This French Onion Meatloaf recipe is the pinnacle of keto comfort food. Juicy meatloaf with caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese for a one-of-a-kind taste sensation.
What do you get when you cross French Onion soup with hearty meatloaf? You get one of my family’s favorite dinner recipes, that’s what you get!
I have a long-standing love of keto meatloaf, and make it frequently throughout the fall and winter. It’s a guaranteed hit in my family. But sometimes you want to shake things up a little. Adding some sweet caramelized onions and Gruyere turns a regular meatloaf into a mouthwatering masterpiece.
I am not exaggerating when I say that it’s one of the best keto dinner recipes you will ever make.
Why we love it
There are a few things that make a meatloaf good. Juiciness is paramount, as is flavor. And this French Onion Meatloaf meets both of those requirements. The caramelized onions add richness and depth, and the Gruyere and fresh thyme are perfect complements.
It’s an easy recipe to make too. Caramelizing the onions properly does take some time, but it’s worth it. And you can break up the process and do the onions ahead of time, even up to two days.
The end result is a seriously delicious dish that no one can resist. And with 34g of protein and only 2.6g of carbs, it’s a perfect keto comfort food recipe.
Reader Reviews
“Wow! Just made this for dinner this evening. Best meatloaf I’ve ever had. My husband’s comment…this is REALLY good! The caramelized onions and Gruyère cheese take it over the top in flavor. I used grass fed ground beef and organic bulk pork. Thank you for this recipe! It’s a keeper!” — Mary
“I’ve made this meatloaf several times and my family loves it! My wife works late than me so I usually cook dinner. She was always proud of her traditional meatloaf (it’s great btw) but likes this one better. As for the pork rinds, I’ve found that Julio’s seasoned pork rinds are always fresh and delicious.” — David
“Thank you for SO SO SO many amazing recipes! My husband declared this ‘the best meatloaf you’ve ever made!’”’ And told me that this is the only meatloaf I ever need to make again. This is incredibly high accolades from a man who loves meatloaf! Thank you so much! You are at our dinner table more often than not- and you will be for many many years!” — Aimee
Ingredients you need
- Butter: For the best flavor when sautéing the onions, use butter or bacon grease. You could use oil, if you don’t have either of these.
- White onion: You can also use yellow onions.
- Fresh thyme: I prefer the flavor of fresh thyme, but you can use dried thyme if that’s all you have.
- Ground meat: I used a combination of ground pork and beef for more flavor. You can use just ground beef, if you prefer. You could use ground turkey or chicken, but be careful not to over bake it as it could dry it quickly.
- Pork rinds: For the binder, I used crushed pork rinds, but you could also use 1/2 cup almond flour instead.
- Egg: You will need one large egg.
- Gruyere cheese: You can use any melty cheese like mozzarella, Swiss, or even sharp cheddar.
- Pantry staples: Onion powder, black pepper and salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. Sauté the onions: In a large skillet over low heat, melt the butter or bacon grease. Once melted, add the sliced onions and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Add the thyme: Stir in the thyme leaves, cook one more minute, then remove from heat and set aside.
3. Mix up the meatloaf: In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, pork rinds, onion powder, pepper, and salt. Stir in the egg and half of the caramelized onions, then use your hands to thoroughly combine.
4. Bake the meatloaf: Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and form the mixture into a loaf about 5 by 9 inches. Bake at 350ºF for 40 to 50 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 160F. Remove and turn off the oven.
5. Add the cheese: Top with the shredded cheese and the remaining onions and place back in the warm oven to melt the cheese, about 5 minutes.
Tips for Success
Take your time to caramelize the onions. Although easy to do, it’s a slow process and needs patience. You don’t want them to get brown and crisp, but instead become tender as they caramelize.
Let the meatloaf cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing if you want nice clean slices!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the finished, cooked meatloaf. Wrap it up tightly to avoid freezer burn and freeze for up to two months.
You have lots of great options to replace the breadcrumbs in traditional meatloaf. Many people use almond flour or another nut flour. You can also use crushed pork rinds. Both result in delicious tender meatloaf that is grain-free and low carb.
This French Onion Keto Meatloaf recipe has 2.6g of carbs per serving.
French Onion Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter or bacon grease
- 1 large white onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
- Salt
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork, or another lb ground beef
- 1 cup ground pork rinds, or 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
Instructions
- In a large skillet over low heat, melt the butter or bacon grease. Once melted, add the sliced onions and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Stir in the thyme leaves, cook one more minute, then remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, pork rinds, onion powder, pepper, and an additional 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the egg and half of the caramelized onions, then use your hands to thoroughly combine.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and form the mixture into a loaf about 5 by 9 inches. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 160F. Remove and turn off the oven.
- Top with the shredded cheese and the remaining onions and place back in the warm oven to melt the cheese, about 5 minutes.
Nutrition
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Made this today. We all enjoyed it. Our son wants left overs in a wrap for lunch tomorrow. Thanks again for your hard work.
For those of us who need to be dairy-free, can you please provide a suggestion for the gruyere cheese? I hate to totally leave out the ingredient (or a substitute) because I’m sure it wouldn’t be nearly as good! Any suggestions would be much appreciated, Carolyn!
Any dairy free swiss that you enjoy would work. Gruyere is just fancy swiss with a bit of a nuttier flavor. I am not as familiar with dairy dree cheese alternatives though so no clue how well they melt
I am sorry but I simply am unfamiliar with dairy free alternatives. Sounds like maybe you need to experiment.
Hey Carolyn! This looks and sounds amazing. I’m going to make it tonight but I’m curious-why not use a bread loaf pan? Wouldn’t it keep the loaf more moist? Thank you for your delicious recipes
No, a pan wouldn’t keep it more moist. Free-forming meatloaf is easier, helps it cook through better, and allows some fat to drain off. It also means less clean up!
Just made this, so juicy and full of flavor. I used Redmond’s onion salt as I was out of regular salt and applewood smoked gruyere from Aldi. I love you Carolyn!
This was SOOOOOO good! Followed the recipe exactly but used almond flour instead of pork rinds.
Since I only had the ground beef on hand, I used the same amount of spices with some paprika and some pepper flakes. Including the caramalized onions on top. No cheese for my husband.
totally enjoyed this with steamed broccoli. Thank you!
Hi Carolyn,
I have ground turkey on hand, would you make any compensation for the lesser amount of fat (compared to beef or pork)?
I would probably just cook it a bit more carefully, watching to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
Simply amazing! I cut the recipe in half and used a whole egg. Turned out perfect! I’ll be making this again.
Mine turned out quite dry… followed the recipe! Flavor was good though.
Sounds like you over-cooked it. Did you test the internal temperature?
I have a love/hate relationship with meatloaf. As a kid, my mother who always put nourishing, delicious food on the dinner table made a totally awful meatloaf. Granted, I was a picky eater, but meatloaf was one of those meals that I was convinced was invented as a punishment. lol But, my brother loved it so we had it often. Too often. As an adult, at some point I realized that millions of meatloaf eaters couldn’t all be wrong so I searched for, and tried, many meatloaf recipes. I have to admit that some were very good – but none really stood out as special.
I found a package of ground beef and a package of ground pork in the freezer, thought I’d take a shot at meatloaf again, but this time I asked myself, WWCD? (What Would Carolyn Do?) and searched this web site and found the recipe for French Onion Meatloaf. It sounded good, and pictured a fantastically elegant looking meatloaf. This was the winner.
When I told my husband that we were having meatloaf for dinner, he looked politely disappointed. Yes, he’s had a few too many experiments to get excited. Well, he raved about the meat loaf and wanted to be sure that we left enough leftovers to have another meal. I just can’t say enough about the taste, texture and moistness. On the table, the presentation with the melted cheese and sauteed onions on top looked like a crown of decadence. Sadly, I didn’t have gruyere so I used a blend of asiago, romano and parmesean. It was very good, but next time, and there definitely will be a next time, I’ll make sure to have gruyere in the fridge because its flavor profile and melt will even be better. Thanks, Carolyn, you’ve made me feel good about meatloaf again! This one is special.
Hmmm…need to do some meal prep for upcoming knee replacement and thinking I can make this up and freeze it raw to pull out, thaw and add the 2nd half of the caramelized onions and cheese. Any thoughts on this?
Good luck on your knee surgery. I am going on year 14 of my knee replacements and going strong. Like you, I did freezer meals (this was before Keto) and was very happy I did it.
I recently had hernia surgery and did freezer meals again. I was so happy I did that.
Wow! Just made this for dinner this evening. Best meatloaf I’ve ever had. My husband’s comment…this is REALLY good! The caramelized onions and Gruyère cheese take it over the top in flavor. I used grass fed ground beef and organic bulk pork. Thank you for this recipe! It’s a keeper!
I made a double recipe of this, but with italian sausage instead of pork, mozzarella instead of gruyere, and dried thyme instead of fresh (it’s what I had). It was so stinking good! And it froze really well. About to make it again tonight and my mouth is watering at work thinking about it.