If you are looking for a really good French onion soup recipe you must try this one! I found it on Simply Recipes and made just a few slight adjustments.
Since traveling to France recently and having French Onion soup, I was seriously craving some. This recipe is the closest thing to being to France 🙂
French Onion Soup Ingredients
The ingredients for the savory soup are simple. Lots of onions, garlic, butter, oil, beef broth and chicken broth.
I used White wine vinegar, cooking sherry and some dried herbs. The original recipe calls for Vermouth or Dry White wine.
That is it!
6 medium yellow onions (sliced thinly) I used 5 large and one medium
4 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp sugar
Kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 Cups beef broth
4 Cups Chicken broth
1/4 Cup White wine vinegar
1/4 Cup Cooking sherry
Bay leaf
1 1/2 tsp herbs de Provence (but you could use Thyme)
1 tsp Webers Beer Can chicken seasoning
Slices of French baguette
1 Cup grated gruyere cheese
1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
Cooking the French Onion Soup
Once your olive oil is hot, add your sliced onions to soup pot and mix well with the oil.
Cook for about 15 minutes. Stirring frequently until onions begin to be transparent.
The longest part of this recipe is waiting for your onions to get to a golden color but worth the wait!
Once they are softened you can add the butter. Cook for another 10 – 15 minutes and then sprinkle with sugar.
This will help the onions to get golden faster. Add in the garlic and cook one minute longer.
Deglaze the onions
Now that the onions are golden in color it is time to deglaze the pot. Add the white wine vinegar and cooking sherry all at once. Stir the pot and get any tid bits from the sides and bottom of the pot.
This adds in more flavor.
Beef and chicken broth
It is time to add both broths to the soup pot. You can use only beef broth as most French onion soup is only made with beef broth. I used half beef and half chicken.
Add in the bay leaf. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaf. You can add another little glug of cooking sherry if you think it needs a little more flavor.
Toast the baguettes
Slice your French baguettes into 1″ slices and brush with olive oil. Toast on a cookie sheet with parchment paper at 450 degrees.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with the cheeses and heat until they melt. About 3-4 minutes.
To serve ladle soup into bowls and add one slice of cheesy bread over the top.
I would love to know if you try this recipe so leave me a comment!
Here are a few other favorite soup recipes you will also love.
Easy to make creamy vegetable soup
Tortellini Kielbasa spinach soup
Using up what you have in the fridge soup
French Onion Soup
Equipment
- Soup pot
- knife
- cutting board
Ingredients
French Onion Soup Ingredients
- 6 medium yellow onions sliced thinly I used 4 large and one medium
- 4 Tbsp Olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp sugar
- Kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 4 Cups beef broth
- 4 Cups Chicken broth
- 1/4 Cup White wine vinegar
- 1/4 Cup Cooking sherry
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 tsp herbs de Provence but you could use Thyme
- 1 tsp Webers Beer Can chicken seasoning
- Slices of French baguette
- 1 Cup grated gruyere cheese
- 1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
Sliced baguettes
Instructions
Caramelize onions
- In a 5 to 6 quart pot, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and toss to coat with the olive oil.Cook the onions, stirring often, until they have softened, about 15 to 20 minutes.Increase the heat to medium high. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter and cook, stirring often, until the onions start to brown, about 15 more minutes.
- Sprinkle with sugar (this will help to brown the onions better) plus 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook until the onions are well browned, about 10 to 15 more minutes.Add the seasonings at this point. Tip- I used a small burner at first and switched to a larger burner and the onions finally started to turn golden in color.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute more.Tip- Don't overcook the garlic as it will turn bitter.
Deglaze the onions
- Add the white wine vinegar and cooking sherry to the pot and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom and sides of the pot, deglazing the pot as you go.
- Add the stock, bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot and lower the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes
- Season to taste with more salt and add freshly ground black pepper. Discard the bay leaves.
Toast the French baguette slices
- While the soup is simmering, line a sheet pan with parchment paper preheat the oven to 450°F Brush both sides of the French bread or baguette slices lightly with olive oil Toast until lightly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven.Turn the toasts over and sprinkle with the grated Gruyere cheese and Parmesan. Return to oven when it's close to serving time and bake until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.Ladle soup into bowls and add one piece of the cheesy toast.
French onion soup is one of my favorites! Yours looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try the recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
Christine you will love it! Thank you for stopping by! Let me know what you think of it.
Karin