12 French recipes to make this Fall

I like to believe the French repertoire was built for Fall season. Long meat braises, crisp apples from the orchards, mushrooms from the market stalls, a pot simmering all afternoon while the rain comes down outside: for me, this is France, and especially Brittany at its best!

So, today, I’m inviting you to grab a sweater and cook our way through it! Here’s my selection from the blog of the 12 french recipes you should make this Fall: from a buttery onion quiche starter to an invisible apple cake that (literally) disappears before your eyes.

Bon appétit! 

Starter

Caramelized Onion Tart. This is a Fall classic from the Alsace Region, with a buttery, crisp crust and a rich caramelized-onion custard filling – so good! This works as an easy elegant opener, a light lunch, or a full dinner with a salad on the side.

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Soups

Split Pea Bacon Soup. Known as “Potage Saint-Germain”, this soup is a french bistro classic that’s hearty enough for a full dinner. The mix of smoky bacon and cozy, smooth split peas makes it perfect for chilly evenings.

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French Onion Soup.This is my recipe for the classic onion soup made the traditional french way. No shortcuts. Slowly caramelized onions, a rich red wine and beef broth, and a bubbling Gruyère-topped crouton crust. A bistro classic everyone’s craving comes fall! 

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Mains

Pork Chops with Apples and Cider Sauce. This recipe is an easy one-pan dish of plump pork chops, caramelized apples and creamy cider sauce. Pork + Apples + Cider = unmistakably Breton! 

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Chicken Chasseur. This is the classic French “Hunter’s style” chicken, made with mushrooms in a tomato-white wine sauce, and finished with butter. If you love mushrooms (like me), this recipe is for you! 

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Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Sauce. Known as “Poulet à la Forestière”, this dish includes pan-fried chicken, braised in white wine, finished with a rich mushroom-and-crème-fraîche sauce. The creamy counterpart to the Chicken Chasseur above – and one of my husband’s favorite recipes! 

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Braised Pork Loin with Prunes (Porc aux pruneaux). A dish I grew up with here in Brittany. This is a whole pork loin, slow-braised in white wine with sweet onions and melt-in-your-mouth prunes. It’s syrupy, sweet-salty, and elegant enough for a holiday table.

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French Style Cottage Pie (Hachis Parmentier). This French version of a cottage pie features seasoned ground beef under a blanket of buttery mashed potato, baked until golden. This is pure French comfort food!

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Sides

Red Kuri Squash Blue Cheese Gratin. This is one of my favorite side dishes for fall, made with layers of tender “potimarron” (red kuri squash), tangy blue cheese, crème fraîche, walnuts and pumpkin seeds. A great Thanksgiving-side alternative. 

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Desserts

Invisible Apple Cake (Gâteau Invisible aux Pommes). This cake is so unique, made with paper-thin apple slices “disappearing” into a custardy batter as it bakes. It’s delicious, deceptively simple and visually striking! 

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Apple Cinnamon Galette. This galette (or “tarte rustique” as we say in France) has all the flavors of an apple pie, but with half the fuss: a flaky, free-form butter crust folded over crisp apples. No pie dish required.

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Classic French Pear Cake. Because pear deserves its moment too, not just apple or pumpkin! This french cake is loaded with pears and lightly flavored with almond extract. So delicious! 

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Let me know in the comments if you try one or more recipes from this selection! I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can also subscribe to my newsletter A Table in France for more seasonal recipes as I publish them through fall.