• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • Cookies
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Cookies
    • Birthday Cake Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans
  • Shop

French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

April 16, 2020 by Joy the Baker 19 Comments

Jump to Recipe

I’m here today with a humble invitation: French Onion everything.

To French an onion is to caramelize it (not technically, but you know and love the soup from whence these onions came). Caramelizing a vegetable means, in not so precise terms, that we’re using the vegetables natural sugars, heat, fat, and time to transform a usually sharp root into… basically candy.

Compelling, right? Not just compelling, it’s undeniable kitchen magic!

Can I be honest about something? This week doing things feels a touch more difficult that usual. It’s hard to describe but best I can tell, we’ve all got sandbags around our ankles and a weighted blanket over our shoulders – emotionally – ya know?

I’ve wavered this week in my desire to cook every single meal for myself.  At times like these, salted almonds and buttered popcorn is absolutely a balanced meal – no judgements.  But even still, there is meditation to be found in the kitchen when I can muster the will.

Caramelized onions are my meditative balance between effort and ease.  There’s chopping and stirring. Stirring and resting.  Stirring and daydreaming.  Stirring and staring at the wall.  Whatever you need there’s space for it with these onions and absolute reward when these onions sweeten to candy and melt inside a grilled cheese sandwich.

Pair this sop with my Creamy Tomato Soup for the ultimate dinner win.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Two onions, peeled and sliced into thin half moons.  We’re making enough onions for two or three sandwiches (depending on your generosity) or enough for leftovers for tomorrow’s scrambled eggs.

•  Unsalted butter and olive oil to cook the onions down to delicious. Fat is always the answer. The olive oil helps keep the milk solids in the butter from scorching.

•  A few good pinches of granulated sugar to help the onions caramelize.

•  Salt and pepper for balance – the salt will also help draw the moisture out of the onions as they cook.

•  Fresh thyme for depth though dried thyme would be just fine.

•  Gruyere cheese or any kind you might prefer.  I love the nutty sharpness of gruyere.  Whole grain mustard might also be nice to coat the bread.

•  Sliced bread – whatever ya got, whatever ya like.



We’ll start by cooking down the onions since this takes some sweet time.

Heat the oil and melt the butter in a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and toss the to coat in fat.

Allow the onions to cook down.  This requires a balance of attention and inattention.  No need to stir too frequently, the onions need some quality time with the heat to really break down.

Add a good pinch of sugar, salt and pepper as the onions cook.  Add the thyme leaves, too.

The onions will take on a deep brown color and melt together into an almost jam.

Add a splash of beef broth or any broth really.  Water and wine are also great substitutes.

Deglaze the pan with liquid, scraping any flavorful brown bits from the bottom of the pan, coaxing the onions into jam.

Remove the onions from the hot pan and let them cool slightly while you assemble the sandwiches.



Spread several slices of bread with softened butter. Some people spread the inside of the bread with mayonnaise which you either think is a fantastic or horrific idea.

Top with grated cheese and generous spoonfuls of onions.

As with any grilled cheese, place the sandwiches in a hot pan and flip when browned.

I always burn at least one sandwich but that’s just who I am as a person – bad with toast.



Next week we’ll add a super comforting tomato soup to this sandwich situation but for now – enjoy the most delicious onions on the most simple sandwich.

Photos with Jon Melendez.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 4 persons 1x
Pin Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 medium yellow onions, peeled cut in half and sliced into 1/4-inch thick semi-circles
  • 3 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, plus more for buttering the bread
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 scant teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 heaping teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
  • pinch of granulated sugar
  • 3–4 tablespoons beef broth, beer, or white wine to deglaze the pan
  • 1/2 cup finely shredded Gruyere cheese, please use more cheese to your own taste
  • 4 slices bread, or more depending on how many sandwiches you’d like to make

Instructions

  1. Place a medium, heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil and stir until butter is melted. Add the sliced onions all at once. Stir to coat the onions in the fat. Allow onions to cook, undisturbed, for about 4 minutes. Add salt, thyme, and pepper and stir. Place lid on the pan and allow to onions to cook for about 4 minutes at a time. Lower the heat if the onions are browning too quickly. Remove the lid to stir the onions every so often. The onions will begin to brown, break down, and resemble an onion jam.
  2. When onions are entirely browned and completely soft, add your liquid (beef broth, beer, wine, or water) to the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape any burned bits off the bottom of the pan as the liquid evaporates. This takes about 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat and allow to rest while you assemble the sandwiches.
  3. Butter one side of each slice of bread. On the unbuttered side add a good sprinkling of gruyere, top with warm onion mixture, top with more cheese and the final piece of sandwich bread. Repeat process in assembling the other sandwich.
  4. Cook sandwiches over medium heat in a medium saute pan. Flip and cook until golden on the outside and melty on the inside. Place sandwich on a cutting board. Allow the sandwiches to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before slicing. Enjoy warm!

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Savory

Previous Post: « Let It Be Sunday, 266!
Next Post: Let It Be Sunday, 267! »

Reader Interactions

All Comments
I Made This
Questions
  1. Susanne V.

    October 15, 2021 at 5:42 pm

    This is the very best grilled cheese sandwich in the Universe! Absolutely delicious! Just made these tonight and served them with a big salad.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Angela

    April 29, 2020 at 1:48 pm

    You’re a genius. This was unspeakably delicious.

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Dinner

French onion chicken in a bowl surrounded by glasses on a table
One-Pot French Onion Chicken Dinner

All the comforts of French onion soup turned into a cozy one-pot dinner.  This French Onion Chicken dinner is downright romantic and perfect for this winter weekend spent all cuddled up. You know every year I trapse in here with a version of Marry Me Chicken that is rumored to be soo good as to…

Read More

Guest: Julia Turshen’s Chicken Francese

Welcome our first December guest – Julia Turshen! Julia Turshen is a best selling cookbook author, food writer, chef, and food equity advocate. She lectures on food and home cooking and has published four solo books on the subject and has contributed to many others in collaboration or as a writer. She hosts the podcast…

Read More

Texture of homemade hamburger helper in pot.
One-Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper with Sneaky Veggies

You’ll be making this homemade hamburger helper recipe for dinner at least once a month. It’s a hearty and comforting dish and jam packed with secret veggies. Not that we need to keep veggies a secret but… sometimes we do. Let’s make classic Helper from scratch! Your kids (or the child inside your heart) will…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

BREADS YOU’LL LOVE

jambalaya buttermilk biscuits in a row

Smoked Sausage Jambalaya Buttermilk Biscuits

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate

How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Orange roll on a plate with a fork.

Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

LET’S MAKE COOKIES!

wider shot of lemon bars stacked on a plate with a bite taken out of one lemon bar

My Favorite Classic Lemon Bars Recipe

completed recipe close up shot of a blondie so the toasted almonds, chocolate chips, and sea salt can be seen

My Best Classic Blondie Recipe

cowboy cookies close up showing texture.

Cowboy Cookies with salted cereal brittle

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
Second coffee: the perfect way to re-start the day Second coffee: the perfect way to re-start the day. 
✨Beignet Café au Lait✨⁣
⁣1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk⁣⁣
Splash of vanilla extract⁣⁣
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks⁣⁣
2 cups fresh brewed strong coffee⁣⁣
½ cup toasted cinnamon cereal, lightly crushed⁣⁣
Powdered sugar for topping⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Place sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Add half of the whipped cream and fold to combine.  Add the remaining half and fold until you have a fluffy sweet cream. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Divide brewed coffee between two mugs. Spoon dream on top.  Sprinkle cinnamon cereal between the cups.  Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy immediately.
Life Skill No. 458: How to Make 1️⃣2️⃣ Cup Life Skill No. 458: How to Make 1️⃣2️⃣ Cupcakes with just 1️⃣ Stick of Butter⁣
⁣
Full recipe linked in my bio! xo
Someone call @foodnetwork because Dad and I need a Someone call @foodnetwork because Dad and I need a baking show stat. Here’s our very best chocolate chip cookies and all the little tips that make them perfection. ✨🍪 Find the full recipe linked in the profile!
We’re baking the classics on Joy the Baker this We’re baking the classics on Joy the Baker this month and up next, my very favorite Lemon Bar recipe with fresh lemon juice and the tiniest hint of coriander. ⁣🍋🌼✨
⁣
Find the full recipe linked in the profile and bust out the white chocolate and macadamia nuts for next week’s bake! ⁣
⁣
#lemonbars #easybaking #bakedfromscratch #joythebaker
Day in the Life: out in the woods writing a little Day in the Life: out in the woods writing a little cookbook about camp food. 💖🏕️🙋🏻‍♀️
Homesick Banana Bread. Recipe linked in the profil Homesick Banana Bread. Recipe linked in the profile (and you don’t have to be homesick to make it). #bananabread #sundaybaking
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up