French Onion Soup Recipe
User Reviews
4.7
81 reviews
Excellent
French Onion Soup Recipe
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This French Onion Soup offers deeply caramelized yellow onions cooked low and slow to develop sweetness and complexity. Simmered in a rich blend of chicken and beef broths with dry sherry and herbs, it's finished with crispy baguette slices topped with melted Gruyère cheese. The result is a savory, hearty soup with a balance of sweet, savory, and aromatic flavors enhanced by the melted cheese crust.
Description
The recipe begins by slowly caramelizing sliced yellow onions in butter in a heavy Dutch oven, first covered and then uncovered in the oven, to fully soften and brown them. This careful cooking builds a flavorful, dark base. Deglazing and simmering the onions with a mix of chicken and beef broths, dry sherry, fresh thyme, and a bay leaf infuse the soup with depth and aroma.
Baguette slices are toasted and topped with shredded Gruyère cheese, then broiled until golden and bubbling. These cheese croutons are either broiled separately and floated atop the soup or broiled directly in the soup bowls, creating a rich, savory topping that complements the sweet-savoury broth.
This classic soup is often served as a starter or light meal, especially on cooler days. It pairs well with simple salads or crusty bread. The soup keeps well refrigerated and can be frozen (without the bread and cheese) for convenience, maintaining flavor and texture when reheated.
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Ingredients
Soup:
- 3 tablespoons butter cut into 3 pieces, unsalted
- 6 yellow onion about 4 pounds, halved and cut into ¼-inch thick slices, large
- table salt
- 2 cups water plus extra for deglazing
- ½ cup dry sherry
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups beef broth
- 6 thyme tied with kitchen twine, sprigs, fresh
- 1 bay leaf
- black pepper ground
Cheese Croutons:
- 1 baguette cut into ½-inch slices, small
- 8 ounces gruyere cheese about 2½ cups, shredded
Instructions
- Braise/Caramelize Onions: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in the pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1½ to 1¾ hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.
- Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat if necessary. (Scrape any crust that collected on spoon back into onions.) Stir in ¼ cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.
- Finish the Soup: Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and ½ teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.
- Broil with Cheesy Baguette Slices: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1¾ cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyere. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Use yellow onions for balanced sweetness and flavor.
- The soup combines chicken and beef broth for complementary depth; adjust ratios or substitute stock as available.
- Baguette slices are traditional for the topping; any crusty bread or big croutons can be used as an alternative.
- Gruyère cheese melts well for the topping; shredded Swiss is a suitable substitute.
- For broiling, cheese-topped bread slices can be broiled separately or in soup bowls for melted topping.
- Make ahead one to two days in advance for better flavor or prepare onions through caramelization and refrigerate up to 3 days before finishing.
- Leftovers keep refrigerated up to 4 days; freeze soup (without bread/cheese) up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
394kcal
(20%)
Carbohydrates
32g
(11%)
Protein
17g
(34%)
Fat
19g
(29%)
Saturated Fat
11g
(55%)
Cholesterol
56mg
(19%)
Sodium
602mg
(25%)
Potassium
425mg
(9%)
Fiber
3g
(12%)
Sugar
5g
(10%)
Vitamin A
580IU
(12%)
Vitamin C
20.7mg
(23%)
Calcium
464mg
(46%)
Iron
2.2mg
(12%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 6servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 394 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 394kcal | 20% |
| Carbohydrates | 32g | 11% |
| Protein | 17g | 34% |
| Fat | 19g | 29% |
| Saturated Fat | 11g | 55% |
| Cholesterol | 56mg | 19% |
| Sodium | 602mg | 25% |
| Potassium | 425mg | 9% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 5g | 10% |
| Vitamin A | 580IU | 12% |
| Vitamin C | 20.7mg | 23% |
| Calcium | 464mg | 46% |
| Iron | 2.2mg | 12% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.7
81 reviews
Excellent
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