French Onion Steak is an easy one-pan meal for steak with a unique flavor: cooked in broth and topped with cheddar cheese, onion soup mix, and fried onions.
Jump to RecipeEver have those recipes that you make, love, and then somehow forget about it? Yeah, this was one of those meals. The first time we made French Onion Steak, we both really enjoyed the meal. It has a similar taste profile to French onion soup, but includes a big hunk of meat!
Then, as time went on, for one reason or another, we both forgot about it. Not that it was a forgettable meal. But, when Justin said he wanted some type of steak for dinner, I started looking through my recipes and found this one again.
I believe this great recipe came from one of the recipe card spinners that you can sometimes find at Publix. Or it may have even been one of the meals that they were cooking in-store to give samples. Either way, I know it was from Publix. And it’s funny, until moving out of Publix territory, I never knew it was possible to miss a grocery store!
I am not big on steaks, so we don’t have it very often. It’s also too chewy for the boys to eat right now. So when we do have it, Justin eats his entire steak! No leftovers for lunch the next day. I couldn’t even eat half of mine and saved the rest for later, but he ate it all!
The French Onion Steak recipe is pretty easy to make and doesn’t require too many ingredients either. Depending on how cooked you like your steak determines how long this recipe takes to make. Justin likes his steak cooked medium, so I took his off the pan and let mine cook a few minutes more. I like it cooked closer to medium-well. But that’s what’s great about this meal. I can customize it to how we each like it.
I always cook this meal on the stovetop, but you could probably change it to be able to grill. We haven’t tried that yet, but if we did I would do a few things differently. Instead of cooking the broth, I would use the broth as a marinade and let the steaks sit in that for a couple of hours. When it comes time to grill, I would use the onion soup mix as a rub for the steak. And maybe sprinkle more on while it cooks. Then, once the steaks are cooked, you could top it with cheese and French onions.
Side Suggestions
The broth or gravy is perfect for adding to the top of some of your side options, such as potatoes and noodles.
- Mashed potatoes (covered with extra gravy/broth)
- Egg noodles
- Side salad
- Cornbread
- Green beans
- Cheese toast or garlic bread
Types of Steak
There are so many types of steak you could use for this recipe. These are some of our favorites:
- Rib eye steak
- Tri-tip steak
- Venison steak
- Sirloin steak
Cheese Options
We really like the white cheddar cheese for this recipe. It’s sharp without being too much. But if you can’t find that try these:
- Gruyere cheese, shredded
- A slice of mozzarella cheese, fresh
- Mozzarella cheese, shredded

French Onion Steak Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless grilling steak
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pkg onion soup mix
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 3 oz white cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 1/2 cup french-fried onions
Preparation
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. While it warms up, sprinkle steaks with olive oil and the dry onion soup mix. Place the steaks in the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, just until they start to brown and are almost cooked to your desired doneness.

Pour broth into the pan and cook for another 6-8 minutes. Stir the broth occasionally to scrape the bottom of the pan to get the browned bits off and let it thicken in the pan.

Place the cheddar cheese on top of the steak and cover the pan.

Reduce to low heat and cook until the cheese melts, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the steaks from the pan and top with the fried onions. Serve warm with the juice from the pan.

French Onion Steak Leftovers
Storage: Any leftover steak can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. I would suggest not adding the fried onions until after reheating so they don’t get soggy.
Reheating: The best way to reheat this is in a skillet over medium heat until heated through.

Recipe
Originally Published On: January 13, 2017
Last Updated On: August 29, 2023

French Onion Steak
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless grilling steak
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pkg onion soup mix
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 3 oz white cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 1/2 cup french-fried onions
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat large saute pan 2-3 minutes on medium
- Meanwhile, coat both sides of steaks with oil and soup mix
- Place steaks in pan and cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned
- Add broth to pan, cook and stir for 6-8 minutes or until broth has thickened
- Top steaks with cheese and cover pan
- Cook until cheese is melted
- Remove steaks from pan and top with fried onions
- Serve with juice from pan
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
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- Sirloin Steak with Dijon Sauce
- How to Make Beef Jerky
- Steaks with Garlic-Herb Butter
- Kansas City Steak Strips
- Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas with Homemade Fajita Seasoning
- French Onion Steak
- Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy
- Country Fried Steak
Oh my goodness this looks absolutely AMAZING! and it doesn’t even look that hard! Saving this to try this week!
You’re right on both statements there! It’s delicious and pretty easy to make. Can’t beat a one-pan meal!
This looks absolutely yummy! My daughter would love this – I’ll have to give it a go this week…
It’s delicious, and one of my husband’s favorite meals. I hope your daughter enjoys it!
I immediately became hungry after reading this. Normally, this should have happened in a couple of hours, not now! 🙂 Awesome recipe. Cooking this next week.
Hah, I do that a lot as I’m writing up the posts! It’s only 9AM and I’m already hungry for lunch 🙂
I don’t eat meat, but I’m sure the meat eaters in my extended family would enjoy this recipe.
I totally understand! Thanks for passing it along 🙂
I do not eat read meat frequently but my husband does and he loves cheese. He would love this for sure.
I am not a huge steak person either, but it’s one of my husband’s favorites, too. This is a great way to have something different than a grilled steak.
Wow – this actually looks pretty easy! I never cook steak per se, but may have to make an exception to try this 🙂
Most of the time, if we are cooking steak, it’s grilled or make into steak and shrimp kabobs. But we do really enjoy this recipe, so I make my exception for this one, too!
And esp since I already LOVE French Onion Soup, I should totally love this too! (Don’t you think? 😉 )
I love French cuisine! French onion soup is one of my favorites but I haven’t tried this onion steak. Looks super easy and quick too!
I really like the steak cooked this way. It stays so tender and has so much flavor from the onion soup mix and the cheese. It’s definitely easy, so I hope you get a chance to try it!
I hate when I forget about making those good dishes. I tend to feel more comfortable making the same boring dishes. Your French Onion Steaks receipe looks really tasty. I know my husband husband will love it.
I know, I do it a lot, then we have it again and I wonder why I forget about it! I have a few meals I tend to do that with.
I love steak! But I never add anything to it except salt, so this could be a nice variation.
My husband has a few marinades that he uses on the steak. Usually steak is his meal to cook, but this one is all me. The onion soup mix adds so much flavor to the steak.
This looks good – I’ll have to make it for my daughter as she loves steak. It looks fairly easy to make too which is always a bonus for someone like me who doesn’t enjoy cooking!
If you’re looking for easy, you can’t beat a one-pan meal! This is delicious and I hope your daughter agrees!
Combining my two fav dishes is insane!!! OMG! I am so gonna make tomorrow, can’t wait.
It sounds like a perfect meal for you then! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Love this French Onion Steak. Great that it is a one-pan meal. Interesting that the steak is cooked in broth and then topped with cheddar cheese, onion soup mix, and fried onions.
Yes, I love one-pan meals! I really enjoy cooking but hate the cleanup afterwards.
Oh two of my favorite things, steak and onions! This looks fantastic, a great dinner in meal that my hubby would love!
The steak and onions are such a great combination. There’s so much flavor to this, and it’s so easy to put together. I hope you and hubby both enjoy it!
This is really nice, I’ve been trying to find out new recipes with meats and I think this is the perfect one. Thank you for sharing!
This one is definitely different from most steak meals I’ve had before. I hope you like it!
Look yummy and super love it! This is definitely great for family gatherings. It’s easy to do and I’m positive that everyone will love it.
Yes! Just get a few large steaks and you could make it for quite a few people.
This looks great! I love a good steak and I love onions. I’ll have to try it this weekend!
They make a great combination! I hope you enjoy it.