butter raises the smoking point. I like to use unsalted butter for better control of the flavor and sodium level.
- Sweet onions: Vidalia, Walla Walla, or Maui onions fall into this category. But you can still caramelize yellow onions without much of a flavor difference.
- Sugar: Since we're cutting down the time, a little sugar helps the caramelization process going.
- Chicken bone broth: To deglaze the pot and flavor the sauce. Bone broth has more health benefits than regular stock or broth, but make sure it's refrigerated or frozen. You can substitute with low-sodium chicken broth or stock.
- White wine: Use an affordable, dry white wine that you like to drink. I recommend a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
- Thyme, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce: All help to elevate and deepen the flavor.
- Pasta: I use brown rice penne for this dish. I recommend using a short pasta and one made from white or whole wheat or brown rice. These will hold up better than chickpea, lentil, or any other vegetable alternative pasta.
- Shredded chicken: This is a great way to use up rotisserie chicken!
- Gruyere cheese: One of the best parts of French onion soup is the broiled cheesy top! Feel free to switch it up with Provolone, Gouda, Swiss, or Mozzarella.
How To Make It
- Start caramelizing the onions. First, preheat the oven to 425°F and grease a large baking dish. I used a 10.5x7.5" baking dish - I recommend using something similar like a 9x9". Then heat butter and oil and add the sliced onions. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onions get lightly translucent.
- Season the onions. Add the salt and sugar. You don't want to salt too early because it'll draw out moisture, which will prevent browning. And since we're making fast caramelized onions, the sugar will help quick start the caramelization process.
- Cook over high heat for 5 minutes. Keep stirring constantly as the onions cook over high heat. The bottom of the pan should start to develop dark brown bits, or fond. If it's burning too quickly, turn the heat down a little. Add 1-2 tablespoon of the broth and scrape up as much of the fond as possible. Continue cooking and stirring for 4-5 minutes. Repeat for a total of 4 times.
- Add the white wine. If using, pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan one more time. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until the wine is completely absorbed. The onions should be browned and jammy at this point
- Finish off the caramelized onions. Add the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and garlic. Stir for a minute until the garlic is fragrant, then turn off the heat.
- Make the sauce. Pour in the broth and season generously with salt and pepper. Make sure to season to taste - this is the cooking liquid for the pasta so you want it to be well-seasoned!
- Assemble the casserole. To the greased baking dish, add the uncooked pasta, shredded or Rotisserie chicken, and onion soup. Do not mix together! We want the pasta to be as submerged and covered with sauce as possible. Top with shredded Gruyere cheese.
- Bake. Spray one side of foil with oil so the cheese won't stick. Cover the casserole dish, oiled side down, and bake for 10 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 8 minutes. Broil for a couple minutes, keeping an eye on it, until cheese is golden and bubbly. Let cool slightly before serving.
Top Tips
- Use a heavy bottom pot like a Dutch oven. An enameled cast iron Dutch oven distributes and holds heat very well. This is important for caramelizing and browning because your food will cook faster and more evenly.
- Do not walk away from the onions. Because there's a high sugar content, the onions can burn very easily. You have to stand watch and stir constantly to make sure they cook evenly.
- Don't mix the casserole before baking. We aren't cooking the pasta before we bake it, so it needs to stay submerged in the caramelized onion gravy. Creating layers is important in this casserole!
- Freshly grate your cheese. Pre-shredded bags of cheese have anti-caking agents that can prevent it from melting or browning as well. Freshly shredded tastes and melts much, much better.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you can't find sweet onions, like Vidalia or Maui onions, you can use yellow onions in their place. If it isn't sweet enough to your liking, add a little more sugar. You can also use a blend of yellow, sweet, red, and shallots - use whatever you have on hand.
- Substitute chicken bone broth with chicken or beef broth. I recommend the low-sodium version to prevent the casserole from becoming a salt bomb.
- If you want to replace the white wine, use ¼ cup white wine vinegar or lemon juice in its place. You can also omit it completely.
- If replacing dried thyme with fresh, use 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves.
- You can use any pasta you'd like, but short pastas like penne, rigatoni, shells, elbow, or cavatappi would work better. I also don't recommend using chickpea, lentil, or a vegetable alternate pasta because they'll overcook in the oven. But if you still want to try, bake covered for just 5 minutes, then uncovered for another 5 minutes.
- Substitute Gruyere cheese with sliced Provolone, mozzarella, Gouda, Fontina, or Swiss cheese.
- If you want to create a thicker, gravy-like sauce, add 1½ tablespoon flour to the onions after deglazing with white wine. Stir it in completely and cook for 1 minute before continuing with the recipe.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: To store leftover French chicken casserole, allow it to cool completely to room temperature. Store inside an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing: You can also freeze the cooked casserole. Let cool completely, then divide into individual portions. Store in an air-tight or zip-top bag in the freezer for up to 5 months.
Reheating: There are a couple of ways you can reheat a portion of the pasta bake. The fastest way is to warm it up in the microwave. This should take around 3 minutes from chilled. If your chicken casserole is frozen, add 1-2 more minutes.
You can also warm up leftover French onion pasta in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F and transfer the leftovers into an oven-safe dish. Cover with foil and bake for around 15 minutes from chilled, or until the cheese has melted again and all the layers are piping hot. If reheating from frozen, bake for 25 minutes.
FAQ
This French onion chicken pasta bake is a great solution for an easy all-in-one meal. It’s got pasta, chicken, onions, and cheese, so you can serve it up straight as it is for a simple dinner.
You could also try serving it with Spinach and Strawberry Salad, Classic Cobb Salad, or German Potato Salad for more veggies.
I use sweet or Vidalia onions every time I make this French onion soup casserole. I’ve experimented with various different onions and they all make great French onion soup. You can use sweet onions, red onions, yellow onions, or shallots in this recipe or to make French onion soup with fantastic results.
If you’ve got different types of onions, I recommend using a mixture. This will give you the most well-rounded and complex flavor for your dish.
How you cut the onions for French onion soup and this French onion chicken casserole matters. Because they’re quite large, you want them even. Having a mixture of small, medium, and large slices of onion just doesn’t work.
To cut the onions evenly, I use a tip recommended by Keni J. López-Alt. He suggests cutting the pole off each onion then slicing the onion in half from pole to pole. Lay the flat side of the onion down on your chopping board and slice at 60° angles toward the center of the onion, like a rainbow. To see a visual guide, check out Simply Recipes's guide to slicing an onion from root to stem.
There’s only a small difference between regular onion soup and French onion soup. Plain onion soup is usually made from different types of onions. A sweet onion, a red onion, and a shallot, for example. But French onion soup is traditionally made exclusively with one type of onion, most commonly yellow or sweet onions.
Looking For More?
If you're looking for more easy and delicious comfort food, try:
- Tortellini and Sausage Bake
- Pumpkin and Mushroom Risotto
- Mexican Meatballs
- Philly Cheesesteak Pizza
- Leeks and Bacon Carbonara
📋 Recipe
French Onion Chicken Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 sweet or Vidalia onions sliced (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups chicken bone broth divided
- ⅓ cup dry white wine I used a Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 oz uncooked penne pasta about 2¾ cups (I used brown rice penne)
- 1½ cups shredded chicken
- 1½-2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease or butter a large baking dish (I used a 10.5" x 7.5").
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot, add oil and butter over medium-high heat. Once butter is melted, add sliced onions and sauté until lightly translucent and soft, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Then add 1½ teaspoon salt and sugar. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. The bottom of the pan should start to get dark.
- Add 1-2 tablespoon broth and use your wooden spoon to scrape the dark bits off the bottom of the pot. Continue cooking on high for 4-5 minutes, constantly stirring and letting the bottom of the pan develop darken again. If it's turning black too quickly, turn the heat down to medium. Repeat with the broth, scraping the bottom. Repeat two more times for a total of 4 scrapings in 4-5 minute intervals for a total of 15-20 minutes and ¼ cup broth.
- Pour in white wine. Scrape the browned bits one more time and let reduce for 4-5 minutes, occasionally stirring. The onions should be getting soft and jammy at this point.
- When the wine has been completely reduced and there is little liquid left, add Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and garlic. Stir for 1 minute.
- Then turn off the heat. Add remaining 1½ cup broth and season generously with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the uncooked pasta into the casserole dish. Top with shredded chicken, then caramelized onions sauce, then shredded cheese. Do not mix - we want the pasta to stay on the bottom so it's submerged in liquid.
- Spray one side of foil with oil. Tightly cover casserole dish, oiled foil side down, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking uncovered for 8 more minutes. Then broil for 3-5 minutes until top is golden and bubbly. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Caramelized onions technique modified from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.
- I recommend slicing onions as pictured in Simply Recipes's guide to slicing an onion from root to stem.
- If you can't find sweet onions, like Vidalia or Maui onions, you can use yellow onions in their place. If it isn't sweet enough to your liking, add a little more sugar. You can also use a blend of yellow, sweet, red, and shallots - use whatever you have on hand.
- Substitute chicken bone broth with low-sodium chicken or beef broth.
- If you don't want to replace the white wine, use ¼ cup white wine vinegar or lemon juice. You can also omit it completely.
- If replacing dried thyme with fresh, use 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves.
- You can use any pasta you'd like, but short pastas like penne, rigatoni, shells, elbows, or cavatappi would work better. I also don't recommend using chickpea, lentil, or a vegetable alternate pasta because they'll overcook in the oven.
- Substitute Gruyere cheese with sliced Provolone, mozzarella, Gouda, Fontina, or Swiss cheese.
Nutrition
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Products I Used
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Lizzie
Was pretty good! I might add some cream of mushroom soup next time though