This french onion stuffing is a must for your holiday menus! It’s a simple recipe that feeds a crowd, with all of the decadent, savory flavors of french onion soup. There’re caramelized onions running throughout the dish, lots of warming herbs, and of course plenty of melted gruyère cheese.
french onion stuffing – the details
I’ve used french onion soup as inspiration for many recipes – my favorite being this french onion pizza. And while you would think the concept would get old, I am constantly craving the warming, comforting flavors and cheesy texture of this classic dish.
So when setting out to create a new stuffing recipe for the holidays, a french onion stuffing seemed like the perfect thing to make.
Onions are cooked down with butter, fresh thyme, bay leaves, garlic, sherry wine, and beef stock until sweet and caramelized. They’re combined with torn french bread, eggs, and gruyère cheese. After baking, the bread soaks up all the onion flavor. A little more gruyère over top becomes gooey and melted, while the top pieces of bread get nicely toasted.
Serve it for any holiday gathering, and I’m sure it’ll be a crowd favorite!
PrintFrench Onion Stuffing
a french onion soup inspired stuffing full of caramelized onions and gruyère cheese
servings: 12
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 lbs yellow onions, peeled + thinly sliced
- 1 bundle fresh thyme sprigs, tied in kitchen twine
- 2 bay leaves
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup sherry wine
- 2 ½ cups beef stock
- 1 (1 ¼ lb) loaf french bread
- 2 eggs
- 12 oz gruyère cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven (or heavy-bottomed pot) over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and butter. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, thyme, and bay leaves. Season with a generous pinch of salt and cracked black pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook the onions until soft and golden, about 40 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.
- Pour in the sherry wine and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the beef stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat again to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13” baking dish with a little olive oil. Cut the loaf of bread into quarters and then tear each quarter into bite-size pieces.
- Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Retrieve about 2 cups of the onion/stock mixture and whisk it in with the eggs. Add in the torn bread and 4 ounces of the gruyère. Toss gently to fully coat the bread.
- Transfer the bread mixture to the baking dish. Pour the remaining onion/stock mixture evenly over top. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes.
- Turn the oven to broil on high. Top the stuffing with the remaining 8 ounces of gruyère. Transfer the stuffing back to the oven and let the cheese brown, about 1-2 minutes (watch closely so it doesn’t burn). Serve the stuffing with black pepper and extra fresh thyme leaves over top.
Any thoughts on what exactly is ‘French Bread’? Baguette or peasant loaf? Anybody?
When you say French Bread, do you mean a baguette?
Hi Clay! I didn’t go with a baguette for this because I figured there’d be too many crusty edges. I used a large round French loaf (crusty on the outside and soft on the inside). I hope this helps! -Kayla
Hi there. Do you have a substitute for the sherry wine?
Hi there! A dry white wine would work well. Or, if you’re looking to omit wine completely, I would suggest a splash of white wine vinegar. I hope this helps! -Kayla
Hi there! Do you have a substitute for the sherry wine?