French Onion Soup

In this French onion soup, onions are slowly cooked with herbs, wine and beef broth. Ladled into bowls and topped with melty cheese.

One of my all time favorite soups, right here.

Onions so tender they melt in your mouth, a rich broth and let’s not forget- the crouton floating on top that’s covered in copious amounts of melty cheese.

Back when I worked at the hospital, once in a while my good friend Ann and I would go to a restaurant on our lunch break, she’d order the French onion soup and me the clam chowder and we’d split an order of their beer battered onion rings. I was always a little leery of French onion soup because, hello all those onions- but Ann would go on and on about how it’s her favorite and one day when I decided to give it a try, I’d fall in love with it too.

Ann was right. One afternoon while out having lunch with my mom, I decided to order it and years later, I have no regrets. None.

Nowadays when I make French onion soup at home, I like to use both red and yellow onions. You could do all yellow if you’d like but I think they both offer something good. Either way, you’ll need 3 pounds total.

Trim and slice all the onions in to thin strips.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy bottomed pot on medium heat.

Add in the onions…

Two sprigs of fresh thyme and 2 bay leaves.

Lastly, add in the minced fresh garlic and a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss in the melted butter and cook, covered for 30 minutes- stirring half way through.

This is what the onions should look like at the 30 minute mark. Now you can leave the pot uncovered and stir every 15 minutes for another hour.

Once it’s been an hour and a half, I usually crank up the heat to medium-high to finish caramelizing the onions for 15 minutes.

^Like this!

Next pour in the wine, and cook (stirring as you go) until the wine has reduce by half. Then pour in 4 cups of both beef broth and chicken broth.

Stir and bring the soup to a bubble, reduce to low and simmer the soup for 30 minutes.

Mean while slice a loaf of French bread…

…grate up the Gruyere…

…and place 4 to 6 oven-safe soup bowls/ramekins onto a rimmed, metal sheet pan.

Once the soup is finished, taste and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. For me it was 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, but you can season to your liking.

Ladle about a half cup of the soup into each of the bowls.

YUM!

Then top the soup with a slice of the French bread.

Top with a little cheese…

More soup…

Another slice of French bread…

Then divide the remaining cheese among the bowl and puhlease just eyeball it.

Slide the pan underneath a preheated broiler and broil for  1 to 2 minutes or until the cheese is melty and golden in spots. Watch carefully and rotate the pan to ensure even cheese meltage.

I top ours with fresh snipped chives, if I have them and more black pepper once I break through the cheesy bread barrier.

There’s nothing like a bowl of French onion soup to warm you up on a cold and snowy winter’s day.

Or any day for that matter.

Plus there’s cheese strings for days!!!

What’s your favorite soup??

Enjoy! And if you give this French Onion Soup recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance! 

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Yield: 6 servings

French Onion Soup

A savory classic! French onion soup topped with bread and loaded with gruyere cheese.

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 pounds onions, sliced (I use a mixture of red and yellow onions)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup dry red wine, like merlot, malbec or cabernet
• 4 cups beef broth
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 12 ounces French baguette, sliced (about 12 slices)
• 3 cups grated gruyere cheese
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Equipment

• Lodge EC7OD13 Enameled Cast Iron Oval Dutch Oven, 7-Quart, Oyster White

Instructions 

• Place oven-safe bowl or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Over medium heat, melt the butter in a heavy bottom pot. Add in the onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for an additional hour. Increase the heat under the pot to medium-high until the onions are a deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Pour in the wine and reduce by half.
• Then pour in the beef and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Once bubbly, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Taste and season with kosher salt and black pepper. (for me it was 1-1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper)
• Ladle about a half cup of the soup into the crocks. Place one slice of french bread onto soup, top with a little cheese and then ladle in more soup. Float another slice of bread on top and divide the remaining cheese over top. note: the two slices of bread is totally optional, we love it but you can of course do the one slice.
• Preheat your broiler, once hot- slide the pan holding the soups underneath. Broil until the cheese has melted and is slightly golden brown.
• Top with snipped fresh chives and serve immediately.

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 640kcal, Carbohydrates: 53g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 93mg, Sodium: 1222mg, Potassium: 679mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 881IU, Vitamin C: 18mg, Calcium: 786mg, Iron: 3mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Soups, Stews & Chilis

Cuisine: French

Note: This post has been sponsored by All-Clad Metalcrafters. I was given a All-Clad NS1 Nonstick Induction Pot in return for my honest review. As always my thoughts are my own and I love this pot!