Everything you love about French onion soup is in these Crave-Worthy French Onion Stuffed Shells. But now it's in a brand new (yet still incredibly delicious, and cheesy) unexpected form.
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Table of Contents Found Here
How this recipe came to be:
Since my recipe for French Onion Pork Chops is still one of the most popular posts on my blog, I keep trying to reinvent different ways to bring the rich, slightly sweet and savory flavors of deeply caramelized onions smothered in melted cheese to the dinner table in unusual ways. Enter, Crave-Worthy French Onion Stuffed Shells.
Imagine if you will, deeply caramelized onions (cooked in a slow cooker) with red wine, butter, beef broth and thyme until they're sweet and pungent. The onions are stuffed into large, perfectly cooked pasta shells until they're practically overflowing.
The stuffed shells are then layered on top of toasted, garlicky French bread, topped with an abundant mixture of grated Swiss, and Gruyere cheeses, and popped into the oven, so the cheese melts into a blanket of golden, gooey, goodness.
Be still my French onion loving heart!
As I mentioned earlier, I'm all about the brilliance of French onion deliciousness and have posted many different versions of the caramelized onion and cheese-themed based preparations in the past. Not the least of which are the following recipes for:
French Onion Pork Chops (that I spoke of earlier):
And, because everyone loves chicken, Cheesy French Onion Chicken:
As with all of these recipes I've shared the items that remain constant in my creations for French onion fare are the same ones that make French onion soup so iconic and beloved. The base of a substantial, crusty bread, the abundance of intensely flavorful, and perfectly caramelized onions, and of course, the best part of all (in my book) the topping of creamy, melted cheeses.
As you can see, Crave-Worthy French Onion Stuffed Shells ticks all those boxes, and adds pasta to boot! Yeah, baby!
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Along with the printer friendly version of this recipe for Crave-Worthy French Onion Stuffed Shells (which follows shortly), I'm happy to also share with you my step-by-step photo tutorial in case you're a visual learner like I am.
Ready to get cooking? Good! Let's begin!
The easy instructions for making slow cooker caramelized onions:
- Add butter and olive oil to a 7-quart slow cooker.
- Slice 5 large sweet onions and add them to the cooker along with salt and pepper.
- To the onions, add beef broth, red wine, and fresh thyme sprigs.
- Cover and cook on high for 8 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Allow the onions to cool and then place them in containers and refrigerate until ready to stuff the shells.
How to make French Onion Stuffed Shells:
- Add French bread into the bottom of a large casserole dish.
- Drizzle the bread with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with garlic powder, and fresh thyme leaves.
- Meanwhile, cook large pasta shells according to package directions.
- Drain the pasta shells and use a large spoon to generously fill the shells with the cooled, caramelized onions.
- Place the filled shells in a single layer on top of the prepared French bread.
- Grate Swiss and Gruyere cheeses and liberally cover the stuffed shells with the grated cheese.
- Top with additional fresh thyme leaves.
- Bake uncovered in a preheated 425-degree oven until the cheese is melted and golden and the shells are heated through approximately 30-35 minutes.
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Printable Recipe Card
French Onion Stuffed Shells
Equipment
- 5 inch Serrated Knife for slicing bread
- box grater optional, for grating cheese
- cheese grater optional, for grating cheese
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 large sweet onions sliced
- ½ cup beef broth
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 5-6 fresh thyme sprigs plus 1 tablespoon of thyme leaves
- 8 slices French bread
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 box (16 ounces) large pasta shells cooked according to package directions. Drained.
- 5 ounces Gruyere cheese shredded
- 8 ounces Swiss cheese shredded
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add the butter, olive oil, sliced onions, beef broth, red wine, salt and pepper into the slow cooker. Top with the fresh thyme sprigs. Stir well.
- Cover the cooker and set to high. Cook for 8 hours on high, stirring occasionally.
- Cool the onions. Remove the thyme sprigs.
- *Note - The onions can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the casserole.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius).
- Line a baking dish with sliced French bread.
- Drizzle the bread with olive oil and evenly sprinkle with garlic powder and half of the fresh thyme leaves.
- Use a large spoon to liberally fill the cooked and cooled pasta shells with the cooled carmealized onions.
- Place the stuffed shells on top of the prepared French bread slices.
- Evenly spread the grated cheeses over the stuffed shells and sprinkle with the remaining fresh thyme leaves.
- Bake uncovered in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden and the shells are heated through.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Dinner's ready. Let's eat!
I sincerely hope you've enjoyed today's caramelized onion stuffed shells recipe as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you!
Should you have any questions or comments regarding anything you've seen on my site, please don't hesitate to reach out to contact me. It is always my distinct pleasure to get back with you just as soon as I possibly can!
Thank you so much for visiting me today in my Kudos Kitchen. I hope you found something you'll love and that you will come back and visit me often. Please know that there is always room for you around my kitchen table!
Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!
Diana says
Just wanted to come back and tell you I cooked it according to your directions and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you!
Renée says
I'm so thrilled for you, Diana! There is nothing you could tell me that would make me happier! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know that the recipe was successful for you! You are so welcome!!! 🙂
Diana says
Can't wait to make this! Quick question - I've never seen a recipe with 8 hours on high. Should that read 8 hours on low?
Renée says
Hi Diana,
I did 8 hours on high because I wanted to get my onions as deeply caramelized as possible. Feel free to turn the cooker down to low and see how the onions are cooked according to your preference. I hope this answers your question.
Renee
Diana says
Thank you! How thick did you slice your onions?
Renée says
Because they cook so long, the specific size doesn't really matter. That said, I sliced mine between a quarter inch and a half inch. They don't need to be that precise.
megunprocessed says
This is creative! Great pictures.
amyengberson says
Gorgeous photos! And I'm absolutely in love with all that cheese!
Renée says
Thank you so much, Amy! I appreciate it, and I'm glad you like all the cheese. Me too 🙂
amindfullmom says
Renee--this is an incredible idea for a meal! I love it!
Amy Stafford says
All that ooey-gooey cheese! Looks incredible.
Joanie Zisk says
Goodness, what a unique recipe. I love the idea of stuffing the shells with the delicious cooked onions and then topping it off with mounds of cheese. This has to be absolutely delicious!
Renée says
Thank you so much, Joanie. Everything's better with mounds of cheese 😉
Krista says
This is such a great idea! I cannot wait to try this out!
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama says
I have been drooling over this since I saw it on social media yesterday! 😉 My husband loves French onion soup, so I know he would love these stuffed shells.
Renée says
Thanks, Carrie! I'm glad to know these made you drool 😉
Katerina @ Diethood says
This is absolutely amaaaazing!! I can't wait to try it!!
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads says
This recipe is genius and totally crave worthy! I love onion and pasta everything so this is a match made in heaven for me! YUM!
Renée says
Thanks, Sheena! I appreciate it!