Making truly authentic French Onion Soup is easier than you think! This wonderful, simple and flavorful soup is the perfect warm dish for winter!
French Onion Soup
If you’ve been following my posts the last few weeks you may have read about my recent European vacation that has inspired me to share so many of my favorites foods from Italy (check out this Penne Arrabbiata) and Paris.
I have been wanting to share the perfect French Onion Soup recipe with you guys for a long time, and today is finally the day! French Onion Soup is irresistible, especially on a nice cold day, with a Croque Monsieur sandwich and fresh green salad on the side!
This French Onion Soup recipe comes from a family friend of ours named Peggy. She is not only a phenomenal cook, she also lived in France and has the perfect French Onion Soup recipe that she has graciously allowed me to share with you all!
This soup is really very simple. The keys to perfecting it are caramelizing the onions, which takes a little time and patience, and using high quality ingredients! A good, fresh block of gruyere and parmesan cheese, and a nice baguette are essential!
How to Make French Onion Soup:
Add butter and onions to a large pot and cook until they are softened. Add sugar and stir until the onions become golden brown and caramelized. Add flour and cook for a couple more minutes. Add beef stock, wine, thyme, celery, and bay leaves and cook for 30 minutes. Brush the bread with melted butter and bake then broil them in the oven. Place bread in the soup bowl, sprinkle with cheese and broil!
This is the perfect soup for a cool night, or even for serving at brunch or a dinner party. The soup base could be made in advance and stored in the fridge. Then, when you’re ready to serve, gently reheat it on the stove, and then add the breads, cheeses and toast it.
Consider trying one of these classic soup recipes:
- Spicy Chicken Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Taco Soup
- Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
- French Onion Soup
- Chile Verde Soup
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Making truly authentic French Onion Soup is easier than you think! This wonderful, simple and flavorful soup is the perfect warm dish for winter!
- 1 1/2 pounds onions (about 3 large onions), thinly sliced
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 piece celery just a small chunk, not the whole rib
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 slices French Baguettes
- 4 Tablespoons butter melted
- 2 cloves garlic , halved
- 1 cup Gruyère cheese , fresh grated
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Add butter and onions to a large pot over medium heat. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook until softened.
Add sugar and continue to gently stir until onions become golden brown and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Careful to not let them burn!
Add the flour and cook for 3 more minutes.
Add beef stock, wine, thyme, celery and bay leaves. Cook partially covered for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Arrange bread on a baking sheet and brush with melted butter on both sides.
Bake for 15 minutes, flipping to the other side half way through. Remove from oven and rub a cut clove of garlic onto each piece of bread.
- Turn oven to BROIL.
Remove bay leaves and the piece of celery from the soup and ladle soup into 4 oven proof bowls.
Place the toasted bread on top of each bowl. Depending on the size of your bowls you may need two slices of bread.
Sprinkle the tops generously with both types of cheese. Broil until the cheese is browned and bubbling. Bon Appetite!
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Ms. Catherine Melba Alston Hardy says
I Like
Marie says
I just made this recipe and it was Delicious! Thank you for sharing ~ <3
Lauren Allen says
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Pandawee says
Do you know of a substitution for white wine?
Lauren Allen says
I would substitute chicken or veggie broth.
Paul Russo says
I’ve been making this for years. It is outstanding. The only differences are grated Romano and mozzarella instead of Gruyere. This also makes it Italian onion soup.
becky says
What type of onion are you using; white or yellow?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Becky, use yellow onion 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
Lynn says
Hello, what is the best white wine to cook with, for this recipe? Thank you 😊
Lauren Allen says
Hi Lynn,
I would use pinot grigio or Chardonnay!
Danielle says
What is the serving size and how many servings per recipe? Thanks.
Lauren Allen says
Hi Danielle,
This recipe makes about 8 cups of soup- about 4 hearty servings!
Amie says
hello! i’m so excited to try this recipe. i see that it serves four but how much is a serving?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Amie, I didn’t write down exactly how much it makes, but I would estimate about 8 cups. Hope you get a chance to try it!
Dan says
This is very close to my very favorite recipe in which I use a Swiss Gruyere and a semi-sweet white wine, the soup this way is always a smash hit. The type of bread is critical, needed is bread that will not absorb the soup then turn to mush and sink to the bottom = a total failure. Swiss Gruyere is similar to the traditional Raclette cheese used in Switzerland. If once you’ve had traditional Raclette as they do it in Switzerland, you won’t forget it ever, it’s so good, with a semi-sweet nutty flavor. That flavor in a Swiss Gruyere cheese combined with a semi-sweet white wine is always a winning combination. When I lived in Canada, friends always asked me to make it for them in winter. I rate this recipe at 4 stars because you don’t have an option for 4 1/2 stars. My favorite recipe is the only soup of this type that I’d rate at 5 stars.
Nikki says
Then why not share your recipe that way we could try both and see for ourselves which is better?
Casey says
I used a mandolin to slice my onions thin and it took a while to caramelize them. By the end they were pretty much mush… is that normal? Should I slice thicker?
Lauren Allen says
Sorry Casey! I’m not sure how thin you sliced them, but it sounds like maybe yes, you could slice them a little thicker. They will definitely be soft and “caramelized” but they shouldn’t be messy.
Karen says
French Onion Soup is my husbands favourite so his opinion was going to be what counts most. I used sweet sherry instead of white wine. The result was delicious. Husband gave it a big thumbs up. I loved it too. Thanks.
Tamra says
I am REALLY picky about my french onion soup. I made this last night and it was SO good. I can’t wait for leftovers tonight!
Fran says
Made this for supper tonight. A Winner! Easy and delicious! Will definitely make it again!
Lauren Allen says
Thank you for your comment! I’m really glad you liked it 🙂
Samantha says
I made this soup with this recipe and it was just so great. It was easy to follow and we were so glad it turned out so delicious. Will definitely keep this recipe for the future, especially this winter. Can’t wait to make it again!!
Lauren Allen says
Thanks for commenting Samantha! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. XOX
kathyb says
Delish, so many layers of flavor. I used red and white onions, olive oil and butter, a little bit garlic, bone broth, a pretty good dry vermouth, emmentaler cheese. Thick sliced ciabatta. whole thing took less than 1 hour, 1/2 hour active. Might add a little hot sauce before serving, or just leave on table.