This one pan French Onion Beef and Tortellini Skillet is a complete meal, filled with ground beef, cheese-stuffed tortellini and veggies!
Everything is cooked in just one pan, making dinner time a breeze and clean up even easier.
What Is French Onion?
When you hear the words “French Onion”, do you immediately think of French Onion Soup?
I know I do, but I also think of the sweet and nutty flavors of caramelized onions in a rich beef broth, topped with a cheesy and crusty bread.
I thought – why not take those same flavors and give it a spin with this simple pasta and ground beef recipe? Turns out it was a great idea.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make this French Onion Ground Beef Recipe. As always, you can find the full list in the printable recipe card below.
- Ground Beef – use a lean ground beef or swap with some steak strips!
- Yellow Onion – a yellow onion is more sweet in flavor – giving you that perfect balance
- Onion Soup Mix – adds a punch of flavor with minimal effort
- Beef Broth – stick with a low sodium broth to avoid an over-salty finish
- Gruyere Cheese – perfectly sweet and nutty
- Vegetables – I love using a frozen pea and carrot blend, but use whatever your family enjoys.
- Sour Cream – to add a little tang and give the finish some creaminess.
- Tortellini – Use a cheese-filled tortellini, the refrigerated kind that only takes a few minutes to cook in boiling water. If using a dried tortellini, you’ll need to add more broth and cook for longer.
How To Make It
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it’s all prepared and cooked in just one pan! It’s my specialty. Let me show you just how simple it is to whip up this weeknight family dinner…
Brown Beef
Start by cooking the ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Break up the beef and cook until it is no longer pink.
Drain off any excess fat and then return the skillet to the stove top – add in the garlic and onion soup mix and cook until fragrant.
Add Veggies
Stir in the veggies and pour in the beef broth – then bring the mixture to a simmer.
PRO TIP: Feel free to swap out the veggies for any sort of vegetable that your family enjoys. I always have peas and carrots in the freezer, so it’s what we usually add.
Stir in Tortellini
Once the mixture is bubbly, add in the refrigerated tortellini and cook, stirring often, until the tortellini is tender.
Add Cheese and Sour Cream
To give this dish a little extra creaminess and tang, we’re going to stir in some Gruyere cheese and sour cream once the tortellini is tender.
Once the cheese is melted into the beef, it’s ready to enjoy!
Garnish with some black pepper, parsley and sprinkle a little more cheese on top if desired. It’s a complete meal ready to go, but we also like to serve with a side salad, or some breadsticks.
Make Ahead and Storage
This recipe is best when made fresh, and since it all comes together in under 30 minutes, it’s perfect for an easy weeknight dinner when you’re in a pinch.
You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or stove top until heated through. Freeze any leftovers in these silicone trays for up to 3 months, then let defrost in the fridge before reheating in microwave.
Caramelized Onions?
You may notice that with this recipe I didn’t caramelize the onions – why not?
Well – I wanted to keep this recipe under 30 minutes and see if the added onion soup mix will still bring out that nice onion flavor. It does!
However, if you want to caramelize the onions (if time allows) I whole-heartedly recommend it. Simply add the onions to the pan prior to the beef and cook them in a little olive oil, following this method on my French Onion Beef and Rice Skillet.
More Ground Beef Skillet Recipes
Ground beef is my all time favorite ingredient to use for quick and easy meals. Here are a few more skillet recipes that utilize ground beef.
- Ground Beef Stuffed Pepper Skillet – an all time fan favorite, made by thousands!
- Italian Beef and Rice Skillet – hearty and filling and ready in under 30 minutes
- 15 Minute Ground Beef Enchilada Skillet – saucy and delicious without all the work
- Easy Mongolian Ground Beef – sweet and savoury beef served over rice
I hope you give this tortellini and ground beef recipe a try tonight! I think you’ll really enjoy it!
French Onion Beef and Tortellini Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef, lean
- ½ large yellow onion, diced
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 oz onion soup mix, just the mix
- 1 cup peas and carrots, frozen, or preferred veggie
- 2 cups beef broth, low sodium
- 10 oz cheese filled tortellini, about 3 cups of the refrigerated kind
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat, until the beef is no longer pink and the onion is tender. (see notes for extra step in caramelizing the onions). Drain off any excess fat from the pan and return it to the heat.
- Add in the garlic and soup mix and cook until fragrant and incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add in the veggies and beef broth and bring mixture to a boil.
- Stir in the tortellini and cover the pan, stirring occasionally to allow the tortellini to become tender. They should be cooked in about 7 minutes time. Once pasta is tender add in the sour cream and shredded cheese over low heat and stir until combined. Season with pepper and enjoy!
Notes
-
Add 2 tsp avocado oil or olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion in the hot oil, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden brown and caramelized. This can take up to 20 minutes. *If the onion starts to burn, reduce the heat and add a little more oil to the pan.
- Remove onions from the pan and cook the ground beef in the same pan. Once the beef is cooked and the fat is drained, add the onions back to the beef along with the garlic and soup mix – continue with recipe.
Bang Bang Chicken Skewers
Suzy Eskelson
How much is the onion soup mix 1 oz equals how much of the envelope ????
Sherry Southgate
Made a mistake by buying ravioli but it didn’t matter IMO. Also, didn’t have any gruyere cheese so I used mozzarella and that seemed just fine also. It is a quick meal and hubby and I really enjoyed it.
Rachelle Reid
Your recipes are great…..really miss watching your videos……..