French Onion Soup is a creamy bowl of comfort food. It may be a labor of love to make, but it is worth every delicious bite!
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It takes just the right combination of high-quality ingredients and patience to make the most perfect bowl of French Onion Soup.
This classic French soup starts with butter and delicious, slowly cooked caramelized onions. The onions are then covered with a delicious, rich beef stock, seasoned with a splash of white wine.
Of course, the soup would not be as popular as it is without that perfect single layer of crusty toasted bread covered in gooey melted cheese on top.
Each bite of French Onion Soup is truly something special!
While all of these ingredients are simple enough to find, putting them together in just the right way can be tricky. Move too fast and you will easily burn your onions. Use the wrong bread and it may end up soggy. The wrong cheese could end up rubbery.
This classic French onion soup recipe is designed for when you have a little time to slow down, enjoy being in the kitchen, and make yourself a dish that is truly worth the effort.
Recipe Origins
There are a couple of different stories about how the rich flavor of French Onion soup was developed. A simple onion soup may have been enjoyed for centuries in Rome, but the French onion soup as we know it today is thought to have come from King Louis XV’s family.
One story is that King Louis XV himself was the inventor of the dish. After returning to his home after a long day of hunting, he discovered there was nothing to eat in the home but butter, onions, and champagne.
These simple ingredients were combined and French onion soup was born!
Another story goes that a chef named Nicolas Appert was working at a hotel called La Pomme d’Or in Châlons-en-Champagne when King Louis’s father-in-law, the Duke of Lorraine, stopped in.
After trying just a few bites of Appert’s creation, the Duke of Lorraine rushed to the kitchen to learn how to make it. He shared the dish with his daughter and son-in-law when he arrived in Versailles.
When Appert eventually wrote down his recipe in a cookbook, he dedicated it to the Duke of Lorraine.
Why Make This Recipe
- Delicious Comfort Food: There are few things more comforting than a bowl of caramelized onions and melted cheese.
- Simple Ingredients: While this French onion soup recipe may take some patience, the ingredients are easy to find and may even be on hand!
- Taste of France: French Onion Soup is a classic French dish. If you are preparing any sort of French meal, this dish is the perfect appetizer.
What Do I Need To Make This Recipe
- Sweet Onions: I love the flavor of sweet onions but you could use yellow onions or red onions as well
- Sugar: Granulated Sugar
- Dry White Wine: Try to find a younger bottle from the Burgundy region for a really authentic choice
- Beef Stock or Beef Broth: Taste your stock before you use it to make sure you like it. Good soup requires good stock.
- Garlic: You could use pre-cut garlic but fresh will definitely taste best. I recommend mincing your own garlic for best results.
- Baguette: It’s best if your baguette is stale. I like to purchase a baguette the day before and leave it on the counter overnight for the perfect texture.
- Cheese: Gruyere cheese is the best choice for French Onion Soup. Check out this article about the Best Cheese for French Onion Soup for other options as well!
Tools
- Dutch Oven or a Large Pot: Make sure either option has a lid!
- Cast Iron Skillet: To caramelize onions if desired.
- Soup Crocks: Oven safe to broil the soup
How To Make This Recipe
Step One: Caramelize the Onions
Add a large pot or Dutch oven to your stove over medium heat. Add the butter to the pot and allow it to melt. Then, add the onions.
Stir the onions in the pot until they start to really whither and brown. You can add extra butter if you think it’s necessary. This step could take anywhere from 30-60 minutes depending on the size of your onions, the type of pot you use, and the heat level you are using.
Once the onions have started to brown, add 1 tbsp granulated sugar and stir for another 20-30 minutes until the onions caramelize.
Step Two: Make the Broth
Once the sweet caramelized onions are ready, add the all-purpose flour and stir for 30 seconds until the onions are coated.
Add ¼ cup of dry white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir for a few seconds to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Continue sauteeing until the wine cooks down.
Once the wine is gone from the pot, add the beef stock, minced garlic, bay leaf, thyme, salt, and black pepper.
Add the lid to the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes.
Step Three: Add the Bread and Cheese
Set out 6 oven-proof bowls. Put about 2 tablespoons of gruyere cheese in the bottom of the oven-proof soup bowls, then ladle soup evenly amongst the bowls. Place enough baguette slices to cover the top of the soup, then sprinkle more gruyere cheese on top. Some people will add the bread to the bottom of the bowl instead. You can do this if you’d like.
Place the soup crocks on a cookie sheet and turn the oven to a High Broil. Place in the oven under the broiler and broil until the cheese starts to bubble and toast.
Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Stir the onions periodically when caramelizing, but do not stir too much. You want the onions to have a chance to caramelize with the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Just make sure to not wait too long for your onions to start to burn instead of caramelize!
- You can also use comte cheese and add parmesan cheese to the top if you wish, though this is not traditional.
- This recipe calls for fresh herbs. If you decide to use dried you may want to use slightly less as dried herbs are a little bit concentrated.
- To deepen the flavor even further you could add a bit of sherry or red wine vinegar in with the broth.
FAQs
There are a few differences between onion soup and French onion soup. Onion soup isn’t very specific. It may use a few different types of onions and any type of beef or chicken stock.
French onion soup is specific about the type of onions and broth used. It also has the signature cheesy toast on top of each individual dish.
French onion soup is one soup that may require more than a spoon to enjoy.
The goal is to serve the soup while the gooey cheese is still freshly melted and hot, so that your guests can scoop fresh cheese, soft bread, and broth at the same time, but that might not always happen.
If you have French onion soup served to you and the cheese has had some time to settle, you may use a knife to push the melty cheese and bread to the edge of the dish to cut it and then push a bite-sized piece of cheesy bread onto your spoon with some broth.
It’s also a good idea, when you lift your spoon, to scoop away from your body. This allows any drips to drip back into the bowl, which is especially important with melted cheese.
If your soup tastes a bit bitter, you may have rushed your onions. You want to make sure the onions are cooked at a low temperature, nice and slow. Give it time!
Cooking the onions too fast may burn them or prevent them from picking up the sweetness of the sugar and butter.
You could also try using a different stock next time.
If you have never caramelized onions before you may be surprised by how long it takes. The cooking times for the caramelization process can take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes.
Take your time and don’t try to rush things. Eventually, the onions will turn a deep golden brown and achieve that perfect depth of flavor, but it takes time!
Alcohol-Free Options
If you prefer to keep your French Onion Soup alcohol-free, you certainly can! In that case, I would recommend adding some balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce to the pot of soup at the end to give it more depth of flavor. In the meantime, when the instructions call for using white wine to deglaze the pot, you can simply substitute with more beef broth.
How to Melt the Cheese if You Don’t Have Soup Crocks
This dish requires using oven-safe soup crocks in order to melt your cheese on top of the soup. If you do not have soup crocks, here are a few suggestions
- Place your bread on a cookie sheet and top with cheese, then broil this in the oven until the cheese is melted. Then scoop this up with a spatula and place on top of your soup bowl.
- Use a kitchen torch!
Did you enjoy this Stovetop French Onion Soup recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
French Onion Soup (Stovetop Version)
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Soup Crocks
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp salted Butter
- 4 large sweet onions, sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Dry white wine, Try to find a younger bottle from the Burgundy region for a really authentic choice
- 8 cups beef stock, two quarts
- 1 Tbsp Garlic, about 2 cloves, minced
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 sprigs Thyme
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- Stale Baguette, cut into slices
- 10 oz Gruyere cheese , block, shredded, or more if you like to go heavy on the cheese
Instructions
- Add a large pot or dutch oven to your stove over medium heat. Add 5 tbsp butter to the pot and allow it to melt. Then, add 4 large sliced onions.
- Stir the onions in the pot until they start to really whither and brown. You can add extra butter if you think it’s necessary. This step could take anywhere from 30-60 minutes depending on the size of your onions, the type of pot you use, and the heat level you are using.
- Once the onions have started to brown, add 1 tbsp granulated sugar and stir for another 20-30 minutes until the onions caramelize.
- Once the onions have caramelized, add 1 tbsp all-purpose flour and stir for 30 seconds until the onions are coated.
- Add ¼ cup of dry white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir for a few seconds to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Continue sauteeing until the wine cooks down.
- Once the wine is gone from the pot, add the 8 cups beef stock, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs thyme, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper.
- Add the lid onto the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Set out 6 oven-safe bowls. Put about 2 tablespoons of gruyere cheese in the bottom of the bowl, then evenly distribute the soup amongst the bowls. Place enough bread slices to cover the top of the soup, then sprinkle more gruyere cheese on top. Some people will add the bread to the bottom of the bowl instead. You can do this if you’d like.
- Place the soup crocks on a cookie sheet and turn the oven to a High Broil. Place in the oven under the broiler and broil until the cheese starts to bubble and toast.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Sweet Onions: I love the flavor of sweet onions but you could use yellow onions or red onions as well
- Sugar: Granulated Sugar
- Dry White Wine: Try to find a younger bottle from the Burgundy region for a really authentic choice
- Beef Stock or Beef Broth: Taste your stock before you use it to make sure you like it. Good soup requires good stock.
- Garlic: You could use pre-cut garlic but fresh will definitely taste best. I recommend mincing your own garlic for best results.
- Baguette: It’s best if your baguette is stale. I like to purchase a baguette the day before and leave it on the counter overnight for the perfect texture.
- Cheese: Gruyere cheese is the best choice for French Onion Soup. Check out this article about the Best Cheese for French Onion Soup for other options as well!
- Stir the onions periodically when caramelizing, but do not stir too much. You want the onions to have a chance to caramelize with the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Just make sure to not wait too long for your onions to start to burn instead of caramelize!
- You can also use Comte cheese and add parmesan cheese to the top if you wish, though this is not traditional.
- This recipe calls for fresh herbs. If you decide to use dried you may want to use slightly less as dried herbs are a little bit concentrated.
- To deepen the flavor even further you could add a bit of sherry or red wine vinegar in with the broth.
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