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French Onion Soup

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My favorite homemade French onion soup recipe that’s easy to make and full of the richest caramelized onion flavors.

French Onion Soup Recipe

Who’s ready for a cozy bowl of homemade French onion soup? ♡

We actually just arrived home late last night from spending a week in Provence with our parents. And amidst the most delicious week of meals together around the table in our little cottage — with fresh croissants and baguettes picked up from the local bakery, farmers market wild mushrooms and artichokes the size of your head, approximately one million French cheeses, herby olives, fresh raspberry tart, plus the loveliest crisp local rosés — I also channeled my inner Julia Child and simmered up a batch of my favorite French onion soup for dinner one evening. And it was delightful.

I actually first shared this recipe here during my very first year of blogging — now ten years ago! — and have made it countless times since. And it’s always, always a winner. Nowadays, I tend to make it vegetarian (using veggie broth instead of traditional beef broth) so that both my husband and I can enjoy it. And after living in Barcelona for a few years, we’ve also come to love the Spanish twist on this recipe as well, which includes cracking an egg into each soup bowl and then broiling it (with or without cheesy toast) until the egg is perfectly poached on top of the soup.

However its made, French onion soup is a classic and will forever remain one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. So if you’re looking for a well-tested recipe to add to your repertoire, I can vouch that this one’s a keeper!

Easy French Onion Soup Recipe | 1-Minute Video

French Onion Soup Ingredients

The good news is that classic French onion soup only requires a few simple ingredients. You will need:

  • Onions: You can use white, yellow or red onions for French onion soup. But to make it the classic way, you will need 5-6 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced.
  • Butter: The tastiest (French) way to caramelize those onions. Although feel free to use vegan butter (or just olive oil) if you are avoiding dairy.
  • Flour: To help thicken the soup. I typically use all-purpose, but you’re welcome to use a gluten-free flour blend. Or just omit the flour if you don’t mind having a thinner soup broth.
  • White wine: To help deglaze the pan. If the onions start to burn a bit on the bottom of the pan while they are caramelizing, feel free to add in an extra few splashes of wine along the way to help lift up those browned bits.
  • Beef stock: The classic base for French onion soup, although we often sub in veggie stock in our house to make this soup vegetarian.
  • Worcestershire, garlic, bay leaf, fresh thyme, salt and pepper: For seasoning. Feel free to tinker around with the amounts of each. And if you don’t have fresh thyme on hand, you’re welcome to sub in dried thyme (or some herbs de Provence).
  • Bread and cheese: For the cheesy toasts on top. Feel free to use whatever kind of bread (I recommend a crusty baguette) and shredded or sliced cheese (Gruyere, Asagio, Swiss, Gouda, Mozzarella, etc) that you prefer.

Full ingredients/instructions listed in the recipe below.

How To Make French Onion Soup with Caramelized Onions

How To Caramelize Onions

The first step to making traditional French onion soup is to transform that big pile of raw onions into the decadent, sweet, and irresistibly caramelized onions that will form the rich base of this recipe. Caramelization is actually a really simple process, but it does take some time. So turn some music on, maybe pour yourself an extra glass of that white wine we will be using, and get ready to spend some quality time by the stove as we work some onion magic.

To make the caramelized onions, simply melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add your onions, and toss so that they are coated in the butter. Let them cook for about 5 minutes, until they start to turn a bit golden on the bottom, and then give them a stir. Repeat for another 5 more minutes, then give them another good stir. Then continue this rhythm — stirring the onions every 3-5 minutes or so initially, then every 1-2 minutes near the end — until the onions have caramelized into a rich chestnut brown color. (Anytime the onions look like they are starting to burn on the bottom of the pan, just add in a splash of wine or water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up those browned bits on the bottom of the pan.)  Then stir in a half cup of wine to fully deglaze the bottom of the pan once the onions are ready to go.

French Onion Soup

How To Make French Onion Soup

Once your onions are caramelized and ready to go, simply:

  1. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir the stock, Worcestershire, bay leaf and thyme together in a large stockpot, then let the soup continue to cook until it reaches a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 10 minutes. Then remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf, give the soup a taste, and season as needed with S&P.
  2. Toast the bread. While the soup is simmering, go ahead and prep your toppings as well. If you’re going the traditional route with a slice of bread, toast it in the oven or in a toaster until it is nice and golden.
  3. Broil. Place your oven-safe bowls on a thick baking sheet. Then once the soup is ready to go, ladle the soup into each bowl, top with the toasted bread and your desired amount of cheese. Place the baking sheet on an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat and broil for 2-4 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly, keeping a close eye on the cheese so that it doesn’t burn.
  4. And…serve! While the cheese is freshly-melted and the soup is hot and bubbly. Yum.

Classic French Onion Soup Recipe

Possible Variaions

There are all sorts of tweaks, shortcuts and additions that you are welcome to use to customize your own French onion soup recipe. For example, feel free to:

  • Skip the broiling step. If you don’t happen to have oven-safe bowls for this recipe, or if you would just prefer to skip the broiling part of the recipe all together, feel free to just top your soup with the hot slices of toast and then sprinkle the cheese on top. (Or you can bake up cheesy toasts in the oven, and then add them to your soup.)
  • Use croutons. In lieu of toasting slices of bread, you could also save time by using store-bought or homemade croutons.
  • Use dried herbs. If you don’t have fresh thyme on hand, feel free to substitute a teaspoon of dried thyme instead. Or I also sometimes like to use herbs de Provence instead for extra flavor.
  • Make it vegetarian. Use veggie stock (plus vegan Worcestershire, if you would like).
  • Make it vegan. Use vegan butter (or olive oil), veggie stock, vegan Worcestershire and vegan cheese.
  • Make it gluten-free. Use gluten-free flour (or just omit the flour entirely) and gluten-free bread.

French Onion Soup in Bowls with Melted Cheese and Thyme

What To Serve With French Onion Soup

Looking for some good side dishes to serve with this recipe? Here are a few of my faves:

Enjoy, everyone!

BEST French Onion Soup Recipe

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French Onion Soup Recipe

French Onion Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 157 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x

Description

My all-time favorite French Onion Soup recipe — surprisingly easy to make, and full of the best flavor.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 pounds yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced (approximately 56 large onions)
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 6 cups of beef stock (or veggie stock)
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
  • fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
  • baguette
  • grated or sliced cheese (such as Gruyere, Asiago, Swiss, Gouda or Mozzarella)

Instructions

  1. Caramelize the onions. In a large heavy-bottomed stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and sauté until well for about 30 minutes until caramelized (but not burnt), initially stirring every 3-5 minutes, then about once a minute near the end of caramelization to prevent burning*.  Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.  Stir in the flour and cook for an additional 1 minute.  Stir in the wine to deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
  2. Simmer the soup. Add the stock, Worcestershire, bay leaf, and thyme and stir to combine. Continue to cook until the soup reaches a simmer.  Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for at least 10 minutes.  Discard the bay leaf and sprigs of thyme.  Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper as needed.
  3. Toast the bread.  Preheat oven to 400°F.  While the soup is simmering, slice the baguette into 1-inch thick pieces and arrange them in single layer on baking sheet.  Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the bread is toasted and golden around the edges.  Remove and set aside.
  4. Broil the topping. Switch the oven to the broiler.  Once the soup is ready to serve, place your oven-safe bowls* on a thick baking sheet.  Ladle the soup into each bowl, then top with a baguette slice and your desired amount of cheese (I used about 1/4 cup shredded cheese for each).  Place on an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat and broil for 2-4 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  (Keep a close eye on them so that they do not burn.)  Remove from the oven and serve immediately while the soup is hot and bubbly.


Notes

Oven-safe bowls: Please double-check them maximum temperature recommendations for any bowls that you place in the oven. Many are not safe for broiling, in which case I recommend lowering the temperature. I used these mini cocottes.

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305 comments on “French Onion Soup”

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  1. Absolutely delicious, thank you for the wonderful recipe. I will definitely make it again as it was a real hit with my guests.😋

  2. Fantastic recipe! Thank you






  3. Any tips on how to go at this recipe using your slow cooker caramelized onions? Just go to step 2 and miss out on all the yummy, garlic and wine yumminess?
    Thanks for your help






  4. Haven’t tried it yet. When does the flour come in for thickening? Thank you!

    • Sprinkle the flour in before the wine and stir to coat and “cook” the flour.

    • Sprinkle the flour in before the wine and stir to coat and “cook” the flour.
      Make sure while sauté process is taking place, it is low and slow.

  5. There are only to ways this recipe can be made easier and better. For those not getting enough of that rich, dark beefy flavor, reduce your stock down a bit, (about 15 min on med/high heat), to concentrate those flavors in the stock. When caramelizing the onions time is your best friend. Keep the onions on medium heat uncovered, add butter and let them slowly caramelize for 45min to an hour (or more). When the onions are done caramelizing, de-glaze with sherry and pour the onions into the already reduced beef stock and reduce more for about 15 min on medium heat. Then turn to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20min.

  6. Delicious!! We made this last night for dinner, and had the leftovers again tonight :) Love your recipes so much!






  7. Very good recipe, thank you. You may want to correct a glaring typo:

    Possible Variaions:

    Kind Regards
    Lorene Albers






  8. was craving this soup, made it, and holy moly so fing good thank you

  9. This was the best soup I’ve ever had! I only needed 3 portions so I cut everything in half. I didn’t have bay leaves so I added more thyme. I didn’t have beef broth so I used water with a little chicken bouillon and some beef dashida (korean thing) and it worked great! I also added just a little extra Worcestershire and i didn’t even need to add salt or pepper, it was already seasoned perfectly. I really loved this soup. I added lots of cheese and the cheese pull on this was amazing! Haha I’m getting hungry again just thinking about this soup.






  10. OMG! This was delicious! I wish I could attach a photo but Trust Me It was picture perfect! My husband had seconds😁 It did take 2 hours to carmalize the onions but definitely worth the wait. I used 3 large yellow onions & 2 Vidalia onions because that’s what I had. I used Beef Broth because I was out of stock of stock. 😁 I used a Sauvignon Blanc to deglaze and a Gruyère cheddar cheese. Plus all the other ingredients listed. Simply Delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe. Will definitely be making again!






  11. Easy and fantastic. First snow if the year and I came from church w/one thing in mind…my French crock and French onion soup using my own water bathed beef broth. OMG it was amazing! Thank you!

  12. First time making onion soup ever. I was trying to reproduce a fantastic experience we had in Paris a few months ago. It came out parfait!






  13. This sounds delicious and amazing and so easy to make I think I let you
    Know the outcome when I do make it Thank you for this amazing recipe






  14. I made this vegan and it is delicious. Followed the recipe to a T. Had to use ground thyme. Rich and flavorful. Used BTB no-beef base. So easy…the only labor is the caramelizing. It was worth it. Thank you for sharing.






  15. Ive always only had this when eating out. Never dreamed it could be so easy and so yummy to make at home. Made this for my elderly father and his lady friend and they raved over it. My Pops doesnt often give out compliments easily, but hes already asked when could have again. Thats high praise! Will become a staple now. Wonderful description and recipe. Thank You






  16. The depth of flavor is unbelievable! I absolutely love this recipe! Personally, I used mozzarella, but I think I’ll try Gruyère next time, just for fun!






  17. First time making this soup. I didn’t have fresh thyme so I used dry but cut the measurement in half. Absolutely delicious!!!






  18. So delicious! Made exactly as described, but realized the onions were not as caramelized as they should be. Next time I will cook longer. We liked the bread on top thinner so it’s easier to eat. Used a mix of Gruyère and provolone. Added a few more cloves of garlic and Trader Joe’s grinder garlic onion salt and parsley. I used kettle fire organic beef bone broth.

  19. This is fantastic! Thank you






  20. Must cook onions on medium high or will take 11/2 to get them to brown






  21. Great recipe, the whole family loved it. Even the ones who complained the whole time I was making it.






  22. I love this receipt and have used it for years! I do use a dry red instead of white because I like the flavor better. However, I’ve made it both ways and it’s delicious!!






  23. I’d bet that flavor into the soup right from the start, by adding the thyme, salt, pepper and bay leafy into the onions as they sauté. Adding flavor to liquid isn’t as effective. Build flavor slowly through cooking.

  24. So good. Like it so much better with white wine rather than red. Delicious!






  25. Thanks for the recipe, you have all kinds of variations, but none for skipping the wine. I am AF and opening a bottle of wine is a terrible idea for me! Can i use stock instead, or rice wine vinegar, or worcesshire? I must be able to make this without buying wine, right? A lot of others dont drink either and Im sure they too would appreciare not being left out of this recipe.

  26. The recipe looks good. I haven’t tried to make it yet but I remember watching it being made in the restaurant where I worked and this is pretty much how they did it. I just have one quibble here and it’s really not a quibble to this recipe or even this recipe website alone/ It’s the prep time. I’m not exactly what you would call a gourmet chef but I’ve been cooking for most of my life and I’ve gotten fairly good at it, or so I’ve been told. Having said that, there’s no freakin’ way I’m cutting up four pounds of onions in 10 minutes, let alone grate the cheese, slice up the baguette and mince the garlic. In fact I have my doubts that a professional chef with extremely advanced knife skills is going to be able to do this in 10 minutes. Ain’t gonna happen. Maybe I’m wrong but it would be interesting to hear what others have to say. Like I said, it’s not a specific complaint against this writer, more of a general critique of food websites. They’re all like that, crown roast of beef? Trim off fat, make incisions to the roast. shape into crown – 10 minutes! Coq au vin? Cut up chicken and vegetables, mince garlic, etc… prep time – 10 minutes! You get the picture. Please, just try to use some common sense in the future people. We’re not all trained chefs out of the Culinary Institute of America nor do we make our living working in restaurant kitchens or writing food blogs. We’re just people trying to make good food at home with probably dull knives and too many distractions and telling us that prep time is 10 minutes is just plain annoying. That’s my Sunday evening rant for tonight, looking forward to making this yummy sounding recipe, it’s just gonna take me more than ten minutes to get it into the pot. (My wife said it took me more than 10 minutes to write this!)






  27. This recipe is simply amazing! Simple to prepare and extremely tasty! Thank you
    🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

  28. I add a bit of sugar to the caramelizing onions, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a 1/4 cup dry white wine. Also a little thyme and garlic.






  29. This recipe produces a rich, deep depth of flavor soup. Delicious! Only had white bread. Put in toaster until very toasted and topped with gouda cheese.. was terrific. Had seconds.






  30. Wow! Amazing taste- made it exactly as directed- I used sour dough bread- sliced toasted and then cut into cubes before putting under the broiler – forgot the salt and pepper
    But who would have known- this one is a keeper!!






  31. It is so good! Just had my first cup without the bread and cheese. (It’s easier to eat this way). It does take time and some tears,but well worth it. Thanks.






  32. Stir the onions once a minute for 30 minutes? I don’t think so.

  33. Pretty awesome. Recipe was on point, and the finished product was perfect! Thank you!!






  34. Made this for dinner. It was awesome and simple. The onions took 45 minutes to caramelize, worth the time. I subbed white wine vinegar for the dry white wine and it was still delicious. Will definitely keep and use this recipe again. Thank you!






  35. This is a simple and delicious recipe for French onion soup. Thank you for publishing it.






  36. Made this for my French family and it was amazing. i would make this again and not change a thing. If they liked it it is golden.






  37. Such a great recipe with easy to follow instructions! I added some adobo on top of the recommended salt and pepper for just a little more flavor and it turned out perfect. I used a black truffle cheddar Gruyère and some fresh bread from a local bakery. 10/10!






  38. First time making French onion soup from scratch so I was nervous; this came out excellent!! I substituted the white wine for a Cabernet and for the butter I used the garlic/herb by Kerry gold. My whole family loved this, especially the toast as I used the butter and layered it with cheese. I’m so glad I found this recipe!!






  39. Do you think this could be frozen? I’m the only one who likes this but it’s my FAVORITE and I’m hoping to freeze some for when I’m postpartum.

  40. My mother made this for me and my family. It is delicious! Definitely making again.

  41. This is the second time I’ve made this recipe and it’s utterly delicious! I have a confession to admit I didn’t have any french bread I didn’t want to go to the store but I did have left over Domino’s deep dish pizza so I cubed up some of my pizza and use that instead of baguette. Sorry not sorry, it was so freaking good!






  42. It came out bitter. I assume that I over caramelized the onions (or something).

  43. Delicious!
    I’ll definitely keep this recipe & make it again in the future.






  44. The how to section on caramelization does not include the garlic or flour step. My mistake for not reading the actual recipe, but ultimately it should be included there.

  45. Delicious






  46. Just wondering if you could provide the nutritional value of thus soup please ?

  47. This recipe is terrific, and I followed it very closely. I used a little more thyme, and added it fresh on the sprig while the onions first got added to the pot. This was always how I made this soup. So I definitely recommend adding the bay leaf and thyme in the beginning. Stir often, and I believe it took me about an hour to get the caramel color on the onions. I used both dry sherry and Sav Blanc for a deeper flavor, and I also warmed the beef broth (I used low sodium because I also used a little locatelli cheese under the Swiss cheese at the end, for saltiness). Stock will definitely bring about a richer flavor than broth, but I like both and find I use what I have on hand. Prep time for cutting 5 large onions was closer to 15-20 minutes (I quartered the onions and did a French cut). The garlic was a nice addition too – I hadn’t used it in other French onion soup recipes. Everyone loved it!






  48. This is delicious! I doubled the recipe and used a mix of yellow and sweet onions and a mix of unsalted beef broth and beef consomme. I also added Dijon mustard, a sprinkle of sugar (I dont measure, haha), and Sherry is what I already had. I also simmered longer, approximately an hour and some just to pull all of the flavors together. It’s just me and my 12 year old in our household. She is autistic and won’t eat much of anything outside of her norm so when I cook, I cook for my parents too. Hoping to get my kiddo to try it tomorrow, but it is fantastic :)