French Onion Soup
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Rich, caramelized onions simmered in a savory broth and topped with golden, cheesy croutons—French onion soup is the ultimate comfort food.
French onion soup might be a classic restaurant dish, but it actually began as a simple peasant meal made with onions, stale bread, and water. These days, it’s a bit more refined but still easy to make at home. The secret lies in slowly caramelizing the onions until they’re sweet and golden brown. I like to add a pinch of sugar for sweetness, stir in a bit of flour for body, and top the soup with two kinds of cheese—tricks I picked up working in a high-end restaurant known for its incredible French onion soup recipe.
No ovenproof crocks? No problem—melt the cheese on toasts and serve them on the side or place them right on top. You can even prep the broth and toasts ahead, so all that’s left is broiling.
Table of Contents
“I made this last night and it was amazing! I think it was even better than the French Onion Soup we had in Paris last summer.”
What You’ll Need To Make French Onion Soup
- Unsalted butter and vegetable oil: Used to caramelize the onions (the oil prevents the butter from burning).
- Vidalia (or sweet) onions: Lend a naturally sweet, mild flavor when caramelized.
- Sugar: Helps amplify the natural sweetness of the onions and aids in caramelization.
- Dry white wine: Deglazes the pan, dissolving the fond for a deep, complex flavor.
- All-purpose flour: Thickens the broth for a slightly hearty consistency.
- Beef broth: Forms the savory base of the soup, adding depth and richness.
- Worcestershire sauce: Enhances the umami flavor in the broth.
- Dried thyme and bay leaves: Infuse the broth with warm, earthy, and woodsy aromatics.
- Baguette: Serves as the base for the cheesy croutons.
- Dry sherry: Adds a layer of complexity and a slightly sweet, nutty finish to the broth.
- Gruyère cheese: Melts beautifully, creating a creamy, nutty topping. Look for an imported Swiss variety for the best flavor.
- Parmigiano Reggiano: Adds sharpness and depth to the cheesy topping, complementing the Gruyère.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
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. At this point, you’ll have beautifully caramelized onions.
Add the wine.
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, then 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.
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. Top each crock with 1 or 2 baguette 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.
Let the French onion soup crocks cool for a few minutes before serving.
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Video Tutorial
French Onion Soup
Rich, caramelized onions simmered in a savory broth and topped with golden, cheesy croutons—French onion soup is the ultimate 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 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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I made this recipe a couple weeks ago. It was delicious without a lot of effort on a cool March day. I then forwarded the recipe to a friend because I knew she would love it too. Thanks jenn!
I made this soup without the wine (we don’t use alcohol) and it was still absolutely delicious. I just added a tad bit of lemon juice at the end and the end result was phenomenal. This recipe is a new favourite in our household! I served it with the spinach & gruyère quiche and it made for an amazing weeknight dinner. Thank you Jenn!
I’ve never made French onion soup before, but I decided to give your recipe a try. It was a hit. So delicious! My husband and I agreed that it was the best we’ve ever had. I eat vegan so I made some changes to the recipe. I used vegan butter, vegan worcestershire sauce (1.5 tsp), and vegetable broth. I had to cook my onions 1.25 hours to brown properly in my stainless steel pot which was okay with me. My husband ate his with the baguette slices and cheese. I ate mine without. I can hardly wait to make this again. Thanks!
If using a mandolins for the onions should I adjust cooking time? It seems the caramalization took much longer than 55 minutes? Great recipe
Hi Marsha, The mandolin shouldn’t make a difference. Did you by chance use a nonstick pan?
French Onion soup is my absolute favorite and this one really hit the spot. It does take a while to caramelize the onions but it is so worth it. The final result was truly delicious and filling.
As with all of Jen’s recipes I follow along exactly, and then make changes the next time if necessary. This is the only recipe I’d change slightly. Personally, I don’t Enjoy thyme so next time I’ll omit it.
My husband loved it and even my 4 year old daughter couldn’t get enough.
Can you make this with vegetable broth?
Sure, Cathleen – it won’t be quite as rich but it will still be delicious. 🙂
Loved it. Went a bit overboard on the butter. Totally delicious. When I was adding the wine a house guest wandered into the kitchen and asked why I was ” wasting” good wine in a saucepan, I explained so to be helpful he tipped the remainder of his beer into the pot. Too far along to leave it but it seemed to add yo the rich flavour.
LOL- Glad you enjoyed it!
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How absolutely magnificent! I made this for our delayed Valentine’s dinner and it was just heavenly. The house smelled delicious and the soup was beyond compare. My husband relished each mouthful. I will certainly be making this again and again.
Jenn, thank you for yet another stupendous recipe. I will never know why some people don’t make meals themselves when there are such great recipes that are easy to follow.
How do I give more than 5 stars???
Wonderful soup! So delicious, much better than many restaurants. Thanks for another keeper.
Hello Jenn: when you say 8 oz of Gruyère or two heaping cups, which one is it? There are 8 oz. in one cup, 16 oz in two. I am a little confused with the measurements in your recipe. Can you please clarify? I couldn’t rate the recipe yet since I haven’t made it yet, but need to know the answer to my question. Thank you,.
Hi Frances, 8 ounces refers to the weight of the cheese. It’s hard to find grated Gruyere, so you’ll need to buy an 8-ounce block of cheese. When you grate it, the volume will be about 2 heaping cups. Hope that clarifies!
Made this tonight for my husband who takes his french onion soup VERY seriously and it was a hit! I found it to be a little too sweet – maybe skip the sugar next time – but he loved it. The onions hadn’t carmelized after cooking for 45 minutes so I had to turn the heat up to medium high to get that going; I’d say that srep took closer to an hour and 10 minutes. But we’ll definitely make again.
Thanks Jen for a great recipe. Made a couple of changes did not have gruyere cheese so I use Fontina cheese and use croutons instead of the bread. We always order french onion soup at restaurants but to me this was the best one ever.