French Onion Pizza

Everything you love about the soup, but on pizza

January is basically over. February is approaching fast! With Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and the Super Bowl, this short month packs a punch.

I’ve been thinking about Valentine’s Day and brainstorming recipes to make your Valentine’s Day a little sweeter. I don’t know if you like to eat out for Valentine’s Day, but I avoid it at all costs.

Restaurants are heaped with two-tops of couples with high expectations. Overworked front- and back-of-house staff scurry through the evening, spread thin and ready to go home. Menus are often a limited, flimsy display of the restaurant’s normal offerings.

I enjoy making dinner at home. If you’re in the same boat, I have some recipes for you! Whether you’re flying solo or eating with a loved one, you deserve to show yourself some love with a delicious, fun meal.

I thought I’d make a heart-shaped pizza to share, but opted against it. The last time I made one, my power went out the next day during Dallas’ severe winter storm in 2021. It stayed out for several days, and the temperature inside my apartment plummeted. I could see my breath. Now, I take heart-shaped pizzas as an ill omen.

You can risk it and make this pizza into a heart shape. You can make it any shape you’d like. Whatever shape you make it, you’ll have an indulgent but uncomplicated dinner. You’ll find the recipe, plus a confession from my childhood, below. I hope you enjoy!

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I used to think clouds were mashed potatoes

Photo by Dana DeVolk on Unsplash

I always thought of French onion soup as a fancy soup when I was a child. It was always on the menu at the steakhouses we rarely got to go to. We didn’t cook it at home, so surely it had to be a fancy food.

Now, I view French onion soup as a classic that’s pretty simple to put together. As long as you have a few ingredients and the patience to caramelize onions, you can have French onion soup at home with just a few ingredients and a lot of time.

My perceptions on other foods have changed over the years, too. When I was a small child, I thought clouds were made of mashed potatoes. I quickly learned on my first flight that they were in fact not mashed potatoes, and we could not roll airplane windows down and stick a spoon out the window to eat them. I sometimes wish I hadn’t grown out of that worldview. How fun would it be if clouds really were mashed potatoes? Could that help ease food insecurity? Would people look forward to cloudy days?

This week’s French Onion Pizza is by no means fancy, and I don’t envision it on a steakhouse menu. But it pairs two childhood favorites and brings a bit of nostalgia for me. I hope it’s a fun, indulgent meal for you, too.

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French Onion Pizza

Serves 2 hungry adults as a meal

French onion soup and pizza are two rich classics that pair extremely well. This pizza’s sauce of caramelized onions carries the flavor, while gruyère and mozzarella bring the salty, melty goodness everyone loves about cheese-topped French onion soup. Pair it with a glass of your favorite wine and a simple, green salad for the perfect meal.

French Onion Pizza | Photo by Brogan Dearinger

Ingredients

• Pizza dough (store-bought or homemade)*

• 1 tablespoon butter or neutral oil

• 4 small yellow onions, thinly sliced (3 medium onions)

• 2-3 drops Worcestershire sauce

• 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (if using dried, just use a pinch)

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/4 cup vegetable or beef stock

• 1/2 cup gruyère cheese, shredded

• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Prepare your favorite pizza dough. I used this one, but use whatever you like! Slice your onions and preheat your oven according to your pizza dough’s directions.

2. Next, caramelize the onions. This will take a while! Heat your butter or oil in a skillet over medium heat until the butter is melted or the oil is shimmering. Add your onions and a sprig of thyme and stir, letting them brown at the edges but not burn or get crispy. Sauté until the onions start to soften, then add a splash of the water, the Worcestershire sauce, and balsamic vinegar. Stir it in and continue sautéing until the water evaporates, then add the rest of the water. Stir and sauté until it evaporates again, then add some of the stock. Continue with this same process until you’re out of stock. The onions should be starting to brown and get sort of jammy. Continue sauteing until they are evenly brown and jammy, or as long as you’re willing to continue cooking them!

3. Next, top the pizza. If you’re using the King Arthur recipe, sprinkle half of both cheeses all the way to the edges and cover the crust. If you’re using a different pizza crust, you can try this too, or skip this step and go straight to the sauce. Next, spread the caramelized onions in an even layer, covering the whole pizza. Then, top with the rest of the cheese.

4. Bake the pizza according to your dough’s directions.

5. Remove from the oven, slice, and top with a sprinkle of thyme. Enjoy!

Notes

1. I used King Arthur Baking Company’s pizza crust recipe, but you could use any pizza crust. Just follow the cooking directions for the recipe or dough you use, and use this recipe for the topping! I highly recommend trying King Arthur’s recipe — just plan ahead so the dough is ready when you are!

2. I didn’t season the caramelized onions with salt because I knew the cheese would add a lot of saltiness. I do not normally leave food unseasoned, but the cheese added plenty of saltiness.

3. If you can’t find gruyère, you can substitute Fontina, Comte, or Swiss cheese.