This Cocotte French Onion Pasta Bake is a single-serve twist on the viral French onion pasta bake, made with caramelized onions, tender pastina, and plenty of melted cheese.
This Cocotte French Onion Pasta Bake is my single-serve take on the viral French onion pasta bake, made mini in a cocotte. It combines deeply caramelized onions with tender pastina for all the flavors of French onion soup in a cozy baked pasta.
The pastina cooks with the caramelized onions until creamy, then gets topped with plenty of cheese and baked until melted and golden. It’s an easy comfort meal that’s perfect when you want something warm and satisfying without making a full-size pasta bake.
Make It Mini with Le Creuset
This recipe is apart of an ongoing series with Le Creuset where we reimagine recipes using their mini cocottes. This recipe reimagines how we make a baked brie takes advantage of all the benefits of doing it in a mini cocotte. Not only does it look great on a cheese board, but it allows us to bake cheese together, and to combine with honey and jam in one vessel.
If you’re looking for other fun ways to use a mini cocotte, be sure to check out the other recipes in this “Make It Mini” series.
Cocotte French Onion Pasta Bake
Ingredients
For the caramelized onions:
- 2 large onions
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- A few sprigs of thyme
- 2 tbsp port wine See note
- 2 tbsp butter
- Sea salt
- Pepper
The rest:
- 2/3 cup pastina
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup gruyere cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 4 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Make the caramelized onions: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Using a mandolin or by hand, thinly slice the onions.
- Add the onions to the skillet along with thyme sprigs, sea salt, and black pepper. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deeply golden and caramelized, about 30–40 minutes. Deglaze with a splash of port wine and cook for another 2–3 minutes, until the wine has reduced and the onions are glossy.
- Add ⅓ cup pastina to each mini and top each with 1-2 tbsp of caramelized onion and ½ cup beef broth or until you get pretty close to the top of the mini. You want everything to be submerged in the broth for a nice even cook.
- Bake for 18 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove and turn oven up to broil. Add 2 tbsp of cream per each cocotte. Grate cheese and add on top. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Enjoy!
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