French Onion Soup Recipe (2024)

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Posted by Aimee 22 comments
Published: Sep 13, 2023 Last Updated: Mar 1, 2024

This flavorful, hearty best everFrench Onion Soup recipeis a pure bowl of comfort for any night of the week. You’ll love the sweet onions, rich broth and toasted cheese on top!

Love today’s soup? You’ve got to try our instant pot french onion soup next. Same great flavor in less time! Or give our delicious pasta e fa*gioli a try soon!

Why this Recipe is Best

This past year I’ve been working my way through classic recipes. Things like Coconut Cake, Divinity Candy, French Silk Pie, and Broccoli Cheese Soup.

I have found through the years of blogging, that what you want, is dinner inspiration.

And while I definitely would not define myself as a great chef or savory cook…I do think that the dinner recipes you’ll find on my website here are easy enough for a new cook. And delicious enough for a great cook!

That being said, one recipe that has been on my list to make for a very long time is French Onion Soup. I’ve avoided making it, let alone sharing a recipe because I thought, it’s too hard.

You guys, just because something takes longer to cook, doesn’t make it hard! If that were true, you’d never get the chance to enjoy homemade caramels!

Yes, caramelizing the onions can take 30minutes, but you don’t have to stand and slave over the pot (just don’t forget about it completely, haha)! I even shared a video below on How to Make French Onion Soup, so you can see for yourself how easy it is!

Important Ingredient Notes

There are a few things that make french onion soup…the BEST.

• Onions – wondering what kind of onions to use for French onion soup? We love using Vidalia and other sweet onions. The sugars caramelize during the cook process, giving this soup the rich flavor you love.
• Cheese – Typically I use Gruyere. You can shred it or use it thinly sliced. It’s worth the extra cost for its flavor and texture. If you can’t find Gruyere, you could use Comte or Beaufort, Jarlsberg or Emmental. Last resort could be a mild white cheddar or provolone cheese.
• Beef Broth – provides the base flavor.
• Brandy – you could swap this out for red wine too, if preferred. Want to keep it alcohol free? Just leave it out.

How to Make French Onion Soup

Caramelize onions. In a large soup pot or dutch oven, saute butter with sliced onions on medium low heat for about 30 minutes. Stir once or twice during that time. Cook the onions until caramelized and browned. (photos 1 & 2)

Add liquid. Once the onions caramelized, add in beef broth, garlic, brandy, thyme, salt, and pepper. (photo 3)

Cook. Simmer over low heat for an additional 30 minutes, to allow flavors to mingle. (photo 4)

When ready, remove twigs of thyme.

Ladle soup into individual oven safe crocks. Top with toasted baguettes and about 1/2 cup of gruyere cheese.

Broil for several minutes until cheese is browned and melted.

Serve immediately. ENJOY!

Tips and Tricks

1. Use sweet onions. Not only do they taste amazing when they caramelize, they don’t have that onion “bite” a typical yellow or white onion will have. However, they do tend to havea higher water content, so they may take a little longer to caramelize. But the sweetness only gets better with time, so it’s a win-win!
2. Don’t skip the secret ingredient: BRANDY! This adds a wonderful depth of flavor. I’ve heard you can also use white wine or sherry, but I have not tried those options!
3. It’s all about the final touch. Adding the toasted bread and cheese. While the soup was simmering, I sliced a baguette (from my grocery bakery) and toasted it in the oven. I also shredded some Gruyere cheese to have ready. When the soup was done simmering, ladle it into your oven safe crocks and top with baguette slices and a handful of cheese. Broil for a few minutes in the oven until melted!
4. If you don’t have oven safe crocks, you can toast the baguette with the cheese on them, then drop them onto your individual bowls of soup! ENJOY

What to Serve with French Onion Soup

Whether you serve French Onion Soup as a starter or an entrée, it’s a very versatile dish.

We love serving it before baked pork chops or even our family’s favorite meatloaf.

If you want the French Onion Soup to be the entree, pair it with a wedge salad, or a fruit platter!

More Easy Dinners

• I adore making soup for dinner. It’s easy to make and who doesn’t love a good bowl of Chicken Taco Soup or Lasagna Soup?
• Chicken Tetrazzini
• White Castle Sliders
• French Dip Recipe
• Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pasta