Description
French Onion Meatballs combine the rich, deep flavors of slowly cooked onions with tender ground beef meatballs, topped with a savory Gruyere cheese sauce. This dish is perfect for a comforting dinner, served with toasted baguette slices to soak up the luscious sauce.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the onions
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the meatballs
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the sauce and serving
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 6 ounces freshly grated Gruyere cheese (about 1 cup)
- Toasted baguette slices, for serving
Instructions
- Cook the onions: In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onions, garlic, bay leaves, and kosher salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are deeply golden and reduced significantly in volume, about 45 minutes. Add a splash or two of water if the pan becomes dry around 30 minutes. Add fresh thyme and black pepper, cook for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add white wine and butter, scraping up the browned bits from the pan. Remove bay leaves and transfer onions to a plate to cool. Rinse and wipe out the skillet, set aside.
- Make the meatball mixture: In a large bowl, combine ground beef, beaten egg, panko breadcrumbs, kosher salt, and black pepper. Roughly chop half of the cooled onions and add to the meat mixture. Mix thoroughly with clean hands until combined.
- Form the meatballs: Divide the mixture into 16 roughly 1½-inch meatballs. Shape into even mounds and cut into quarters twice to ensure uniform size.
- Cook the meatballs: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs spaced evenly and brown on all sides, about 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle flour over meatballs, toss gently and cook for 1 minute to remove raw flour taste.
- Add the sauce and simmer: Stir in low-sodium chicken broth, remaining reserved onions, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and allow to simmer until the sauce thickens and darkens slightly, about 10 minutes.
- Add the cheese and broil: Preheat broiler on low. Sprinkle grated Gruyere cheese evenly over the meatballs and sauce. Broil until the cheese melts and bubbles, about 2 minutes. Keep a close eye to prevent burning.
- Serve: Serve the French Onion Meatballs hot, garnished with toasted baguette slices for dipping into the luscious sauce. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Use dry white wine like sauvignon blanc for authentic flavor; if unavailable, substitute with chicken broth.
- Keep stirring the onions frequently to avoid burning during the long cooking time.
- For evenly sized meatballs, divide and quarter the mixture methodically.
- Watch closely when broiling cheese to prevent burning; the cheese melts very quickly.
- Leftovers store well for up to 5 days in the fridge and reheat nicely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs with sauce and baguette slices
- Calories: 380 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 550 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg