It’s no secret—we’re French Onion obsessed. TikTok may be obsessed with French onion pasta, but we added a special Delish twist: French onion mac & cheese. The comfort food classic gets a grown-up upgrade from Gruyère and caramelized onions in this recipe, lending that rich French onion flavor you know and love to extra-cheesy mac & cheese.
We served this in individual ramekins to make it shareable (and adorable), but you can totally bake this in an oven-safe dish if you’d prefer an easy weeknight option. Sophisticated enough to serve at a dinner party, this dish is also a perfect rich and hearty winter dinner to warm you up while the cold rages on outside.
Can’t get enough of the pasta + soup combo? Forget croutons and try our French onion gnocchi soup for another variation on these classic flavors.
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp.
butter, divided, plus more room temperature for brushing
- 2
large yellow onions, thinly sliced
-
Kosher salt
- 8 oz.
cavatappi or other short curly pasta
- 2 Tbsp.
all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups
whole milk
- 1 cup
grated fontina cheese
- 2 1/2 cups
grated Gruyère
- 1 cup
shredded sharp white cheddar
- 1 tsp.
Dijon mustard
-
Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp.
fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
-
- Step 1Preheat oven to 350°. Brush 4 to 6 ramekins (depending on size) or small ovenproof baking dishes with butter. Alternatively, brush one large baking dish with butter.
- Step 2In a large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden, about 30 minutes.
- Step 3Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, following package directions until al dente. Drain pasta.
- Step 4In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. While whisking, slowly pour in milk until combined. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring, until sauce is thickened, about 6 minutes. Stir in fontina, 1 cup of the gruyere, and cheddar until cheese is melted. Remove from the heat. Stir in the pasta, caramelized onions, Dijon, thyme, and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 5Divide mixture among ramekins and top each ramekin with the remaining gruyère. Bake until sauce is bubbly around the edges, about 20 minutes.
- Step 6Switch oven to broil and broil until cheese is golden, about 2 minutes. Garnish with more thyme before serving.
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