Go Back
French Onion Meatballs and Rice Recipe 3

French Onion Meatballs and Rice Recipe

French Onion Meatballs and Rice is an easy one-pan casserole made with frozen meatballs, tender rice, mushrooms, buttery French onion broth, and melted Swiss cheese.
Everything bakes together into a cozy, savory, weeknight-friendly dinner that’s filling without being heavy and requires almost no hands-on work.
Perfect for busy evenings, cold weather, and anyone who loves comfort food with minimal cleanup.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 5
Calories: 493
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 8 ounces fresh mushrooms sliced
  • 1 can low sodium beef broth 14.5 ounces
  • 1 can condensed French onion soup 10 ounces
  • 1 cup dry long grain white rice
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme chopped
  • 1/4 cup butter sliced into 6 small pats
  • 24 frozen Italian beef meatballs
  • 4 ounces shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
  • Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish

Method
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 425°F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
  2. In the dish, stir together the mushrooms, beef broth, French onion soup, rice, and thyme until everything is well mixed.
  3. Place the butter pats evenly over the top in a few rows.
  4. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.
  5. Remove the foil and arrange the frozen meatballs evenly over the rice. Do not thaw them first.
  6. Return the dish to the oven uncovered and bake another 30 minutes, until the rice is tender and the meatballs are heated through and lightly browned.
  7. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top and loosely cover with foil. Let it rest for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts.
  8. Finish with chopped parsley and serve warm.

Notes

This is one of those meals that feels like it took way more effort than it did. It’s warm, cheesy, savory, and quietly impressive.
Not perfect, not fancy, but deeply comforting. Exactly what dinner should be.