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French onion meatballs in a pan.
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French Onion Meatballs

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Aleksandra

Ingredients

caramelized onions:

  • 2 pounds (900g) yellow onions
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • pinch of salt

for the meatballs:

  • 2 pounds (900g) ground chicken or lean ground beef
  • 1/3 of the caramelized onions
  • 2 cloves garlic pressed through a garlic press
  • 2 teaspoons thyme
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup (65g) fine breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup (100g) grated Gruyere cheese
  • 1 tablespoon fine sea salt or to your taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons frying oil for cooking the meatballs

for the gravy:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3 cloves garlic finely chopped with a knife
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) dry white wine
  • 2 cups (480ml) good-quality beef broth or chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2/3 of the caramelized onions
  • 1 1/2 cups (150g) grated Gruyere cheese
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley to garnish

Instructions

Make caramelized onions:

  • Peel the onions and cut them into thin slices.
  • Heat olive oil in a large pan (or pot, preferably heavy-bottomed), add the onions and a big pinch of salt.
  • Cook the onions until golden brown and caramelized (you can take a look at the photos in the post above) - it will take about 40 minutes.
  • At the beginning you can stir the onions only from time to time but as they darken you will need to stir more often. While stirring make sure to scrape all the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Be careful not to burn the onions – they will be bitter. Anytime the onions look like they are starting to burn on the bottom of the pot – stir them with a spatula or deglaze the pan with a small amount of water.
  • The heat will depend on the stovetop and it can vary. Start cooking the onions on medium or medium-high heat (to evaporate excess liquid from the onions), then reduce to medium/medium-low, then cook the onions on low at the end of the cooking time. Adjust the heat to lower if you see that the onions are browning too fast, and increase the heat if you see that the onions are cooking/browning too slow.
  • I´m using the time between stirring the onions to prep all the other ingredients and cook mashed potatoes which I like to serve most with this dish.
  • Transfer the caramelized onions to a plate.

Make the meatballs:

  • Add all the ingredients for the meatballs to a large bowl: ground meat, 1/3 of the caramelized onions (roughly chopped), garlic pressed through a garlic press, thyme, milk, eggs, breadcrumbs, grated Gruyere, salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients until well-combined using your hands or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (just don´t beat the mixture for too long - until just combined).
  • If you´re not sure about the seasoning, you can cook a small amount of the meat mixture in the pan until cook through, taste it and add more seasonings if necessary.
  • Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the mixture into rough balls on a prepared baking sheet or wooden board. Coat your hands in olive oil (to prevent sticking) and roll the mixture into meatballs.
  • Heat the frying oil in a large frying pan (you can use the same pan you´ve used to cook caramelized onions). Cook the meatballs over medium/medium-high heat until browned on all sides, they don´t have to be cooked through, they can finish cooking later in the sauce. Transfer the meatballs to a plate.

Make the sauce:

  • Add butter and garlic to the pan. Cook for 30 seconds over low heat, stirring.
  • Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add the wine and cook for 1-2 minutes or until almost evaporated.
  • Add broth and cook for a couple of minutes over medium heat until thickened.
  • Season the sauce with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
  • Add your meatballs back to the sauce. Spread the remaining caramelized onions on top.
  • Top with Gruyere cheese, cover the pan with a lid and cook until the meatballs and cooked through (or just heated through) and the cheese is melted (the meatballs are cooked through when their internal temperature is 165°F/74°C).
  • Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Calories = 1 serving (1/6 of the recipe, 6 meatballs per person). This is only an estimate!
These meatballs are also amazing on their own, without the sauce. If you have some leftover caramelized onions, for example from French Onion Soup, use them in this recipe!

Nutrition

Calories: 673kcal