French onion soup is one of my absolute favorite foods- truly a comfort meal I could enjoy over and over and never get tired of it. I already have a recipe for French Onion Chicken and French Onion Pasta, so it got me thinking – what else could benefit from the sweet and smoky flavor of french onion? Beef. That’s how this French Onion Meatloaf was born, and boyyy is it YUMMY. It’s loaded with caramelized onions, topped with melty gruyere cheese, and is chock full of protein. It makes for a great entree, or you could make it in muffin form as an easy meal prep.
Making French Onion Meatloaf
Making this meatloaf is simple, just caramelizing the onions takes some patience. You’ll want to heat a pan up over medium heat, chop your onions, and add some oil to the pan. You want to cook the onions for 10 to 15 minutes until they’re super soft and turning brown. Then add a little bit of balsamic and mix well until they’re fully coated and a nice dark brown. Set them aside to cool while you mix up your meatloaf.
Combine your ground beef and your egg, breadcrumbs (sub GF breadcrumbs to make this gluten free!), French onion soup mix, dried thyme, and beef broth, and mix well. You’ll wanna mix about 3/4 of the caramelized onions into the meatloaf itself, reserving the rest for topping.
Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray so that your meatloaf doesn’t stick. Add the ground beef mixture in, top with additional caramelized onions, spreading them all over the top. Then, top with your shredded Gruyere cheese and a sprinkle of dried thyme and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to one hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. I use a meat thermometer to check the internal temp!
Serve with your choice of sides and enjoy! I serve this with some crispy air fried brussels sprouts, or it would be great with some mashed potatoes, green beans, etc. Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
French Onion Meatloaf
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Skillet
- 9×5 Loaf Pan
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef I used a 93%
- 2 large onions sliced thin
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs plain or Italian
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup French onion soup mix 1 packet is 1/4 cup
- 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Fresh parsley chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Peel onions, cut in half, and then thinly slice your onions (half moons).
- Heat up 1-2 tbsp of avocado oil in a large pan over medium heat and add onions. Cook for 12-15 min, until browned, reduced in size by about half, and caramelized. Add balsamic, stir in, and remove from heat. Let cool slightly before adding to meat.
- Combine meat, egg, breadcrumbs, French onion soup mix, dried thyme, and beef broth and mix well. Add 3/4 of your onion mixture and mix well.
- Add meatloaf mixture to a well-greased and parchment-lined 9×5 loaf pan, patting it smooth, and top with remaining caramelized onions.
- Top with gruyere and bake for 45 min to 1 hour, until the internal temperature reaches at least 160F.
- Slice into 6 slices and serve with your choice of sides. Enjoy!
