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French Onion Soup is a delicious combination of caramelized onions and a hearty beef broth topped with toasted bread and melted cheese. Make this restaurant quality onion soup right at home for a special occasion or holiday dinner.
Warm comforting soup recipes are our favorite for cold winter nights, from our Creamy Ham and Potato Soup, to Stuffed Pepper Soup or Beer Cheese Soup. If you love French Onion Soup, ours is a must-try!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for French Onion Soup:
- Butter
- Sweet Onions
- Garlic
- Brown Sugar
- Salt & Pepper
- Thyme
- All Purpose Flour
- Beef Broth
- Baguette or French Bread
- Gruyere Cheese
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How to Make French Onion Soup:
- Slice onions thin and mince garlic.
- Melt butter in a heavy bottom pan and add onions.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle with brown sugar and add garlic. Stir to combine.
- Continue to cook another 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are caramelized.
- Season with salt, pepper and thyme.
- Whisk in flour, cook for 4- 5 minutes.
- Add about 1 cup of beef broth and whisk, scraping the bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Whisk in remaining beef broth and raise heat to medium- high. Bring mixture to a boil and cook, whisking until soup is thickened.
- Remove from heat.
- Slice Baguette and spread with butter.
- Lightly toast sliced baguette under the broiler.
- Ladle soup into oven safe bowls and place on a baking sheet.
- Top with toasted baguette.
- Shred the cheese.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese over baguettes.
- Place under the broiler and watch carefully. Remove from oven when cheese is completely melted and starts to brown.
- Serve immediately.
How to Store and Reheat:
Store leftover French Onion Soup (without the bread and cheese topping) in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
Reheat soup in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until heated through, about 8 – 10 minutes.
Serve as directed above with toasted bread and melted cheese.
Tips for Making French Onion Soup:
I’ve tried a few French onion soup recipes over the years but they never quite turned out like I expected, so here are my best tips for making it delicious.
Don’t get in a hurry caramelizing the onions. Cook them low and slow and the flavors will really develop.
Use good beef broth, taste the beef broth before you start and make sure that it tastes good. If not, don’t use it to make this soup. It is the major flavor of French Onion Soup and will great effect the final taste of the soup. I don’t recommend starting with bullion for this soup.
We made our own beef broth but there are lots of store bought options that are delicious for making soup.
What about the wine? Honestly, I like this soup better without the wine. I’ve made it with different kinds of wine and I always feel that it is overpowering, so we skipped it in this version and we were very happy with the taste.
Use a really good melty cheese to top your bread. Swiss, Gruyere or Emmentaler are great options. Buy a wedge of cheese, don’t buy pre-shredded cheese. It has flour or other additives to keep it from clumping and will not melt or taste as well.
French Onion Soup makes a delicious first course for a fancy dinner like Prime Rib or serve it with a big green salad as a complete dinner. This recipe makes 4 small servings and is easily doubled to feed a larger crowd.
A hearty and delicious comfort food meal. Similar to gumbo, it starts with a dark roux and is loaded with vegetables, smoked sausages and pearl barley. Ready in about 30 minutes, this hearty potato soup can be made with mild or spicy sausage for a delicious dinner that everyone will love. Another super quick and easy soup. The flavor combination of this soup is incredible and it only has a few ingredients. It's hard to beat a comforting and delicious bowl of Beef Stew that has been simmering on the stove for hours. This version has tender chunks of beef and plenty of your favorite vegetables inaFavorite Soup Recipes
Smoked Sausage Barley Soup
Tuscan Sausage Potato Soup
Italian Gnocchi Soup
Beef Stew
If you are planning a meal for a special celebration, anniversary dinner or having the family over for Christmas or New Year’s this French Onion Soup makes a great addition.
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5 from 2 votes
French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup is a delicious combination of caramelized onions in a hearty beef broth topped with toasted bread and melted cheese.
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Course: Soups
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Easy French onion soup, French Onion Soup without wine, onion soup
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 773kcal
Author: Milisa
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter + 2 tablespoons for toasting bread
- 4 sweet onions about 2 pounds
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 cloves
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1/2 baguette or loaf of French bread
- 2 ounces shredded Gruyere Cheese
Instructions
Slice onions and mince garlic.
Melt butter in a heavy bottom pan and place over low heat.
Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally for about 20 - 30 minutes.
Add garlic and brown sugar, stir to combine. Continue to cook about 20 minutes or until onions are caramelized.
Season with thyme, salt and pepper. Whisk in flour and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add about a cup of beef broth, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove the browned bits.
Whisk in remaining beef broth and raise to medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Whisk until soup is thickened. Remove from heat.
Slice baguette, spread with butter and lightly toast.
Ladle soup into oven safe bowls and place on a baking sheet.
Top with toasted baguette and shredded cheese.
Broil for a few minutes, watching carefully, until cheese is melted and starts to brown.
Serve immediately.
Notes
Store leftover onion soup, without the bread and cheese) in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking until heated through, about 8 -10 minutes.
Follow steps to add toasted bread and cheese before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 773kcal | Carbohydrates: 115g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 2643mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 26g