Set a Beautiful Earthy Thanksgiving Table + French Onion Mac & Cheese
I’m joining a few friends to share Thanksgiving table ideas and maybe a new recipe for your Thanksgiving table. We love hosting Thanksgiving so much that even though we will be in Paris, we are hosting an early Thanksgiving this Sunday!
I have all of my Thanksgiving ideas in my free e-book (just for signing up to receive my Sunday newsletter email), but this year, we’ve added one more recipe. My husband and I love it, and we hope the kids will too! It’s a Thanksgiving version of our favorite mac and cheese. It’s decadent, rich, but it’s Thanksgiving!
You might be wondering, what could make macaroni and cheese more like a Thanksgiving side …and the answer is caramelized onions! A few simple tweaks to an already amazing dish, but I think you’ll agree that it does make it a bit more special for the holiday! Keep reading for the recipe, but first, our Thanksgiving table in greens and golds!
Thanksgiving with greens & amber gold
We used faux garlands, dried hydrangeas & real mini pumpkins
The table starts with a gorgeous linen plaid tablecloth in an earthy green and amber linen napkins. We used our new amber tumblers and goblets from Terrain, wood chargers, and green patterned plates. The dried hydrangeas have a bit of brown, green, and even a little pink, which sort of ties all of these beautiful colors together.
Moving on to the French onion Mac & Cheese dish!
We used our macaroni and cheese recipe that we always use. It has extra-sharp white cheddar and Gruyere cheese, whole milk, butter, and flour that make a perfect roux. Then you add the grated cheese, freshly grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Here’s where it gets a Thanksgiving upgrade to the regular recipe for mac and cheese. You add caramelized onions to the cheese sauce before adding the Cavatappi pasta and baking.
Add some Gruyere toasts on top!
To make your mac and cheese with caramelized onions even more decadent and like the traditional French onion soup, you’re going to skip the breadcrumbs and use a topping of mini Gruyere toasts on top!
The ingredients to make it:
Add a sprinkle of fresh thyme just as it’s out of the oven and serve hot!
French Onion Mac & Cheese
If you like French onion soup and baked mac and cheese, this dish combines the two and makes a delicious dinner – especially during the holidays.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove top and baking
- Cuisine: French American
Ingredients
For the onions:
- 2 lbs. of yellow onions
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
For the mac and cheese:
- 1 lb. cavaptappi or similar-shaped pasta
- 16 ozs. Gruyère cheese, grated (reserve about 1/4 cup for topping the baguette slices)
- 8 ozs. extra-sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (6 tablespoons for the mac and cheese and 2 tablespoons for greasing the baking pan and buttering the baguette slices)
- 1 quart whole milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 small baguette cut into 1/4″ thick slices, buttered on one side.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Thinly slice all of the onions.
- In a deep, large pan or skillet, melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Cover the onions with a lid and let them cook for about 5 minutes or until softened, stirring once ot twice.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking over medium-high heat, stirring often, for about 20-25 minutes, or until they turn a deep golden brown. When the onions look dry, add 2 tablespoons of water at a time, scraping up any brown pieces sticking to the bottom of the pan. You’ll need to add water a few times to prevent the onions from burning.
- Once the onions are a deep golden brown, deglaze the pan with 2 tablespoons of sherry wine vinegar, scraping up any brown pieces in the pan, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt and a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the water.
- While you’re waiting for the water to boil, heat the milk in a saucepan, being careful to just get it hot. You don’t want it to boil or scald.
- Cook the pasta until it is very al dente. Be careful not to overcook the pasta, as it will continue to cook when baking in the oven.
- In another large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter and add the flour. Cook for a couple of minutes while whisking. Whisk in the hot milk and cook for another couple of minutes, and remove from heat.
- Off the heat, add both cheeses, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and mix thoroughly.
- Add the cooked pasta to the milk and cheese mixture and stir. Add the onions and continue stirring until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish and bake for approximately 30 minutes.
- Remove the mac and cheese from the oven, and add the buttered baguette slices on top of the pasta. Now, top the baguette slices with the reserved Gruyère cheese.
- Place the mac and cheese under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese and bread are slightly browned on top.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves, and serve!
If you have not yet received a copy of my Complete Guide to Hosting Thanksgiving, sign up below to receive my Sunday email, and leave a quick comment letting me know you want the book, and I’ll send it right away! If you’re already on the list, but have not received a copy, just let me know and I’ll get it to asap!
My mouth is watering, Annie!!! Love your table with the checked table cloth. Have a great celebration this weekend!
OMG I do not want to make this I could eat that in one sitting. I refuse to save this recipe-well maybe I will just in case….
Annie, this looks amazing!!! I love Mac and cheese and with little cheese toasts on top, that is even better!
Your holiday table looks beautiful!
Have a fabulous time in Paris!
Annie! What a beautiful table. And French onion Mac & Cheese … yes, please. I’m not sure there’s a Thanksgiving dish I don’t love, but this one looks over the top rich and delish … destined to be my favorite of favorites. Happy Thanksgiving! xo
Hi Juliet! How is it going? We missed you on this collab! xx
I tried to leave 5 star rating and it won’t allow me to. xo
really? That’s good to know, but thank you for letting me know! I’ll look into it!
I am on the list but would love the book.
Hi Shaunna! I sent the ebook to your email! Happy Thanksgiving!
Oh my!!! What is better than French Onion Mac & Cheese!!! It will definitely be on our table!!!
Hope you had a wonderful time celebrating this weekend!
Have a great trip! Safe travels!
Nancy! Everyone just left for the train and they French onion mac & cheese was a hit! xx