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Rich and delicious, this French Onion Braised Beef is great for a Sunday dinner or even a holiday meal to impress your guests!
This is not your ordinary pot roast. Think of this recipe as a delicious hybrid of French Onion Soup and classic braised beef. Made with simple ingredients that make a big impact, it’s a low and slow dish that you’ll want to make on repeat all winter long.
If you’ve ever made French Onion Soup, you know that it can be a lot of work and super time-consuming. I wanted to figure out a way to capture all of those delicious, rich flavors without having to cook the onions for a really, really long time. Growing up, all of the women in my life cooked with packaged soups, so I figured, why not add it to the mix? After sautéing some sliced onions, I added a package of French Onion Soup Mix (along with some mustard, wine, beef broth, and herbs) to build the base for the beef. It adds such delicious flavor, and everyone just loves how it tastes.
To really drive home the French onion homage, I like to serve the beef with homemade Gruyère toasts, which mimic that broiled cheesy topping, for dipping, as well as with some mashed potatoes to help soak in all that yummy broth!
Ingredients:
- Chuck Roast
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Cassava or All-Purpose Flour
- Avocado Oil
- Yellow Onions
- Garlic Cloves
- Packaged French Onion Soup Mix
- Dijon Mustard
- Dry Red Wine
- Beef Broth
- Fresh Thyme
- Bay Leaf
- Baguette
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Gruyère Cheese
- Flaky Salt
step-by-step:
step one: preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 275°F.
step two: prep the beef
Cut the chuck roast into 3 to 4 large pieces. Pat dry with paper towels, then season generously with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Dredge each piece in flour, shaking off any excess.
step three: sear the beef
Heat the oil in a 3.5-quart braiser or 5-quart Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. When hot, add the beef and sear until deeply golden brown on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side, working in batches if necessary. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
step four: sauté the onions
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions, garlic, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and lightly caramelized, about 8 minutes.
step five: add the remaining ingredients
Stir in the French onion soup mix and Dijon mustard. Slowly pour in the red wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the beef broth, thyme bundle, and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer, 3 to 4 minutes.
step six: nestle the beef in the base
Nestle the seared beef and any juices back into the pot. Cover and transfer to the oven. Braise for 3 hours until the meat is fork-tender. Then, uncover the pot and increase the heat to 300°F. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 30 more minutes. The meat should be fall-apart tender and have a golden-brown crust at the top.
step seven: let the meat rest
Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken slightly. Using two forks, shred the tender beef into large pieces for serving.
step eight: make the gruyère toasts (optional)
While the beef rests, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil. Broil until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
step nine: top with cheese and herbs
Sprinkle each slice with Gruyère and thyme. Return to the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt.
step ten: serve!
Serve the braised beef over mashed potatoes in shallow bowls with plenty of French onion broth all around, accompanied by Gruyère toasts for dipping. Garnish with more thyme, serve, and enjoy!
recipe faqs:
Yes! You can just use more beef broth in place of the red wine.
Yes! You could cook the roast, then reheat it all in the same pot you cooked it in over medium-low heat on the stovetop for about 15 minutes or until it’s warmed all the way through.
The only thing I’d recommend making fresh are the gruyère toasts, so they don’t get stale.
Any sort of hard, alpine cheese like Swiss, comté, or even cheddar would work well. I just like something sharp and nutty for these toasts!
This recipe is best when braised in the oven, where the sauce reduces beautifully and the beef develops a rich, caramelized crust on top. That said, it can be adapted for the slow cooker if needed. Expect a slightly looser, more brothy consistency, though the flavor will still be delicious. For best results, brown the beef first, then sauté the onions and prepare the sauce on the stovetop. Transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker, pour the sauce over the top, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours, until the meat is tender and easily shredded.
If you’re looking for a cozy dinner for a weekend meal or dinner party, I hope y’all will make this French Onion Braised Beef! Comment below and let me know what you think!
looking for more holiday mains? try these!
Thyme Crusted Beef Tenderloin Au Poivre
Bottle of Wine Braised Brisket
French Onion Braised Beef
Ingredients
For the Braised Beef:
- 3.5-4.5 pounds chuck roast
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 3 tablespoons cassava or all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 3 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 (1.4-ounce) package French Onion mix (I use Knorr brand)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1½ cups beef broth
- 8-10 sprigs fresh thyme, secured with twine to make a bundle
- 1 bay leaf
For the Gruyere Toasts (optional, for serving):
- 1 baguette, sliced 1/4-inch thick
- Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
- 2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- Flaky salt, for finishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275°F.
- Cut the chuck roast into 3 to 4 large pieces. Pat dry with paper towels, then season generously with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Dredge each piece in flour, shaking off any excess.
- Heat the oil in a 3.5-quart braiser or 5-quart Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. When hot, add the beef and sear until deeply golden brown on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side, working in batches if necessary. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions, garlic, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and lightly caramelized, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the French onion soup mix and Dijon mustard. Slowly pour in the red wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the beef broth, thyme bundle, and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Nestle the seared beef and any juices back into the pot. Cover and transfer to the oven. Braise for 3 hours until the meat is fork-tender. Then, uncover the pot and increase the heat to 300°F. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 30 more minutes. The meat should be fall apart tender and have a golden-brown crust at the top.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken slightly. Using two forks, shred the tender beef into large pieces for serving.
- While the beef rests, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil. Broil until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
- Sprinkle each slice with Gruyère and thyme. Return to the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt.
- Serve the braised beef over mashed potatoes in shallow bowls with plenty of French onion broth all around, accompanied by Gruyère toasts for dipping. Garnish with more thyme, serve, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Food Photography and Styling by Eat Love Eats.
This was a winner! Loved it so much. The sauce was crazy good and we wished we had more. Beef was fall apart tender. And the best part was having the little gruyère toasties! Alex, you know your stuff!
So happy you loved it!!!
Please know I have never found any of your other dishes any less than amazing! But this one missed the mark for me. I think the meat could have used a little more time. It was also super super salty and peppery! Overall it didn’t feel much different than a typically pot roast for me but with too much flavor.
I’m sorry to hear this!
Really REALLY want to make this, but I’m in the UK and we don’t have French Onion powdered soup mix!!! Do you think I could use a tin of “nice” French Onion soup and reduce the water I use to make the beef stock, so that overall the amount of liquid is the same???
Hi Lou,
I am sorry, I haven’t ever used the tin that you are referring to! But yes- I think you could definitely use that and then reduce the amount of beef broth so the liquid ratio isn’t too much!
Delicious and comforting. I felt the recipe was very straightforward and easy, but it does take a larger amount of allotted time.
This was fantastic. Very flavorful. Easy to make.
I made this with stew meat and homemade soup mix since I didn’t have that on hand and it was soooo tasty. Served it over mashed cauliflower but next time may serve it with egg noodles to really take advantage of all the yummy sauce it creates.
So flavorful! The whole family loved it. Will be saving this recipe!
So easy and delicious! Made for Christmas Eve dinner and it was a hit.
I made this today and am eating seconds now. It’s getting added to my (long) list of favorites from Alex.
Excellent and very quick to prepare before putting in the oven! Loved every bite!!