French Onion Soup
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Caramelized onions, rich beef broth, and toasty bread topped with melted cheese, French onion soup is the ultimate comfort food.
Did you know that French onion soup, often a staple in restaurants, actually originated as a humble peasant soup made with just onions, stale bread, and water? Today’s versions might be a bit fancier, but this soup is still wonderfully simple 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 caramel color without burning. In addition to giving the onions the proper time and attention, I add a bit of sugar to enhance the sweetness of the onions, and I also stir in a bit of flour to add body to the broth—two tricks I picked up working in a French restaurant that made the best French onion soup ever. Finally, to add even more flavor, I top the croutons with two types of cheese.
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. French onion soup pairs well with steak and/or a simple green salad.
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
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 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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Video Tutorial
French Onion Soup
Caramelized onions, rich beef broth, and toasty bread topped with melted cheese, 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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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!