French Onion Casserole with Gruyere cheese

I am calling this dish a casserole, though it could also be called a crustless quiche. It was an experiment to see if I could capture the flavor of French onion soup and Gruyere cheese in an easy egg dish. It worked. The hardest part of the recipe was sauteeing the onions in butter until they were soft, brown, and sweet without being charred. This saute needs a large deepish skillet or sauteuse pan. These give the diced onions enough room to brown in butter. You need:


6 eggs

6-8 oz of grated Gruyere cheese

4 strips of crispy bacon, cut into small pieces.

3-4 small yellow onions, diced

1 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sea salt


Saute the diced onions in 1/2 stick of melted butter.Sprinkle with the sea salt. As the onions begin to take on color, add the vinegar and mix well. Saute the onions on medium heat until they are soft and brown. Be careful not to burn them. This may take 20 minutes. When they are done, spoon them onto the bottom of a non-greased 9 inch round glass pie dish or a casserole dish. Spread them out evenly to cover the bottom of the dish. Next cover them with the grated Gruyere. In a bowl, whisk the six eggs, then pour over the onions and cheese. Top with the bacon bits. Bake 45 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree oven or until a skewer or knife inserted into the very center of the casserole comes out clean.

This is a party dish I invented for our Christmas pot luck, and I am very pleased with its savory French onion soup flavor.