Take the components of French onion soup and make it into these tasty little French onion pizzas!
French Onion Pizza
The key to delicious French onion soup is the slow process at which the onions are caramelized and cooked. Instead of making one of my favorite soups, I’ve decided to turn it into pizza!
You may ask, why don’t you just make French onion soup? First of all, I don’t have the strength to stop myself from eating the entire batch.
And second, duh, PIZZA! Pizza is always a good idea.
Be patient when cooking onions
I used four pounds of onions for this recipe. Yes, that may seem like a lot, but onions significantly reduces in size as it cooks.
This recipe makes four mini pizzas, which means each pizza has about a pound of onion goodness.
Don’t be alarmed that four pounds of sliced onions is enough to fill a 5-1/2 quart Dutch oven to the brim.
After two hours of cooking, they will reduce in volume significantly and turn into the most flavorful caramelized slow cooked onions ever.
While this is a time consuming process, I find the results well worthwhile. I’m a total believer of that saying that some things are worth waiting for.
These onions are definitely one of those things. Fast and easy, doesn’t always mean good.
Also to note: I LOVE ONIONS. I’m one of those people that order raw onions on my In-N-Out burger. I love onions raw, grilled, pickled, baked, etc.
However, I refuse to eat onion rings. Sure it’s fried and fried foods are delicious, but I think it’s devoid of the onion flavor I love so much.
I made a mixture of olive oil and dried French thyme to act as the base sauce for this pizza. The thyme lends a nice sweet, earthy flavor that balances the caramelized onions and the salty gruyere.
Once you’ve cooked the onions, building the pizza is super simple. Over the years I’ve collected quite a few little cast iron pans.
My mini pans are not all the same size. They vary from 5 inches to 6 1/2 inches in diameter. I used four mini cast iron skillets, but you can also make one large pizza using a 12-inch cast iron pan.
Cook Pizza In Cast Iron Pans
I prefer to make my pizzas in cast iron pans because I find that’s the best way to obtain that nice round shape. (See my Pesto Pizza with basil salt.)
The cast iron pan works similar to a pizza stone. The pizza cooks more evenly because of the way the heat is distributed in the pan.
And it helps to ensure you have a nice crisp crust. However, when using a cast iron pan, it is important to preheat it over the stove before placing it in the oven.
After baking the pizzas, your kitchen will smell warm, inviting, and utterly delicious!
French Onion Pizza
Ingredients
- 4 pounds onions, halved, sliced into ¼" thick pieces
- 4 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound pizza dough, store-bought or homemade
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil, plus more for oiling pans
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ¼ cup shredded gruyere cheese
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat the inside of a 5-1/2 quart Dutch oven (or oven safe pot) with vegetable oil spray. Add sliced onions, butter, and salt. Bake for 1 hour, covered.
- Remove from oven and stir onions, making sure to scrape up any onions that have stuck to the sides of the pot. Return to oven with the lid slightly ajar. Continue to bake for another 90 minutes until onions are light brown in color and onions have dramatically reduced in volume. About 45 minutes into cooking, stir onions to prevent any burning along the sides of the pot.
- Remove from oven and remove lid. Place on stove over medium-high heat. Stirring often, cook for 10-12 minutes until onion liquids have evaporated and onions are golden brown in color. Remove from heat and allow to cook while you prepare pizza dough.
- Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F. If using store bought pizza dough, allow to come to room temperature. Divide dough into four equal parts.
- Spread about 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil in each mini cast iron pan. Place pizza dough in oiled skillet and gently push and pull dough to fit skillet.
- Combine 2 Tbsp olive oil with dried thyme. Spread about 2 tsp of oil mixture onto each dough. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of caramelized onions over dough. Top with about 3 Tbsp of shredded gruyere. Season with black pepper.
- Transfer skillet to stove over medium-high heat. Warm up the cast iron skillet and cook pizza for about 2-3 minutes until the bottom of the crust is set and the oil is bubbling around the outer rim of pizza. Transfer hot skillet into preheated oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese has melted and is golden brown in color.
- Remove from oven and let pizza sit for 2-4 minutes before unmolding and slicing.
Notes
Want more caramelized onion goodness? Check out these caramelized onion and gruyere rolls!
French onion pizza! Delicious! Come to mama!
I like it better than French Onion Soup! No utensils required! :)
Great flavors! Perfect idea for pizza. I’m totally making this for dinner tomorrow!
Thanks Suzanne! Happy pizza making!
I am loving the flavors of this pizza! Pinned and totally making these soon!
Thanks Jen! Can’t wait for you to try it!
Wow – this looks amazing! I love french onion soup so I know I am going to love this! Pinning and sharing!
Thanks Michelle! You’ll love it! :)
I have never seen skillet pizzas before! What a delicious idea.. definitely need to make these, they look and sound perfect for a weeknight meal!
Skillet pizza is the best! It makes the crust crispy, just the way I like it! :)
Pizza is always a good idea! I’m over here imagining the smells in your kitchen after making these pizzas and with drool on my face, I’m adding this to my to-make list.
Can’t go wrong with pizza! My dog sat by the oven as the pizza baked. He really enjoyed the smell :)
Hey, I love this recipe so much – it’s such a unique topping! I included you in my Savory Reads series: http://curlsnchard.com/2014/10/17/weekend-reading-savory-reads-6/ xoxo, Kat
I love caramelized onions! Thanks for including me in your post :)
I will try MIGHTILY to get to the part where the onions go ON the pizza, but MAN. I want to eat that pot of yummy caramelized onions with a spoon!
lol I seriously thought about just eating the caramelized onions and never making the pizza ;)
Wow Maryanne, this was delicious!
I burned half my Dutch oven and part of the onions because I ignored my timer when I needed to take them out of the oven. And in a attempt to be healthy I substituted all purpose flour for whole wheat flour in a pizza dough recipe so I ended up with not-so-fluffy and dense pizza crusts, but the (remaining) onions totally made up for it! ;-) It was so good!
I made two 10-inch pizza’s and we only ate one so we’re having them again tomorrow. That is if I can ignore the one in the fridge ;-) Big chance it will be a late night snack!!
Can’t wait to make another batch of french onions, I’m in love!
YAY! I’m glad you liked it! :)