French Onion Pasta Salad

I’m convinced almost anything can become a pasta salad if you commit to it.

This one is inspired by one of my favorite flavor combinations of all time: French onion soup and French onion dip. It has sweet caramelized onions, nutty Comté cheese, a creamy Dijon dressing, plenty of black pepper, and crispy fried onions for crunch. Somehow it tastes nostalgic and elevated at the same time—like if a French bistro decided to make the ultimate summer pasta salad.

The best part? The onions don’t take an hour.

I know everyone says caramelized onions need 45–60 minutes, but I genuinely don’t have the patience for that. Instead, I cook them over medium heat and every time the bottom of the pan gets deeply browned, I splash in about a tablespoon of water. I find it works easiest with a stainless steel pan, but I have also done this on a nonstick pan too!

It lifts all those flavorful browned bits off the pan, keeps everything from burning, and helps the onions soften much faster. Mine are usually beautifully caramelized in about 20 minutes.

This is exactly the kind of pasta salad I’d bring to a barbecue, a picnic, or honestly just make on Sunday so I can eat it straight from the fridge all week.