Author: There’s nothing quite like a bowl of homemade French onion soup to warm you from the inside out. With rich caramelized onions, savory broth, and a thick layer of melted cheese over toasted bread, this recipe turns simple ingredients into something truly special. It’s the perfect dish for cold evenings, slow weekends, or anytime you’re craving comfort food with a traditional feel.
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My mom has always loved French onion soup. If it’s on the menu, I can guarantee she will order it! She has even held onto a vintage set of French onion soup bowls for almost 20 years, but has never made French onion soup herself!
So, after making my homemade French baguettes recently, I knew that I needed to use them in a batch of French onion soup for her – and use her vintage bowls for the first time!
French Onion Soup
This recipe is quite simple and is filled with deep, rich flavors of caramelized onions, beef stock, thyme, and garlic, and is topped with a slice of bread and melted cheese. It truly is a delightful and soul-warming meal for any cold night!
Ingredients
The full recipe with measurements is available at the end of this post. But let’s take a quick look at the ingredients for this recipe. Most of which you may have on hand already!
- Yellow onions – While you can use white onions, yellow onions are preferred. Both will caramelize nicely, but the flavor of the yellow onions is the standard for French onion soup.
- Butter – This helps the onions to caramelize! You can use salted or unsalted, or even vegan butter if you want.
- Garlic – I like to mince fresh cloves, but pre-minced from the store will work just fine too. Don’t use garlic powder if you can avoid it.
- Flour – We use einkorn flour, but use whatever all-purpose flour you have to help thicken the base of the soup.
- White Wine – Used to deglaze the pan after the onions have caramelized, use a dry white wine for this. I like a nice Chardonnay for this recipe.
- Beef Stock – Beef stock, or beef broth, can be used for this recipe. If you are trying to stay vegetarian or vegan, use vegetable stock instead. Note that it will not have the same depth of flavor if vegetable stock is used.
- Worcestershire Sauce – A flavor enhancer, don’t skip this!
- Bay Leaf – A single leaf is enough for this whole batch.
- Thyme – If you’re using fresh thyme, 3 sprigs are perfect. If you are using dried thyme, use about 1 teaspoon.
- Salt and Pepper – This is just “to taste” once the recipe is finished.
- Baguette – We like to use homemade French baguettes, but use whatever you feel comfortable with! You want to make sure that the round slices will fit in your bowls, so make sure you get a “skinny” baguette loaf, not one that is more like French or country bread.
- Cheese – I recommend a mix of Mozzarella and Gruyere for a great flavor and a delightful cheese pull. Other cheese types that could be used are Asiago, Swiss, or Gouda.
Tips for the Best French Onion Soup
While this recipe is so simple and straightforward, there are a few things that will make the experience the best it can be!
- Bowls – Make sure that your French onion soup bowls are actually oven-safe. Shockingly, many that look like French onion soup bowls are not rated for the oven, so you can’t do the broiling step to melt the cheese! Avoid that issue and just double-check your bowls. If you don’t have oven-safe bowls, use the tip below to make it work!
- Take Your Time – While it may seem like caramelizing the onions takes forever, don’t rush this step! The caramelized onions are the star of the show! Make sure you are cooking over medium-high heat, as anything lower will just boil the onions in their own juices and will not achieve the caramelization that you want.
- Cheese Ratio – Use more cheese than you think you need. A small sprinkling on top is not enough. Remember, this isn’t a garnish, it’s a main part of the flavor profile!
French Onion Soup without Oven-Safe Bowls
If you are craving this soup (like I always am!) but you don’t have oven-safe bowls on hand, here’s a little hack!
- Toast – Toast the bread in the oven as normal.
- Top – When the bread is toasted, top generously with cheese blend and put it back in the oven on broil until the cheese is melted and brown.
- Add – Now you can just add the pieces of cheese coated bread to the bowls of soup!
Directions
Like I said, this recipe is so easy! I know there are quite a few steps, but that’s only because I wanted to make sure things didn’t get missed… most are very quick steps!
From start to finish, this recipe only takes about 45 minutes to finish. Make it once, and you will make it again and again!
- Prep – Peel and slice the onions thinly. The more thinly they are sliced, the easier it will be to caramelize them fully.
- Caramelize – In a large pot, preferably with a heavy-bottom, melt the butter and add the onions. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Add – Once the onions are fully caramelized (dark brown, but not burnt), add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in the flour and cook again for one minute.
- Deglaze – Add the white wine and stir to deglaze the pan (remove the caramelized bits of the onion from the pan bottom).
- Pour – Add in the stock, Worcestershire, bay leaf, and thyme. Stir to combine and bring the soup to a simmer. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Toast – While the soup is simmering, preheat your oven to 400°F. Slice the baguette into 1-inch thick slices and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast for 5-7 minutes, or until the bread is golden around the edges. Set aside.
- Remove – Using a fork, find the thyme sprigs and bay leaf and discard them.
- Season – Taste the soup at this point and add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
- Portion – Ladle the finished soup into oven-safe French onion soup bowls and place them on a baking tray (or two) to go into the oven.
- Broil – Add as many slices of baguette as are needed to cover the top of the soup bowls. Then add 1/2 – 1 cup of cheese to the top of each bowl, on top of the baguette slices. Add the tray of bowls to the oven and broil for 2-4 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Watch them closely so they don’t burn!
- Serve – Remove the bowls from the oven and serve immediately with more bread on the side.
More Warm and Satisfying Recipes
If you liked this French onion soup recipe, here are a few more to keep you delighted and full!
French Onion Soup
There’s nothing quite like a bowl of homemade French onion soup to warm you from the inside out. With rich caramelized onions, savory broth, and a thick layer of melted cheese over toasted bread, this recipe turns simple ingredients into something truly special. It’s the perfect dish for cold evenings, slow weekends, or anytime you’re craving comfort food with a traditional feel.
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Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 599kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds yellow onions
- 3 tbsp butter
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp flour (we use all-purpose einkorn)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (I recommend Chardonney)
- 4 cups beef stock
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 baguette loaf
- 2-3 cups Gruyere shredded
- 2-3 cups Mozzarella shredded
Instructions
- Peel and slice the onions thinly. The more thinly they are sliced, the easier it will be to caramelize them fully. Peel and mince the garlic. Mix the shredded cheeses together well and set aside.
- In a large pot, preferably with a heavy-bottom, melt the butter and add the onions. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Once the onions are fully caramelized (dark brown, but not burnt), add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in the flour and cook again for one minute.
- Add the white wine and stir to deglaze the pan (remove the caramelized bits of the onion from the pan bottom).
- Add in the stock, Worcestershire, bay leaf, and thyme. Stir to combine and bring the soup to a simmer. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, preheat your oven to 400°F. Slice the baguette into 1-inch thick slices and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast for 5-7 minutes, or until the bread is golden around the edges. Set aside.
- Using a fork, find the thyme sprigs and bay leaf and discard them.
- Taste the soup at this point and add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
- Ladle the finished soup into oven-safe French onion soup bowls and place them on a baking tray (or two) to go into the oven.
- Add as many slices of baguette as are needed to cover the top of the soup bowls. Then add 1/2 – 1 cup of cheese to the top of each bowl, on top of the baguette slices. Add the tray of bowls to the oven and broil for 2-4 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Watch them closely so they don’t burn!
- Remove the bowls from the oven and serve immediately with more bread on the side.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
French Onion Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 bowl)
Calories 599
Calories from Fat 261
% Daily Value*
Fat 29g45%
Saturated Fat 17g106%
Trans Fat 0.2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 8g
Cholesterol 88mg29%
Sodium 1220mg53%
Potassium 801mg23%
Carbohydrates 50g17%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 14g16%
Protein 32g64%
Vitamin A 850IU17%
Vitamin C 19mg23%
Calcium 827mg83%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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