Golden Onion Casserole
Reminiscent of French Onion Soup, this Golden Onion Casserole with Thyme and Toasted Bread Rounds is rich with caramelized onions in a creamy sauce topped with toasted bread rounds. Absolutely delicious!
We loved this Golden Onion Casserole with Thyme and Toasted Bread Rounds so much I’m sharing it on the Food Network today too; this would be a wonderful addition to a holiday gathering. I like finding something new on the Thanksgiving table!
I was asked to highlight a unique way to add a twist to a Thanksgiving classic that family and friends will love. Last year I updated a dish for Thanksgiving and it was a tossup between two I wanted to feature. I ended up sharing these Baked Mushrooms in a Parmesan Cream Sauce but was sad I had to choose so this year was simple; my other choice was this Golden Onion Casserole.
I’ve made a few twists and the results in this Golden Onion Casserole with Thyme and Toasted Bread Rounds were stellar.
My only problem was a simple one. I couldn’t find my recipe! I haven’t made this since a move and I have books and notes and recipes everywhere but no luck. No problem, I thought for sure I had a version on my site from ‘the olden days’ when I would just post a recipe and nothing more. No photos, no story, just a recipe. I was right…whew!
My blog started in 1995 as a way to simply categorize and share with friends and relatives so I still have some of those simple recipes onboard; not yet published. But…it wasn’t there. Then I had a moment of clarity and remembered ‘The Wayback Machine.’ Have you ever been there? It’s an archive of websites and I knew my site was there and this page from May of 2005 saved the day!
Now that I had found the original it was time to update it a bit. I’ve modified several things; substituting Chicken Broth in lieu of the boullion granules, less milk, and using white instead of red wine. I also added fresh thyme (my herbs are still thriving in Denver’s warm weather!), and a blend of Italian cheeses instead of Gruyere or Swiss because it’s what I had on hand but you can use either of those choices.
I also changed the recipe up a bit for convenience using one pan for everything and eliminating one pot for cleanup. And it was perfect. Don’t tell but I had some for breakfast. English Muffins will never measure up again!
I put the recipe together the night before I took photos as I had run out of enough daylight and I’m glad it worked out that way as I want to recommend that for holiday preparations. I baked it for 8 minutes just to remove the chill; then topped it with the buttered bread rounds and completed the standard baking time.
Making and preparing the meal in one pot that can do the work both on the stove-top and in the oven was key to making this an easy recipe to prepare. I had been gifted with a beautiful signature blue pan from Le Creuset; it could not have been more perfect.
Functional both in preparation and after, it’s amazing how warm food stays with the lid on top…not that this dish will be around for long. Think French Onion Soup but in casserole form. To die for. Not kidding.
I know we all have important holiday traditions and that preparing and serving some standard recipes are important. Still, if you’re like me and like to add something new once in awhile, this would be a great one to make an appearance.
I can promise you that your family and/or guests will love it so much that they will want it to appear every year just like mine do. And then of course if there are any leftovers…you sure have a great breakfast treat; I know this for a fact. 🙂
PIN IT! ‘Golden Onion Casserole’
Golden Onion Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 medium onions sliced (peel and halve then and use your food processer…piece of cake!)
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 4 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chicken broth For vegetarian use vegetable broth
- ¼ cup white wine
For the Topping
- ¾ pound Italian Style Cheese (or use Gruyere or Swiss cheese), shredded
- 1 French bread baguette sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
- ¼ cup butter melted
For Garnish
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves optional
Instructions
- In large oven proof skillet, sauté onions in 1/4 cup butter over medium heat, stirring frequently until onions are transparent, about 15 minutes.
- Continue cooking until the moisture has evaporated and onions turn a light brown color. Add thyme and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan into a bowl and set aside.
- In the same skillet over low heat, melt remaining 4 Tbsp. butter. Whisk in flour and stir for 2 minutes. Add salt, pepper, milk and chicken broth, stirring constantly until thickened.
- Stir in white wine and combine well.
- Add onions back to the skillet and stir to combine the mixture well.
- Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese.
- Dip one side of bread slices in the 4 Tbsp. of melted butter. Place slices, buttered side up, over sauce, covering sauce completely. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bread is browned.
- Garnish servings with fresh thyme leaves.
Didn’t anyone else realize that it says “add the thyme” but thyme isn’t in the ingredients list except as a garnish at the end? How much thyme do you add to the onions and butter?
Oops…fixed that now; the original recipe did not call for it so I threw some in and yes, forgot to add that ingredient to the ingredients list. I also corrected the amount of butter; it takes a lot!
I don’t see where you corrected the recipe to reflect adding thyme to the list of ingredients other a garnish. If that wasn’t updated, is it possible that the amount of butter wasn’t updated as well? Please let us know how much thyme you used and how much butter. Thanks!
I certainly meant to do that…but did now! I updated several things; my change to new software to formulate and setup recipes making them easy to print also needed some editing; the butter was confusing…my notes calling for it in either portion of a cup OR tablespoons blended the two together. Fixed that; should be good to go. Thanks for the heads up…Barb
this looks great, thanks for digging this up in the wayback time machine, love how all of this looks like it will likely combine with the melted cheese in tasty affiliation with the onions and bread rounds!
I have to head back over there…still things I have not redone yet and whoa is it time! This one is so delicious; absolutely needs to be made!
Since we share a love of Famous-Barr French Onion Soup, this has to be the next best thing. Got to try this for the day after Thanksgiving as I always run out of stuffing. And looks a lot easier than Fondue when you are serving family. Thanks for resurrecting this.
I made the soup for a neighbor and he liked it…but he LOVED this so I think it will stand the test. Hope you do too!
Neat dish! Reminds me of two or three dishes (including French onion soup) rolled into one. Winner! 🙂
It tastes so similar to French Onion Soup but it’s thicker and richer and the thyme was a nice touch. I love it so much I had to call a friend to come get some…a bit too rich for me to finish it off!