November 30, 2016
French Onion Gnocchi Casserole
The only way to get through the winter is with a giant ass serving of this French Onion Gnocchi Casserole. All the flavors of the classic french onion soup morphed into a cheesy delicious casserole!

I need a kick in the ass.
Like a full on Chuck Norris round house kick to my tookus.
My procrastination is at an all time high. Or could it be my motivation is at an all time low? I am still getting my ducks in a row from hosting my family for Thanksgiving. You guys the holiday weekend was magical. I got to cuddle with my niece and nephew – mind you it was at 6:30AM, but I loved watching Finding Nemo for the eighteenth time and watching them giggle when Dory touches the butt.

Spending time with my folks who are literally my best friends was a blessing. And getting to cook in the kitchen with my brothers and sister-in-laws was something I will treasure forever. It was one of the moments in time where no one had an agenda and we all just wanted to be together. And not to toot my own horn, but the dinner was deemed the best Thanksgiving in history. TOOT. TOOT.

So, as we enter into full on Christmas mode, I am trying to get my tookus in the holiday spirit. Maybe my lack of cheerleader enthusiasm is the fact it’s not even December 1st and I feel I should have all the shopping done and decorations up. I sound like a Christmas curmudgeon, don’t I? Sighhhhhh.

Well, the only way to kick my procrastination to the curb is with comfort food. This French Onion Gnocchi Casserole was made to cure any woe. Fluffy gnocchi covered in French style caramelized onions toss in a decadent white gravy and topped with gooey mozzarella. If this decadent casserole doesn’t put pep in my Christmas step, I submitting my two week notice and working for the Grinch.
Now, who’s ready to kick my tookus?
Bueller?

Yield: Serves 4
French Onion Gnocchi Casserole
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 package gnocchi (or roughly 2 cups)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 large yellow onion, sliced thinly
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme ( + more for garnish)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large skillet, melt two tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the onions. Let the onions saute for about two minutes. Next, add the sugar, Worcestershire, thyme, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook the onions for another minute or two and then add the beef broth. Scraping the bottom of the skillet making sure everything is well combined, turn the heat to simmer. Stir the onions to keep them from burning at the bottom of the skillet until golden brown about 20 minutes. Set aside once cooked.
While the onions cook, bring a large pot full of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook according to package instructions. Once the gnocchi has cooked, drain through a colander and add to a baking dish.
In a saucepan, melt the remaining tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Next add the flour and whisk until a roux forms about a minute. Pour in the milk and whisk until thickened about five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble the casserole, evenly place the onions over the gnocchi. Next, pour the white sauce over the onions followed by mozzarella. Baked for about 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese has turned golden brown. Garnish with fresh thyme.
All images and text ©Lauren Grier for Climbing Grier Mountain

Appetizers,
Casseroles + Bakes,
Dinner,
Fall,
Pastas, Risottos + Grains,
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Seasonal,
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Spring,
Summer,
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Hi, and welcome to CGM! My name is Lauren and I'm a self-proclaimed foodie, recipe developer, action-adventure seeker, photography lover, and world traveler.
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This is my kind of casserole, love it!
You can’t beat white gravy!!
i always wondered how to spell tookus. 🙂
Ha!! I think tookus is the right way:)
Holy Cow! This was so good! And so easy. Followed the recipe as written and it came out fantastic. Loved it.
Yay!! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Only you could make me SO hungry after already eating a huge meal! This is OUT of this world amazing girl!!
Thanks,friend!
I can’t tell you how wonderful this looks to me right now. Total and complete comfort.
All hail the giant ass casserole!! 🙂
I want this to get me through winter! All that cheese and coziness – yasssss!
What perfect comfort food! This looks incredible!
Thanks so much, Jessica!
Can this be made ahead of time, like 24 hours? And obv refrigerated.
Yes! Absolutely, Heidi!
Won’t the gnocchi get tough if you reheat?
Hmmm….good point. Could make the filling ahead of time and then day you want to make the casserole just reheat the filling on the stove stop, boil the gnocchi, assemble, and then bake? That way the gnocchi won’t be soggy. Sorry about that!
I forgot to tell you earlier…made this for Christmas Eve. Major hit. It was so delicious! Definitely rich but absolutely delicious.
Yay!!! I am thrilled you liked the recipe:)
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Made it this morn. It’s okay. I think next time I will whisk the onion mixture in with the white sauce. The onion mixture was a bit overpowering with the Worcestershire. I did brown the gnocchia in butter after boiling and before placing in the dish. I think this dish would freeze and thaw well with a gentle warm up in the micro. I’m going to try chicken stock instead next time too see if that will help cut the bitterness. It is such a beautiful dish, and I wanted to really rave about it. I’m going to give it another go, but just tweak it a bit. Lovely writing by the way.
Hey Lane! Definitely let me know if you tweak the recipe with chicken stock. Would love to know how it tastes! Thanks!
Oh my word! This was delicious! I caramelized the onions in a cast iron skillet. After scraping them out I used the same skillet (with some of the ooey gooey goodness still there from the onions) to make the sauce. Fantastic! The only substitution I made was veggie broth instead of beef, as it’s what I had on hand. This recipe is a keeper and will definitely be on the regular rotation. Thanks for a such a great recipe!
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Looks amazing. What size casserole did you use?
Hey Dave! You can use a 9X13 or 8X8. Thanks!
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I made this for a bunch of my firefighters. The only hook was my phone died & I had to kind of wing it. I sautéed the onions & boiled the gnocchi per the recipe and then I pored the beef broth into the onions with Worcester but we only had a little in the bottle so I used really good balsamic. I forgot the sugar but the balsamic covered for me. I also forgot the milk and put the flour directly into the both that was at a rolling simmer (I’m not sure there is such a thing as a rolling simmer but I’m used to improvising). I also added sliced fresh mushrooms as I try to get these guys to eat as many veggies at once as I can. The bottom line is this turned out amazing! I paired it with a Cesar salad (more veg) and sweet tea. Holy moly, no leftovers.
Hey Mike!! Um, you need to have your own cooking show! Way to improvise!! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
Yes, total kick-ass! I loved it but my man struggled with the sweetness of the onions so I am going to try again with just 1 tsp sugar. Any ramifications?
You can 100% caramelize onions without adding any sugar. Sauté them low and slow and the onions all by themselves will cook into a jelly. It’s amazing. Adding sugar is the shortcut.
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