This French Onion Gnocchi Skillet is a one-pan skillet meal take on all of the flavors you love from French Onion Soup. It’s gluten-free and can be made dairy-free, paleo and AIP.

A French Onion Gnocchi Skillet.

Love French Onion soup? Who doesn’t! It’s a super rich and decadent soup made with caramelized onions and topped with cheese and bread. What’s not to like? This skillet is a French onion-inspired meal but without any actual soup or bread.

The Ingredients for the French Onion Gnocchi Skillet

  • Coconut Milk. I recommend full-fat coconut milk, but you can also use another dairy-free milk if you prefer.
  • Chicken Broth, White Wine Vinegar, and Arrowroot Starch. These ingredients plus coconut milk form the creamy sauce.
  • Avocado Oil. 
  • Yellow Onions. Caramelizing these are key to the French Onion flavor. See below for tips!
  • Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder.
  • Ground Beef.
  • Cauliflower Gnocchi. I recommend either Trader Joe’s brand, or this for AIP!
  • Gruyere Cheese. Cheese is integral to traditional French onion soup, so, if you can have the cheese, add in the gruyere! However, this recipe has a creamy sauce as the base, so it’s still creamy tasting with or without the cheese. If you’re dairy-free you can just omit the cheese, or you can add a dairy-free cheese of your choice.
  • Fresh Thyme.

How to prepare French Onion Gnocchi Skillet

  • Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.
  • Caramelize the onion (see below for tips)

Caramelized onions in a pan.

  • Cook the beef. 
  • Combine the skillet. Add the sauce mixture to the pan and bring to a low simmer for 1-2 minutes to thicken. Reincorporate the ground beef, cooked gnocchi, and caramelized onions. Stir to combine and coat until fully combined and coated.
  • Add cheese if desired. Serve as is topped with thyme, or grate the cheese over the skillet. Place under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese.

A bite of French Onion Gnocchi Skillet.

How do you chop onions for caramelized onions?

  1. Chop one end off of your onion.
  2. Slice the onion in half.
  3. Make long thin slits in to the onion about 1/4″ away from the other end of the onion.
  4. Chop the end on the onion and you’ll be left with long, thin strips of onion!

How to slice an onion.

How can you make the onion caramelizing process go faster?

If you don’t have 30 minutes to cook the onions, you can actually speed up the process by adding about 2 tsp of coconut sugar or 2 tsp of white wine vinegar. I like to do this about 12-15 minutes in, and it shaves off around 8-10 minutes from the process.

How do you prepare the gnocchi?

If you’re making your own gnocchi, check out my recipe for cauliflower gnocchi and cook as directed!

If you’re using Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi, I suggest cooking it from frozen in a pan. You’ll do this by heating oil in a pan, and add the gnocchi, not disturbing it for 3-4 minutes to get a base crisp on the bottom, and then sauteing until it’s cooked!

Gnocchi cooking in a skillet.

Can you make this recipe coconut-free?

You can use another dairy-free milk if desired!

What if you’re dairy-free?

Of course, cheese is a hallmark of French onion soup, so, if you can have the cheese, go for it. However, this recipe has a creamy sauce as the base, so it’s still creamy tasting with or without the cheese.

If you’re dairy-free you can totally leave the cheese off, or you can add a dairy-free cheese of your choice.

A serving of French Onion Gnocchi Skillet on a plate.

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French Onion Gnocchi Skillet {Gluten-free}


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp arrowroot starch
  • 2 tbsp avocado oil
  • 4 yellow onions, sliced thin
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
  • 1012 oz cauliflower gnocchi, cooked & prepared as directed (Trader Joes brand, or this for AIP)
  • 4 oz gruyere cheese (omit for paleo/AIP or sub-dairy-free cheese)
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme

Instructions

  • Combine the coconut milk, chicken broth, vinegar, and arrowroot starch in a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
  • Heat the oil in a large pan on low heat and add the onions. Saute on low for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Add salt at the 10-minute mark and continue to cook for another 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the onions are soft and caramelized. Remove from the pan and set aside.

  • Using a large skillet, brown the beef and crumble with a wooden spoon. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside.
  • Add the sauce mixture to the pan and bring to a low simmer for 1-2 minutes to thicken. Reincorporate the ground beef, cooked gnocchi, and caramelized onions. Stir to combine and coat until fully combined and coated.
  • Serve as is topped with thyme, or grate the cheese over the skillet. Place under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese.
  • Remove from the heat and serve topped with fresh thyme.

Notes

All nutrition facts are estimated and will vary.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 554
  • Fat: 30.1g
  • Carbohydrates: 46g
  • Fiber: 2.9g
  • Protein: 27.1g