Easy French Onion Soup Recipe

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A Super Easy Soup Recipe

How to Make Simple French Onion Soup | Soup Recipes | Allrecipes.com

Most onion soup recipes require a lot of time and patience but what if I tell you it doesnt have to be that way?

This easy French onion soup recipe is the perfect example of a fast soup.

Just work fast and do somethings in parallel and you have a steaming hot bowl of soup à lOignon Gratinée on your table in less than 25 minutes.

Nowadays French onion soup sounds fancy but can you imagine there were times when it was considered poor mans food?

Not anymore because with the melted cheese on French bread out of the oven this recipe should be on every homemade bistro menu.

It is a great starter or entree as you would say in French.

How To Make The Best French Onion Soup

There are two essential components of a good French onion soup.

The first is the stock. Your soup will only be as good as the stock you are using. This soup traditionally is made with beef stock, though sometimes a good beef stock can be hard to come by and expensive to make.

If you use boxed stock, taste it first! If you don’t like the taste, don’t use it.

The second most important element is to properly caramelize the onions. Caramelizing the amount of onions needed in this recipe will take at least 40 minutes. Caramelizing is a chemical process that occurs when the sugars in the onions reach a certain temperature.

This only happens after a long cooking time . The more caramelized, the deeper the color of the onions and the more flavor you’ll get from them.

What Is The Best Cheese For French Onion Soup

Now, these cheese you choose does matter when making this simple soup. Yet what kind of cheese? Well, Gruyere cheese is best! Yet, sometimes I get super lazy and just use mozzarella cheese, which you can do and the result is a nice soup.

Yet, choosing that sharper cheese does result in a different and fantastic flavour, so keep that in mind and try to stick with Gruyere.

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Can You Make Onion Soup Ahead Of Time

The answer to this question is yes you can. In fast the flavors will intensify. This onion soup makes a great freezer meal.

When you make this soup ahead of time do not yet make the croutons or toasted bread with cheese but wait until you are ready to serve.

The croutons or toasted bread will go soggy in the soup which you want to prevent.

When you reheat the soup taste to see if it needs some salt and pepper to taste or some sugar if the soup is too bitter.

History Of Onion Soup

Easy French Onion Soup  The Comfort of Cooking

You may be surprised to find out that this delicious soup has a really lengthy history. Experts seem to agree that onion soup has been made and eaten since ancient Roman times! But wait, why is onion soup considered such a French classic today? Thats because the modern day version of onion soup, often called French onion soup, was introduced in 18th century Paris, France.

To this day, its easy to find onion soup on restaurant menus in Paris and other parts of France as well as around the entire world. It will likely be served in ramekins with gratinee with baguette slices on the side.

Recommended Reading: Campbell’s Chicken And Rice Casserole From Scratch

Finishing The French Onion Soup

With our building blocks in place, the final step is fixing up the bowls for serving.

I start by buttering warm croutons and rubbing them with garlic.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Then I spoon a little of the soup into each bowl. I set a crouton on top and top that with cheese.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Then I ladle in the bulk of the soup, nearly filling up each bowl. I add another crouton on top of that.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

And finish it with a very generous grating of Gruyère cheese. I broil the soups until the cheese is melted and browned in spots, then top each one off with a garnish of minced chives, for a little hit of fresh onion flavor to play off the deep sweetness of the cooked onions.

Each spoonful should be a mix of melted cheese, broth, tender onions, and bread. Aside from the time it takes, it couldn’t be easier, or more satisfying.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

How To Make French Onion Soup

  • Caramelize the onions. I know it looks like a LOT of onions, but trust me, they will cook down. Start by adding the butter to a large heavy-bottomed pot. Turn the heat on medium and add the butter. Once the butter melts, add the onions, salt, and sugar. Stir to coat. Cook the onions for about 5 minutes until they start to soften.
  • Once they soften a bit, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook another 10 minutes. Once they start to get super soft, turn the heat down again to low. Continue to cook the onions, while stirring every few minutes until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. It should take another 15 minutes or so.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir the flour into the onions. Cook for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the broth and add the thyme. Bring the mixture up to a boil and let it simmer. Simmer until slightly thicker, about 4-5 minutes.
  • Toast the croutons. While the onions cook. Add bread pieces to a sheet pan. Bake in the oven until toasted, about 5 minutes.
  • Broil the cheese. Once the soup and croutons are ready to go, put one crouton on top of the soup. Cover with cheese. Place the soups on a large sheet pan and broil until the cheese has melted and started to turn brown and crispy, about 2-3 minutes.

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Ingredients For French Onion Soup

The key to making great French Onion soup is in giving the onions time to caramelize properly. Dont rush this process but we do have a secret to cut down the time significantly.

  • Onions use yellow onions for the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
  • Sugar just 1/2 teaspoon helps to speed up the caramelization process.
  • Garlic, bay leaf, and thyme these aromatics, plus salt and pepper are all you need for flavor.
  • Beef Stock using beef stock or broth will give you better taste and color versus chicken or vegetable stock.
  • Dry Sherry be sure to pick a dry sherry wine so your soup doesnt end up too sweet.

Easy French Onion Soup

Easy Homemade French Onion Soup

Is there any dish more comforting than a gorgeously golden, cheesy and fragrant French onion soup? Caramelized onions, beef stock and white cooking wine mingle into a luxurious medley in this classic French dish. Your home will smell heavenly!

This recipe was created for Holland House Cooking Wines. All opinions are my own.

The trick to a truly amazing French onion soup, of course, lies within the rich flavor of caramelized onions. Specifically, the patience you have to sit there and stir, stir, stir, until your heaping pot of eye-watering onion slices melt into a soft, fragrant spoonful of luxurious goodness and that is, undoubtedly, what will send your French onion soup over the edge. However, it takes a marriage of multiple ingredients to make this simple, rustic-looking soup really sing.

Though French onion soup might require the patience and eye for caramelizing onions, its very beginner friendly, and was one of the first dishes I learned to cook with zero experience in French cooking! It is easy to make and incredibly delicious with heaps of grated Swiss or Gruyere. I like to serve it with a light, lemony arugula salad or grilled vegetables. Dont even get me started on the fabulous fragrance of this soup that will permeate your home. It is intoxicating and mouthwatering.

I promise, and I guarantee, that the stirring will be worth it.

Now, my favorite part! The sizzle of deglazing a screaming hot pan.

Recommended Reading: Campbell’s French Onion Soup Gluten Free

About French Onion Soup:

Onion soups have been popular since the Roman times often as an inexpensive way to make a meal as onions were easy to grow. The modern version of this soup originated in Paris. Its a beef broth soup with plenty of sauteed onions, and its usually topped with a melted cheese slice of baguette. Sherry or brandy are often added to the soup before serving. In the United States, French Onion Soup surged in popularity in the 60s- when French cuisine was becoming popular.

Lately Iâve been craving soup on a weekly basis. It makes the perfect lunch. I can make a big pot of soup on Sunday and then portion it out to take to work with me over the next few days. Lunches made and ready to go for days? Yes, please!

Recently I made a big pot of this French Onion Soup, and it was delicious for Sunday dinner on a cold, rainy day. Thereâs something magical about toasted cheesy bread on top of a hot bowl of soup! When I make this soup, I like to make extra slices of cheesy bread for dipping. You can add them to the baking sheet when you put your soup bowls into the oven under the broiler.

Do you order French Onion Soup often when you eat out? I rarely do, but I really enjoyed this homemade version. As you expect from French Onion Soup, this soup is rich and comforting. Slowly caramelizing the onions on the stove brings out their sweetness and adds so much flavor to this soup. Really, you wonât believe how easy it is to make!

Here are a few more soup recipes you might enjoy:

Choosing And Caramelizing The Onions

One of the most common beliefs surrounding French onion soup is that the onions must be cooked to a deep, deep, dark, dark mahogany brown. I’m going to start off by calling BS on that premise. It’s not that I think it’s wrong to caramelize the onions darkly I just don’t think it’s necessary for great results. I also think there’s a big risk in going very dark: Unless you’re exceedingly careful, it’s very easy to introduce unpleasantly bitter flavors to the onionone of the culprits in so much of the bad French onion soup out there.

In test after test, I found that great French onion soup can be made with more lightly caramelized onions. The deep, sweet flavor that we want arrives long before they turn the color of dark chocolate. And, as I researched other French onion soup recipes, I discovered I wasn’t alone in this realization. In fact, some of the people I trust most on this topic have said exactly the same thing.

Here’s the acclaimed chef André Soltner in the preface to the onion soup recipe in his Lutèce Cookbook:

“Do not think for a minute that this is the notorious soup you get in Paris workingmen’s cafes at five o’clock in the morning…. In those soups the onions are sautéed until they are black, and the soup is dark and bitter. Some people like it that waywhich I can never understand.”

“So what do we really want from the onions? We want them incredibly soft, with a deep, sweet flavor and a color that’s a rich golden brown.”

Read Also: Onion Soup Potatoes Lipton

French Onion Soup Bowls

French Onion Soup is traditionally served in lion’s head bowls, which are deep porcelain bowls with relatively narrow tops. If you don’t have these specific bowls, you can use any oven-safe, deep bowls that will accommodate the soup, bread and cheese. These multi-purpose white bowls are similar to the bowls that I have, and they will be great for chili, stews, and soups all season long.

The Iconic French Onion Soup

Easy French Onion Soup Recipe

French Onion Soup is apparently one of the best ballsy soups in this accomplished advanced world. And yet, the soup itself is fabricated with actual few amount ingredients: butter, onions, abrade and stock/broth.

The abracadabra is in the caramelisation of the onions, adapted boring for at atomic 40 minutes. And of advance the consummate celebrity the august broiled cheese toast!! Because lets face it French Onion Soup after the abominable acknowledgment is just onion soup. Meh!

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Choosing Onions For French Onion Soup

Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer

One of the first things I wanted to figure out was whether the choice of onion itself mattered much for French onion soup. To find out, I caramelized four different varieties to a rich golden brown: sweet onions , red onions, yellow onions, and shallots.*

*Okay, technically not an onion, but a close enough relative to make it worth trying out.

Here are my tasting notes on the caramelized onions:

  • Sweet onion: mellow and sweet, with a brightness right at the end.
  • Red onion: deeper flavor, with a slightly bitter edge and less sweetness.
  • Yellow onion: lots of bright flavor, very mild bitterness, and a sweetness backing it up.
  • Shallot: really good balance of sweetness, with both bright flavors and deep, rich ones, and just a hint of bitterness.

It’s possible that different samples of each of these onion types might have produced different results, but what’s key is that the variation exists in the first place: Some onions will be more bitter, some more sweet, some brighter, some deeper and more complex. Much like with my fresh tomato sauce recipe, mixing them together produced the most well-rounded and complex flavor of all.

Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer

** Red onions take on a bit of a dull gray color compared with the other types when browned, but this doesn’t bother me much once they’re simmered in the broth.

If not, inexpensive yellow onions are probably your best bet.

Easy French Onion Soup Recipe

This quick and Easy French Onion Soup recipe can be ready in no time so it can be enjoyed any day of the week.

Comfort food comes in all shapes and sizes for people. It doesnt have to be complicated or fancy. Easy and simple comfort food is the best, isnt it? We have many dishes that fall under the category of comfort food, but soup is definitely one of my favorite comfort foods. There is nothing better than cozying up with a big bowl of warm soup on a chilly night or after a long day at work. It hits the spot.

This quick and Easy French Onion Soup recipe is a simplified version of the favorite classic. Did you read that? Simplified. Again, simple comfort food is a good thing, dont you agree? Seriously, forget that canned French Onion Soup and make your own in no time right at home with basic ingredients, straightforward preparation and in just under 45 minutes. Its super simple soup making, yall. The most difficult part is slicing the onions and we all know slicing onions is easy peasy.

Recommended Reading: Lipton French Onion Soup Meatloaf Recipe

French Onion Soup Serving Suggestions

This French onion soup recipe is deeply flavorful and rich, so a little goes a long way. I love to serve small bowls as a starter for a holiday dinner or a date night in. Pair it with a simple salad, like my Caesar Salad or Pear Salad, and any protein you like! It would also be excellent with pasta. Try serving it with one of these recipes:

Onions For French Onion Soup

How to Make French Onion Soup [ Easy Recipe by Lounging with Lenny ]

Walla Walla onions and Vidalias are large and sweet and meaty so a few will go a long way. I prefer to use half sweet onions and half regular yellow onions for just the right amount of sweetness.

Be sure to cook the onions slowly so they are uniformly golden and soft without browning. ! If youre using a sweeter onion, you can eliminate the bit of brown sugar.

Read Also: Campbells Mushroom Soup Gluten Free

What Is French Onion Soup

Classic French Onion Soup originated in France in the 18th century and isnt just any ol soup, but basically a way of life there. Made with caramelized onions, beef broth, wine, and topped with a crusty baguette slice coated in melted cheese, its amazing. No surprise this soup is now incredibly popular worldwide and a restaurant favorite, but we have the French to thank for it. Thank you, France!

Homemade French Onion Soup

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French Onion Soup is a classic soup recipe for good reason! Sweet caramelized onions are simmered in a rich beefy broth to create a soup base that is loved by everyone!

Of course the best part of any french onion soup is the crusty bread crouton topped with gruyere or swiss cheese and broiled until golden and bubbly! Who could ever resist?

Also Check: Nutribullet Hot Soup Recipes

Pro Tips For Making This Recipe

  • I highly recommend grating your own cheese as pre-shredded cheese has an anti-clumping coating on it which can prevent it from melting smoothly. To quickly shred a large block of cheese, use a food processor with a grater attachment. You can also use a handheld grater.
  • I recommend placing each bowl of soup on a parchment paper lined sheet pan to make it easier to transfer the soup into the oven to broil. Plus, if any soup bubbles over, it wont end up at the bottom of your oven.
  • This soup is just as tasty with chicken stock or vegetable stock if you dont have beef stock on hand.
  • If you do not have any oven-safe serving bowls, you can place the slices of bread on a lined sheet pan and top that with cheese. Broil until the cheese is melty, and transfer the baguettes with a spatula onto your bowls of soup.
  • You need to be patient while making this recipe. The onions must be caramelized for the best flavor. Slightly browned onions will not lead to the classic flavors of French onion soup.
  • If you do not have fresh thyme, you can use dried thyme in place. ¼ teaspoon of dried thyme is equal to approximately one sprig of thyme.
  • Do not skip deglazing the pot. There is so much flavor in the browned bits at the bottom of the pot!
  • Dont have a baguette? Try using croutons instead.

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