French Onion Mac n’ Cheese
3 show-stopping thanksgiving sides - We all know sides are the main show, and I'm not messing around.
Nov 24, 2025
I wanted to challenge myself with making recipes for my three least favorite parts of the thanksgiving plate: mac n’ cheese, salad, and stuffing. PLEASE do not come for me for disliking mac and stuffing. To address the former, I’ve already discussed my general dislike for the carb + cheese combo. To address the latter, I actually grew up with both sides of my family making a version of matzoh stuffing (the unleavened cracker “bread” more similar to cardboard than an edible food item). So perhaps you could understand why I never grew up enjoying stuffing. It wasn’t until I learned to cook and could make stuffing with actual bread did I sort of begin to understand why people enjoy it.
Anyway publishing Thanksgiving recipes is sort of intimidating. We all hold such close and meaningful food traditions this time of the year, so to say “trust me. make this.” is bold. In that vein, I wanted to publish recipes that offered something new. That weren’t just part of the millions of recipes on social media telling you to make mac n’ cheese with 90 kinds of cheese or turkey injected with so much liquid brine it bursts open when you slice into it???? (Do we actually like those videos? They personally concern me.)
These recipes are different but familiar, autumnal yet not boring. They offer texture and depth. Richness yet not overpowering. They get you in the kitchen but aren’t unnecessarily laborious (for a normal dinner, yes maybe. for thanksgiving, more average).
The galette is really an innovation to behold. My dad actually gave me the idea when I was on the phone with him: “What if you somehow could bake stuffing in something flaky and crunchy and buttery?” … Genius. It’s a classic stuffing for the filling with leeks and sage, and of course lots of butter. A double carb, a rare category of foods that makes it all the more special for thanksgiving.
The mac n’ cheese has already gone viral on Instagram and TikTok, so I don’t feel the need to delve too much into it. It’s a mac with lots of gruyere and caramelized onions. What’s not to love?
The panzanella is a variation on a salad I made over the summer for a dinner party. I realized you could easily fry shallots in the same oil you’re going to use to make the chili crunch, paying homage to classic green bean casserole and pulling the dish visually into thanksgiving territory. Panzanella makes sense to me for a fall spread because after all, more bread. But it’s still 75% well-seasoned tomatoes and cucumbers. Not necessarily fall produce, but simply seasoning them with salt to draw out their extra moisture will help bring out their flavor.
For the love of my second favorite holiday,
Ryan
Hey! My name is Ryan Nordheimer. Welcome to my cooking and baking site. I’m a 25-year old home cook living in the East Village in New York City. Hopefully you enjoy my food through my own, tried-and-true recipes.
Ingredients (12)
Ingredients (12)
Instructions
In a large pot (non-stick works great) or Dutch Oven over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the butter, onions (4 large), and 0.5 teaspoon kosher salt. Add the lid and cook for 10 minutes undisturbed to help sweat the onions.
Remove the lid, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook stirring occasionally until the onions have reduced by a lot and start to turn light brown / stick to the bottom of the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring frequently until the onions have turned a rich brown color, about 1.5 hours in total. (If onions are sticking too much, add a bit of hot water and use that to scrape them off the bottom). Remove onions to a small bowl.
Meanwhile, toward the end of cooking the onions, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with a large handful of kosher salt. Boil the pasta (1 lb) until al dente.
Drain (to keep pasta from sticking together, either drizzle with some oil or keep it sitting in a few cups of the pasta water).
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In the pot that had the onions (no need to clean it out), heat over medium and add the remaining butter and the flour (¼ cup). Cook stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
Gradually stir in the milk (2 ½ cups). Then add 3/4 of the gruyere. Stir in half of the onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste (lots). Then stir in the drained pasta.
Add to a large baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and dot over with remaining onion. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
Garnish with chives and serve hot.
Notes
Notes
To make ahead
Assemble the mac and cheese unbaked up to 1 day in advance, and keep in the fridge covered. Then bake according to the recipe.
