Transform French Onion Soup Into A New Dish With This Simple Addition

While everyone's obsessing over pumpkins this fall, why not turn your attention to the classic French onion soup? But instead of enjoying this soup the usual way, transform it into a hearty, all-in-one dish with a simple ingredient: pasta. French onion soup is known for its sweet and savory broth, as well as its heartwarming aroma. With pasta, you won't have to worry about altering the soup's signature taste; it doesn't significantly change the flavor. Instead, it will just give the soup a fork-twirling twist.

The typical recipe pairs French onion soup with bread, which tends to get soggy. With this modification, the pasta takes over as the starchy element that will soak up the flavors from the ingredients, including, but not limited to, caramelized onions, broth, wine, cheese, garlic, thyme, and other herbs. By cooking the pasta directly in the broth, you allow all the savoriness of the dish to penetrate each piece. As a result, you'll have a pasta dish that feels entirely new but still familiar. The best part is you don't need to use extra pots or go through more cooking steps to pull this recipe off. It's also the perfect meal when the weather turns cold.

Pasta always acts as a natural canvas for flavor. That's why so many of the best pasta recipes never get old. When you add pasta to French onion soup, its starch helps thicken the sauce. Each piece of pasta also absorbs the broth directly, so every bite is infused with the same savory and herby notes the soup is known for. In the classic recipe, the caramelized onions provide most of the body, which is why the dish is often complemented with bread. By replacing bread with pasta, you still get the carbs, just in a different form. One thing you shouldn't replace, however, is the cheese. The go-to mix by professional chefs is gruyere and mozzarella.

When choosing your pasta, go for a type whose shape can maximize the potential of the dish. Rigatoni is a good choice since its wide tubes can hold onto the silky onion sauce while still staying firm in a simmering dish. However, if you don't have rigatoni in your pantry, other short pastas, such as penne, cavatappi, or medium shells, will work. Their ridges will capture the creamy sauce, so you'll be delighted with each bite. Should you prefer long pasta, we suggest thick strands like fettuccine or tagliatelle since they maintain their structure quite well when being cooked, allowing the saucy soup to cling to them.