French Onion Boursin Pasta
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Rich, creamy, and absolutely irresistible, this French Onion Boursin Pasta recipe is the ultimate comfort food you didn’t know you needed! Sweet, oven-caramelized onions bring that classic French onion flavor, while creamy Boursin cheese melts into the pasta to create a luscious, flavorful sauce. It’s an easy, restaurant-quality dinner that feels fancy but comes together with just a handful of ingredients!
Why you’ll love this pasta recipe
I’m not on TikTok. Ya’ll I tried, but as an elder millennial, I just can’t do it. Luckily, Instagram still fills me in on the trends, like the viral baked Boursin pasta recipe, and the viral one pot french onion pasta recipe. I decided to make my own mash-up of these two viral recipes and I am in love with the taste of this pasta recipe!
After testing and perfecting this recipe, the onions are perfectly caramelized in the oven, the sauce is perfectly creamy, and the entire dish is perfectly seasoned. This is why I know you’ll love this recipe! Well that and it’s so easy to make with 5 ingredients, plus salt and pepper. The hands-on time is only 15 minutes, so you can easily make it for a weeknight meal.
Flavorful comfort food in an easy-to-make recipe, sign me up!
Ingredients
Here I explain the best ingredients for this French Onion Boursin Pasta recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For the exact ingredient measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Onions – you’ll need two pounds of onions for this recipe. I recommend yellow onions for a neutral flavor, or vidalia onions if you’d like a sweeter flavor. Two large onions should equal about two pounds.
- Head of garlic
- Olive oil
- Salt + black pepper
- Boursin cheese – there are several varieties of boursin cheese. I recommend using the garlic and fine herbs variety for this recipe. You’ll need two 5.2 ounce packages of the cheese to make this recipe.
- Penne pasta – you can also use another pasta shape, like small shells, rotini pasta, cavatappi, or macaroni noodles.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Caramelize the onions in the oven. Thinly slice two pounds of onions and add them to a 9 inch by 13 inch baking dish. Peel all of the cloves from a head of garlic. Add the whole cloves to the baking dish with the onions. Pour olive oil over the onions and garlic, season with salt, and toss to combine. Cover the baking dish with foil and place in a preheated 400°F oven for 45 minutes.
- Add the cheese. After 45 minutes, remove the onions from the oven, remove the foil and snuggle the two rounds of Boursin cheese right in the middle of the onions and garlic. Place the dish back in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Cook the pasta. While the cheese bakes with the onions, bring a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove. Add the penne pasta and cook according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining the pasta.
- Toss the pasta. Once the onions and cheese come out of the oven, stir everything together, then stir in the cooked pasta and ½ cup of pasta water. Stir and add more pasta water until the dish reaches your desired consistency. Season with black pepper and serve immediately.
Optional additions
This pasta dish is honestly perfect, but if you want to add more veggies, some protein, or a little burst of umami flavor, here are a few ideas for additions.
- Worcestershire sauce – I added a tablespoon of this sauce the first time I made the dish and it added a great umami flavor to the dish. But after testing this recipe thoroughly, I didn’t think the end result needed the sauce. The perfectly caramelized onions and garlic herb cheese give this dish great flavor.
- Mushrooms – another umami addition, and a way to add more veggies to this dish. Add 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms to the onions after the 45 minute onion cook time. Toss the mushrooms with the onions and garlic before adding the cheese and baking the dish for 30 minutes.
- Chicken – toss in a cup of shredded rotisserie chicken at the end with the cooked pasta to add protein to the dish.
What to serve with it
Pair this incredible Boursin pasta recipe with bread and a salad for an impressive meal!
Baked French Onion Boursin Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
- 1 head garlic, peeled and cloves removed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 10.6 ounces garlic herb Boursin cheese, two 5.3 ounce packages
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Add the onions and garlic cloves to a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Pour the olive oil over the onions, sprinkle with the salt, then toss to coat.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover, snuggle the boursin cheese in the middle of the onions and bake for an additional 30 minutes uncovered.
- While the cheese bakes with the onions, bring a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove. Add the penne pasta and cook according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining the pasta.
- Once the onions and cheese come out of the oven, stir everything together, then stir in the cooked pasta and ½ cup of pasta water. Stir and add more pasta water until the dish reaches your desired consistency. Season with the black pepper and serve immediately.
Notes
- Store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the fridge. I recommend reheating it in the microwave, or on the stove, with a little bit of water or broth to prevent it from drying out.
Nutrition Facts
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