Delicious Oven Baked French Onion Soup Rice Recipe

French Onion Soup Rice is the perfect side dish for any dinner! This buttery rice is so fluffy, tender, and full of rich flavors and the best part is that with a 2 minute prep time, it’s a hands off easy side dish recipe that bakes in the oven. 

For more tasty side dish recipes with rice be sure and try Rice Pilaf, Easy Mexican Rice, and Coconut Rice Made In The Rice Cooker. 

French Onion Soup Rice

This French onion rice is the best side dish for any meal – bursting with easy and delicious flavor from only 5 ingredients, and only a 2 minute easy prep time. Everything gets “dumped” into a casserole pan and then it bakes in the oven for 1 hour. A completely hands-off side dish that you don’t have to worry about and check on. 

The overall flavor of the dish is savory with French onion flavor. This recipe uses pantry staple ingredients such as canned items like beef broth, French onion soup, and rice which can all be stored in the pantry for awhile – meaning that this easy side dish is so simple to whip up when needed. 

Only 5 Simple Ingredients

1. Long-Grain Rice : This French onion rice recipe uses long grain white rice. For best results I always recommend rinsing the rice before adding it into the baking dish. I use a fine mesh strainer to do this. Make sure to drain the rice well so there is not too much excess moisture in the dish. 
2. Canned French Onion Soup
3. Beef Broth : Regular full-salt, reduced-sodium broth, or salt-free beef broth can all be used; it just depends on your sodium needs and preference. 
4. Salted Butter
5. Shredded Gruyere Cheese : This is optional and can be left off or added for a cheesy rice. 

How To Make Delicious French Onion Rice (Printable Recipe Card)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

Add the dry long grain rice, French onion soup, beef broth, and salted butter into a 9×13 casserole dish and stir everything together. Cover the dish with foil. 

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the rice is tender and soft. 

Uncover the pan and sitr/fluff the rice with a fork or spoon. Sprinkle the shredded gruyere cheese over top of the rice. Put the dish back into the oven for 3-5 minutes (uncovered) or until the cheese is melted. 

Serve immediately. Enjoy!

How To Store Leftover Baked French Onion Rice

Any leftovers of this rice dish should be stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up up to 3-4 days. To reheat, place the rice in the microwave and heat for 20-40 seconds at a time, stirring in between until heated throughly. You may need to add a splash of beef broth or water to keep the rice from drying out. 

Can I Make Any Substitutions or Changes?

• Long-Grain Rice : You must use long grain white rice in this recipe as no other type of rice will work. Instant rice is a huge no because the cooking time and instructions are completely different, and the rice will end becoming mushy soup and disintegrating while baking. Other rice options sue as brown rice, jasmine rice, or basmati rice all have different cooking instructions (water to rice ratio) and different flavor profiles, which won’t work in this rice casserole. Only use long grain white rice when making this dish. 
• Beef Broth : Beef stock or beef bone broth are other options, and you could also use chicken broth or vegetable broth if wanted. Feel free to use full salted broth, reduced-sodium broth, or salt-free broth. It just depends on your taste preference, salt preference, sodium needs, etc. 
• Salted Butter : Use unsalted butter if you’re watching the sodium intake, or you can use unsalted butter + add 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt to the dish. 
• Gruyere Cheese : This cheese can be harder to find and more expensive. Other options include Muenster cheese (this is my absolute favorite cheese and normally use it in this recipe if I can’t find gruyere cheese), provolone, or mozzarella cheese are all great options. 

Recipe FAQs

Do I Rinse The Rinse The Rice Before Adding It Into The Pan?

Yes, always rinse your rice before cooking it. This is very important as it washes away dust and debris as well as excess starches from the rice; all this leads to fluffier and more tender rice. I use a Fine Mesh Strainer to rinse the rice. I put the rice into the stainer and then run cold water over it until the water runs clear from it. At first the water will be kind of cloudy (from all the dirt on the rice) and once it turns clear you know the rice is well rinsed and ready for baking. Take a few minutes to really let the rice drain so you are not adding too much excess liquid into the baking dish. 

Could I Add Caramelized Onions To The Dish Before Baking?

Yes, adding caramelized onions is a delicious addition to this rice dish. Simply add the caramelized into the baking dish along with the other ingredients and mix together well. I love this easy tutorial for How To Caramelize Onions. 

What Is The Difference Between French Onion Soup And French Onion Soup Mix? Which One Do I Use?

These two are similar ingredients but not interchangeable in this recipe. French onion soup is a liquid soup form inside a can, that you will find near the other soups and condensed soups. I use the Campbell’s brand. French onion soup mix is a dry packet of seasonings. They are not the same and cannot be used interchangeably in the recipe. I don’t recommend doing it. Make sure you are using the canned French onion soup mix and not the dry powdered seasonings from the packet. 

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• Rice-A-Roni Chicken Soup
• Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls
• Instant Pot White Rice
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