French Onion Soup

This classic French Onion Soup recipe is guaranteed to warm your belly and your soul! Our recipe includes, fresh onions, chopped and carmelized to a golden brown, rich beef stock, a delicious blend of spices and French baguettes topped with melted Gruyère cheese.

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French Onion Soup is one of our favorite winter meals here in Utah! The rich flavor of the carmelized onions works perfectly with the crunchy baguettes coated in melted Gruyère cheese—it's a match made in culinary heaven!

Unfortunately, the French Onion Soup most people eat for dinner is either from a can or a packet of dry stuff. Yuck! But you can do better. All you need is a little extra time. This French Onion Soup recipe does take a bit of time to prepare (approximately an hour and twenty minutes), but as they say, "Good things come to those who wait." And this soup definitely falls into that category.

For this recipe you'll need fresh yellow onions—lots of them. In fact, you'll want a full 2 1/2 lbs. Start by slicing the ends off each onion, then peeling off the outer layer. Next, slice the onions in half and begin cutting each half into thin slices. If you're new to slicing onions, here's a great video that illustrates the process front to back. (Sorry, it's a little grainy, but it's a good video.

Once your onions are sliced, grab a large stock pot or Dutch oven and heat up the butter and olive oil over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the onions and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until they start to soften and turn translucent.

Now reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking the onions for 30-40 minutes. You'll want your onions to be caramelized to a rich golden brown color at the end of the process. Just be careful not to burn them. Temperatures vary by oven, so check your onions frequently to avoid overcooking.

When your onions are caramelized, add garlic and 1/2 cup of dry white wine. This will help deglaze the pot, so you can scrape up the brown bits (flavor chunks) off the bottom. Cook for 5 minutes or until the wine reduces by half.

At this point you can add the beef stock, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring the pot to a low boil and reduce the heat, allowing the broth to simmer for an additional 30 minutes. The simmering allows the rich flavor of the onions to combine with the beef broth and spices for a delicious finished product.

While your French Onion Soup simmers, set your oven to broil. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and top with shredded Gruyère cheese. We like Gruyère because it's so rich and creamy. But you can substitute with Swiss, mozzarella, provolone or virtually anything else that tickles your taste buds.

Place the baguettes in the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Just remember, the broiler cooks quickly! So make sure to keep an eye on the baguettes so they don't burn.

Serving is as simple as dishing a serving of soup into a bowl or crock and placing the baguettes (cheese side up) atop the broth.

What we like about this French Onion Soup Recipe!

French Onion Soup Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 2.5 of yellow onions, thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• 2 cloves of lbs garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup of dry white wine

• 6 cups of beef stock

• 2 bay leaves

• 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme

• Salt, to taste

• Ground black pepper, to taste

• 8 slices of baguette

• 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese

How to make French Onion Soup

1. Peel and slice the onions. Make sure they are cut evenly.

2. Caramelize the Onions: In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and stir to coat them with the butter mixture. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions start to soften and turn translucent.

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 30-40 minutes, or until the onions are deeply caramelized to a rich golden brown color. Add the garlic in the last few minutes of cooking, being careful not to let it burn.

4. Deglaze and Simmer: Increase the heat to medium-high and pour in the white wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Let the wine reduce by half, which will take around 5 minutes.

5. Add the beef stock, bay leaves, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and let it gently simmer for about 30 minutes. This will allow the flavors to meld together. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

6. Broil the Cheese: Preheat your broiler. Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet, top with grated cheese and broil them in the preheated oven until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

7. Serve: Carefully remove the baguette from the oven and place them in the bowl of soup. Serve immediately. Enjoy your delicious homemade French Onion Soup!

Tips and Tricks

• If you don't have or like Gruyère cheese you can easily substitute with a variety of other options, including provolone, mozzarella or parmesan.

• If you're trying to reduce your sodium intake, try low-sodium beef broth instead of regular. Swanson's unsalted beef stock has around 35 mg of sodium per 1 cup serving, while their regular beef stock has a whopping 830 mg of sodium per 1 cup serving.

• The caramelizing process for the onions is crucial to this recipe. And the only secret is time and a bit of attention. It's critical not to rush this step. Many chefs take hours to caramelize their onions. And while we don't have that kind of time, we do recommend at least 55 minutes.

FAQs

• How can I make this recipe dairy-free? If you're looking for a dairy-free option, there are plenty of different substitutions. First, you'll want to substitute the butter with additional olive oil. Second, you'll substitute the cheese on the baguettes with hummus, olives, sun-dried tomatoes or even capers.

• Is French Onion Soup Actually French? Unlike French fries, French Onion Soup actually has its roots in France. It was popularized in Paris, in the 18th century and (among many others) has become one of France's signature dishes.

• How can I make this recipe vegetarian? Obviously, you'll need to substitute the beef broth with something else. There's a company called Better than Bouillon that makes a mushroom based broth that's actually quite tasty and 100% vegetarian.