All the cozy comfort and robust flavor of French onion soup inside buttery, flaky pockets of puff pastry! These easy Mini Cheesy French Onion Pies are full of flavor and make for a great party or game day snack!
You guys have got to make these beauties for Game Day (or any party or gathering)!. Think of all the homey, comforting, robust flavor of French onion soup concentrated into flaky little pockets of buttery puff pastry… that’s what these Mini Cheesy French Onion Pies are and it’s going to be a staple at any party spread!
These snacks are very easy to make and they are freezer friendly too, so you can make them ahead of time too.
French onion soup is a classic for a lot of obvious reasons. It’s comfort food with an incredible amount of flavor and it only needs a few ingredients to create all that magic.
It was while I was plunging my spoon into a bowl of this silky smooth deliciousness and stretching out that melted cheese on top the other day that I started wondering if I could stuff this flavor into a bite-sized snack instead. I first tried it with bread dough and only had moderate success (I’ll still keep experimenting though), but then found out that it was easier and more effective to use flaky, buttery puff pastry to wrap that French onion soup filling.
It works even better because the puff pastry is light, flaky and buttery while sealing in the juicy, cheesy flavor of sweet onion filling for the perfect mini French onion pie.
You can use frozen puff pastry sheets, OR make your own quick and easy rough puff pastry using my recipe here. Either way, the filling is going to be the undeniable star in these mini cheesy French onion pies. The filling is easy to make but it does require some patience – especially with that slow caramelization of onions which is essential for developing the flavor. You can use standard yellow onions or vidalia onions, but the vidalia onions are a tad sweeter than regular yellow onions. The filling has all the classic flavor of French onion soup, with fresh thyme, garlic, red wine and beef stock, and loaded with provolone and Monterrey Jack cheese.
The result is these easy, cheesy, sweet onion and umami flavor packed, mini cheesy french onion pies that are great as a party appetizer or snack or for game day chowing! In fact, I recently served these for a game day meet up with friends, and paired these with these fried cheese balls and pork stuffed hatch chile (you can check out this post to learn how to roast hatch chile in the oven), and they were an absolute hit!
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Mini Cheesy French Onion Pies
Ingredients:
Filling
- 750 g yellow onions (or vidalia) 1.5 lbs, thinly sliced
- 58 g unsalted butter ¼ cup / ½ stick
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp red wine
- ½ cup good quality beef stock or mushroom stock, if you want to keep it vegetarian
- 226 g freshly shredded cheese I use 50/50 Provolone and Monterrey Jack
- Salt to taste
- ½ tbsp crushed chili/crushed red pepper optional
Pastries
- 1 packet of puff pastry thawed (2 sheets)
- Water
- 1 egg for the egg wash
Instructions:
Filling
- Heat a large non-skillet pan over medium-high heat and add the garlic and butter, and let the butter melt.3 garlic cloves, 58 g unsalted butter
- When the butter has melted and is hot, add the onions and about ¼ tsp of salt.750 g yellow onions (or vidalia), Salt to taste
- Cook the onions until they have softened - about 10 to 15 minutes. Add thyme and bay leaves (and crushed chili if using).2 sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leaves, ½ tbsp crushed chili/crushed red pepper
- Reduce the heat to medium. Cook the onions further until it has completely caramelized - another 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the heat of your stove. Make sure you stir the onions frequently to prevent them from burning. Do not rush this step, as the onions need to caramelize slowly without burning.
- When the onions have caramelized and are golden brown in color, sprinkle the flour on top and reduce the heat to medium and mix the flour in with the onions. Cook for a few minutes, until the raw flour has been cooked out.1 tbsp flour
- Add the red wine and stock, and cook this mix until it’s reduced completely and thickened. Place the mix in a bowl and let the onion mix cool down to room temperature.3 tbsp red wine, ½ cup good quality beef stock
- Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves and mix in the shredded cheese.226 g freshly shredded cheese
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature (or at least until it's only a little warm).
Pastries
- Preheat the oven to 400°F / 205°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle some flour on your worktop and lay down the sheet of puff pastry on it. Roughly roll it out into a 12 x 12 inch puff pastry square. Cut this into 9 smaller squares.1 packet of puff pastry
- Place some filling in the middle of each square (don’t overfill). Apply a thin layer of water along two of the edges and fold over to form a triangle with the filling inside. First press down the edges to seal, then use a fork to crimp the edges. It's important that you seal the edges before you crimp them, to make sure the filling is completely sealed in.Water
- Repeat with the rest of the pastry squares. Place the pastry triangles on the prepared baking tray with 1 inch of space between each.
- Whisk the egg well in a small bowl. This will be used as the egg wash.1 egg
- Brush the tops with some egg wash and bake in preheated oven for 10 - 15 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. Some cheese MIGHT leak out if any of the pastries were over-filled and not sealed completely.
- Repeat with the other pastry sheet (there might be some leftover filling).
- Serve the pastries while they are warm.
- Refrigerated pastries can be reheated in a 300°F oven - just place the pastries on a tray, cover with foil and place in the oven for a few minutes.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
nancy says
what if you want to make ONE regular size pie? had anyone tried that? please advise–looks delicious….
Dini says
Hi Nancy!
Unfortunately I haven’t made this as a regular size pie, but you could adapt it to however you like to make it. Since the filling is already cooked, you only need to bake the pie until the puff pastry is golden brown.
I hope that helps!
Tammy says
I love making hand pies with new and interesting fillings, and this recipe definitely fits the bill! (Hint…hand pies might be coming up as a future topic on my blog, Scotch & Stones )
Thanks for sharing!
Tammy says
Darn autocorrect! The blog is called Scotch & Scones…
Manju | Cooking Curries says
Oh Dini! These look so gorgeous and wonderfully crispy that I had to pop in and tell you that! The filling sounds awesome too!
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
Dini, this is just the sort of thing I could eat a whole batch of all by myself!
swayam says
These are so delicious Dini!! Love the onion stuffing in it
Christine | Mid-Life Croissant says
These are killing me. I was obsessed with French Onion Soup as a teenager. Well, I was obsessed with anything French or with the word French in the title. But I’ve never made it myself in any form. These sound delicious!
Jenny | The Baking Skillet says
Dini, these are mouthwatering!! I am not a fan of football but I will watch it just for Game Day food.