These cheesy French Onion Meatballs are a comforting dinner recipe with robust flavors. Caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese smother tender meatballs in a garlic white wine sauce for a hearty low carb meal!
Cheesy Meatball Skillet
We love a good cheesy meatball skillet. It’s such a family friendly dinner idea that is always a hit. From Cheesy Meatball Sub Casserole and Buffalo Turkey Meatballs, to these French Onion Meatballs, we can’t get enough of a good meatball recipe!
Baked Meatballs
We take all the great flavors of French Onion Soup and mix them into a meatball skillet for a lower carb dinner recipe that is filling and delicious.
For the most tender meatballs, we prefer baking them. While the meatballs are baking, you can make the easy French onions in a skillet. Mix them together and top with some hand grated gruyere cheese. Pop it under a broiler for a wonderful mix of saucy onions, tender meatballs and melted flavorful cheese with fresh herbs. It doesn’t get much better than this baked meatball skillet!
How to make French Onion Meatballs
We are making homemade meatballs from scratch with ground beef, because they are so much more tender and flavorful than the frozen alternative. Frozen meatballs have their place when you’re in a pinch for time, but we always recommend homemade meatballs when it’s an option.
Homemade Meatball Recipe
To get started we are going to make a panade, which is just a fancy word for bread soaked in milk. The milk soaked bread infuses the meatballs with tons of moisture.
For the panade, you will cube 3/4 cup of bread and soak it with 1/4 cup milk. This is a great opportunity to use up some stale bread. Let the bread soak in the milk for 5-10 minutes until the bread is completely soaked and almost a paste consistency. If you’ve never made meatballs with a panade for your meatballs before, you are missing out and this step is absolutely worth the little added effort.
Add the beef, egg, garlic, salt, pepper, egg and Italian seasoning. Use a cookie scoop to form meatballs and roll them into balls. Arrange the meatballs on a baking tray, being careful not to crowd them. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.
French Onions
In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the sliced onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 7 minutes. To the onions, add the minced garlic and cook for a minute. Add the thyme, wine and beef broth to the skillet. Stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
When the meatballs are ready, remove them from the oven and set the oven to broiler at 500°F. Arrange the meatballs in the skillet with the onion and give a gentle stir to coat the meatballs.
Grate a block of gruyere cheese and sprinkle it on top of the meatballs. Return the skillet to the oven and broil for 4 minutes until cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown. Keep a close eye on the meatball skillet while broiling, as broiling always cooks incredibly fast.
Best Cheese for French Onion
We are using gruyere cheese for the best flavor, but it isn’t the only option for French onion recipes. Provolone, Fontina and Monterey Jack are all good mild cheese options. You won’t get as much flavor, but they produce a wonderfully melty result. If you want all sharper cheese, but don’t have any gruyere, white cheddar is a good alternative.
What to serve with meatballs
Remove the French Onion Meatballs from the oven and garnish with optional parsley and additional thyme. Serve the meatball skillet with some garlic mashed potatoes or rice.
For more side dish recipes that go well with meatballs, be sure to check out some of our favorites,
- Roasted Carrots in the Oven – While the oven is already on, pop in some of these delicious carrots. It’s one of the best ways to enjoy carrots in my opinion!
- Roasted Beet Recipe – A great vegetable side perfect to pair with meatballs.
- Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits – For a hearty meal, soak up all that wonderful French onion sauce with these tender biscuits.
- Roasted Caesar Asparagus – All the goodness of Caesar salad served over roasted asparagus!
French Onion Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- ¾ cup cubed white bread
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/3 cup onion finely minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
French Onions
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 medium yellow onions sliced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup beef broth
- 1 ½ cup grated gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Meatballs
- In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes and milk. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- When the bread is soaked well, add the beef, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, egg and Italian seasoning. Use a cookie scoop to form meatballs and roll them into balls.
- Arrange the meatballs on a baking tray, being careful not to crowd them. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.
French Onions
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add sliced onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute.
- Add the thyme, wine and beef broth to the skillet. Stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
- When the meatballs are ready, remove them from the oven and set the oven to broiler at 500°F. Add the meatballs to the skillet with the onions and give a gentle stir to coat the meatballs.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the meatballs and return the skillet to the oven. Broil for 4 minutes until cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with optional parsley.
Serve immediately.
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