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French Onion Soup
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This classic French onion soup topped with melted gruyère and parmesan is the epitome of rustic comfort food.
Most people think of French onion soup as “restaurant food” but it actually originated as a simple peasant dish made from onions, stale bread, and water. Modern versions of onion soup are more elevated but it’s still easy to make at home. The key is patience: the onions need to be cooked low and slow so that they sweeten and turn a rich brown color without burning.
In addition to giving the onions the proper time and attention, I use a few little tricks I picked up while working in a French restaurant, like adding a bit of sugar to enhance the sweetness of the onions, stirring a bit of flour into the onions to add body to the broth, and topping the croutons with both Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
If you don’t have ovenproof crocks for the soup, don’t worry. You can just top your soup with melty cheese toasts or serve them on the side. And if you want to get a head start, go ahead and make the broth and toasts several days ahead of time. When it’s time to eat, simply top the soup with the toasts and cheese and flash the crocks under the broiler.
What you’ll need to make French Onion Soup
How To Make French Onion Soup
To begin, in a large Dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the oil, onions, salt, pepper, and sugar.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deep golden brown and caramelized, 45 to 55 minutes.
In the beginning, you will only need to stir the onions only occasionally. As they start to brown midway through cooking, you’ll need to stir them more frequently. Also be sure to scrape the fond (or brown particles) from the bottom of the pan.
Add the wine and raise the heat to high.
Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape any fond from the bottom of the pan, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and the onions are jammy, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the flour.
Cook for about one minute to dissolve the flour.
Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes. Add the sherry, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If the soup needs a deeper flavor, try a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. If it’s not quite sweet enough, add 1/4 teaspoon sugar.
While the soup simmers, preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
Adjust an oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on a baking sheet and divide the hot soup among the crocks. Be sure the soup is very hot as it won’t warm up much in the oven. Top each crock with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices).
Sprinkle evenly with Gruyère and then Parmigiano Reggiano.
Slide the crocks into the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. (Alternatively, if using regular soup bowls: Top each toast slice with some cheese and return to broiler to melt, about 2 minutes more. Divide the soup among bowls and top each serving with two cheese toasts.)
Let the French onion soup crocks cool for a few minutes before serving.
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French Onion Soup
This classic French onion soup topped with melted gruyère and parmesan is the epitome of rustic comfort food.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 pounds Vidalia (or sweet) onions (about 5 medium), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 small baguette, cut into ½-in slices
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
- 8 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 2 heaping cups; look for one imported from Switzerland)
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the oil, onions, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until onions are deep golden brown and caramelized, 45 to 55 minutes. In the beginning, you will only need to stir the onions only occasionally. As they start to brown midway through cooking, you will need to stir them frequently, scraping the fond (the brown particles) from the bottom of the pan. If the onions are browning too quickly, reduce the heat slightly or add a few tablespoons of water to deglaze the pan and continue cooking.
- Add the wine and raise the heat to high. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape any fond from the bottom of the pan, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and the onions are jammy, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
- When the soup is finished, remove the bay leaves and add the sherry; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If the soup needs a deeper flavor, try a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. If it's not quite sweet enough, add ¼ teaspoon sugar.
- Adjust an oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on a baking sheet and divide the hot soup among the crocks (be sure the soup is very hot as it won't warm up much in the oven). Top each crock with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère and then Parmigianno Reggiano. Slide the crocks into the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let the crocks cool for a few minutes before serving. (Alternatively, if using regular soup bowls: Top each toast slice with some cheese and return to broiler to melt, about 2 minutes more. Divide the soup among bowls and top each serving with two cheese toasts.)
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The soup can be made and refrigerated up to 3 days ahead (without toasts or cheese), or up to 3 months ahead and frozen. Toasts can be made (without the cheese) and kept sealed at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (5 servings)
- Calories: 642
- Fat: 31 g
- Saturated fat: 17 g
- Carbohydrates: 53 g
- Sugar: 19 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 31 g
- Sodium: 1,697 mg
- Cholesterol: 82 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn… made this today for a dinner party on Thursday. Although it tastes delicious it seems a bit sweet to me. What should I add to tone down the sweetness?
Thanks,
Leslie
Hi Leslie, Sorry you found it a little too sweet. I’d add a bit of wine to tone it down. Just make sure to cook it down a bit to take the bite off the wine. Hope everyone enjoys!
Hi Jenn..I added more wine as you suggested and a little more salt. The result was perfect. Upgrading to 5 stars on this recipe. Thank you! Leslie
So glad that got the flavor to where you wanted it — thanks for the update!
Such a flavorful recipe ! My family loved it . Thank you!
Followed the recipe to a T and it came out amazing! Thank you
Came out perfect! The pictures really helped as far as understanding the caramelization process.
Came out rock star material! When topping with gruyerre and Parmesan, you need more than you think!!!
Hi can I chop the onions in a good processor?
Hi Susan, the onions are sliced rather than chopped, so if you have a mechanism on your food processor that will enable you to slice them, that’s fine. Hope you enjoy!
French music and this soup turned my home into an inviting French Bistro. Smelled heavenly.. Had no dry sherry so I used regular sherry with a teaspoon vinegar. Leftovers tonight❤️
I have loved French onion soup since I visited Paris with my Mum in the 90s but until now never made it. It is a labour and time intensive recipe with lots of stirring and attention required but it was worth it. Sweeter than I remembered but oh so filling and satisfying. I omitted the dry sherry as I didn’t have any and used Brown sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce (again simply because we didn’t have any). The Gruyere cheese & parmesan combo is fabulous. It brought me back in time.
Can the soup be prepared the day ahead – up to the added bread and cheese
Sure!
Made this to enjoy tonight – a very cold winter night. Great flavour and with homemade I control the salt. Will make again.
Awesome recipe
This is PERFECT!!!! My kids were not expecting to like anything to do with onions but they cannot get enough of this! The flavor is better than any restaurant French onion soup that I have ever had!
Not my first go round with this recipe. Great always even if your missing one of the herbs. It’s very very flavorful. I’d like to remind folks about Better than Bullion available in most grocery stores. I doubt I’d make as many recipes if I didn’t have bothered the chicken and beef in my refrig for an aha moment.
Can you use regular onions? Any substitute for sherry? Plain Swiss cheese okay? I need to use what I have in the house. Thanks!
Hi Carol, assuming you’re referring to yellow onions, yes those should work. The soup will be slightly less sweet with those but it will still be good. Cognac would be a great substitute for the sherry. If you don’t have that on hand, you can just omit it. And, yes, you can get away with substituting Swiss for the Gruyere. Please LMK how it turns out!
Hi Jenn, what can I substitute for the white wine and dry sherry? I would love to make this soup but we don’t drink alcohol. Many thanks!
Hi Shamim, It’s fine to leave both out. You might just add a tablespoon of lemon juice for a touch of acidity. Hope you enjoy it!
Hi Jenn,
Probably a very stupid question but do you remove the bay leaves and thyme before you bake? Thanks 🙂
Not a stupid question at all and a good catch! The thyme doesn’t need to be removed, but the bay leaves need to be. I will update the recipe. Thanks for pointing that out — hope you enjoy the soup!
Could I use a hard goat cheese on this?
Sure, I think that would work. Enjoy!
Excellent recipe! It was delicious.
I made this tonight and it turned out AMAZING!! I’ve never made French onion soup and really had in mind that specific taste when it’s really good and you get it at a restaurant. This recipe does just that. I followed the steps and ended up adding 8 onions- felt like I could have added more just for my personal preference, I like a lot. The flavor was so amazing. With soup you have a lot of leeway to add until you get it perfect and that’s what I did here- but the general instructions are a great guide and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Will be adding to my recipe book and am seriously considering making a big batch and canning it. Will def be exploring more recipes from Jenn in the future.
Another hit! Ok, you are now my go-to site for every recipe. Thank you.
I have made this several times, including today, as a rainy day comfort food. I use toasted slices of homemade no knead crusty bread instead of a baguette. This recipe is amazing!
I plan to make this soup and don’t have white wine as we are red wine drinkers. I keep a large bottle of Martini and Rossi vermouth on hand for cooking since once opened it will keep so much longer than wine. My question is can I use vermouth in this recipe?
Many thanks.
Jan 🇨🇦
Sure, Jan, that should work. Hope you enjoy!
The best French Onion Soup I have ever made. Thanks for this excellent recipe. 😷
I don’t know why I’ve always been intimidated by the thought of making french onion soup, but I was. No longer! This recipe was not at all difficult, and it was lip-smacking good! I felt like a fancy cook when I served it. Thank you, Jenn, for helping me to be a more confident cook.
This is my first review of a recipe ever…and so a little background. I love to cook and I love French style cooking. (I lived in France one summer with my family and absolutely love the food and the lifestyle…rich foods…full but good fats…fresh in season ingredients…relaxing and enjoying good food with family and friends. We have embodied this ever since. :)) I found Once Upon a Chef and started to follow about 6 months ago. It is the only cooking blog that I choose to follow. The reason…it is the only one out there that I have seen with a classically trained chef (trained in France no less!), and every recipe that I have tried has been amazing. This French Soup recipe is no exception. It is rich and comforting. Perfect for our cold nights! The only thing that I did different is use brown onions (I just prefer them but will try it next time with the sweet onions), gluten free flour, and gluten free French bread on top. I know that real French bread would be much better, but we make do with our gluten sensitivity. Bon Appetit!
It’s official-this is now our favourite soup! So easy and oh so good. The broth is so flavourful and lower in sodium than what I’ve had in restaurants. I put in only about 2 lbs of onions, personal taste, and use Swiss cheese since it’s something I usually have in the fridge.
Thanks Jenn for another great recipe.
I have tried many French Onion Soup recipes and this one became my favorite. My family asks for it frequently.
I have always loved French Onion Soup and this one is excellent. It is very easy to make just need to be patient as the onions cook down. I have made it ahead and then assembled when I was ready to serve. I have also frozen it and it tasted just as delicious. It is a wonderful meal for a cold winter night.
Wonderful recipe, Have made this recipe several times; excellent every time.
Best french onion soup I have ever had. I can’t wait to make it again. Was so delicious on a rainy day. Didn’t have Gruyere and didn’t want to leave the house but passed with Havarti.
Delicious! I made this last night for dinner along with the Baby Kale salad after a snowy grey day and it was exactly what my family and I needed. I absolutely love your recipes. I have made many of them, they are easy to follow and always turn out delicious. My husband and daughter have celiac and I never have have an issue substituting GF flour cup for cup with anything including baked items. Thank you!
-Janet K
LOVE this recipe!!! It is so full of flavor. I stopped making my own French Onion Soup because after all the work I found the soups lacked flavor and I was better off buying it at Pa…ra…
Well with this recipe I’m back to making it myself. I always browned the onions so am guessing the difference comes down to the beef broth (instead of chicken) and the wine. Whatever it is, I love the way this soup comes out and highly recommend it. I make it as the recipe is written. Not sure if it freezes well or not as I never have any leftover to freeze.
We love this recipe and make it often. We don’t change a thing. I love the process for the read and cheese topping. My husband loves this so much that we buy 10 pound bags of onions to have on hand when he wants it. This soup freezes well also. Give it a try, the effort is worth it, really not laborious and more a labor of love!
Outstanding! Truly delicious!
Jenn,
I am so excited to try this recipe. Your recipes are always great!
My question is regarding the dry white wine. In the picture the wine bottle label
says Vouvray, which I believe is a region in France. Would this be be a Sauvignon Blanc?
Can you share the winery? I have always heard a Sauvignon Blanc is always best to cook with.
Is this true? Thank you again for another stellar recipe.
Dixie
Hi Dixie, so glad you like the recipes! I don’t know what winery that wine was from, that wine but it was a Chenin Blanc. (It was probably just what I had open when I created the recipe.) 🙂 And I wouldn’t worry too much about it as long as you have a dry white wine. Don’t use anything too pricey — when using wine for cooking, something inexpensive (but still good enough to drink) is ideal.
This has to be the best onion soup I’ve ever made. The flavour was layered and deep, without being too salty. It was a huge hit with my family. The only change I made was not using beef stock and replacing it with “veggie” chicken powder. The soup was still amazing – and easily rivals any of the best “soupes à l’onion” I’ve eaten in good French restaurants. Many thanks, Jenn. Your recipes are outstanding.
A good French Onion Soup depends on the carmelization of the onions to build the broth flavors. This recipe delivers and will now be my go-to for this type of soup. Delicious!