French onion soup is one of my favorite soups! Just warms you up deep down in your soul. Caramelized onions in a rich beef broth topped with bread and cheese… *insert drool emoji*. Did your mouth water like mine? I’ve ordered it at many restaurants and unfortunately some of them just don’t get it right. Sure, the ingredients are simple but you you need to give them love and care to make the soup amazing. The cheese on top is also a hit because who doesn’t love cheese? The cheese pull is important here and it makes the soup experience. You can’t skip it!
French Onion Soup Ingredients
It’s easy to make all year round because the ingredients are simple and always available. You can get onions all the time, how convenient right? Plus a bag of onions are super inexpensive! You can mix your onions up or use all the same kind of onions. Just keep in mind if you use a Vidalia onions which is sweet, caramelizing it will make it sweeter resulting in a sweeter soup. I would suggest mixing onions if using a sweet onion.
Cheeses I like are swiss, gruyere, or mozzarella. Mozzarella isn’t traditional but it sure does give a good cheese pull. So mixing it in with a cheese of your choice isn’t a bad tip. There aren’t really any rules when it comes to the cheese so experiment and go with what you enjoy eating.
There are cooking wines that you can find in the store and I’d say don’t go for that. Use a wine you’d like to drink. I’m not saying it has to be expensive but if it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for the food. I used Cabernet Sauvignon in this recipe but most use a white wine like Sauvignon blanc or a Pinot Grigio. You can also use a sherry or port wine. I never have those on hand so I went with what I had and it worked GREAT!
French Onion Soup Cooking Process
10 Minutes 20 Minutes 30 Minutes 45 Minutes
Caramelizing the onions takes time and should not be rushed. I repeat, DON'T RUSH THE COOK OF THE ONIONS! If you crank the heat to rush it, you will just burn the onions. Have them on a medium heat and let them do their thing. Stir them occasionally so they cook down evenly and watch the magic happen.
Add the wine, worcestershire, garlic, and thyme. Cook that down until most of the wine is cooked down.
Add beef broth, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, preheat oven to 350°. Brush sliced baguette with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Pop in the oven for 5-7minutes.
Take out bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Ladle soup in a ramekin, add baguette (I added one because it was big but 2 smaller pieces would fit perfect), top with cheese, and pop under the broiler until bubbly.
DIG IN!
Equipment used/recommended for recipe
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French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 3 large yellow onions sliced
- 1 large vidalia onion sliced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic pressed or minced
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 1/3 cup of Cabernet Sauvignon
- 32 oz beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
Instructions
- Melt butter in a heavy bottomed pot. Add onions and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then add worcestershire, wine, and thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add beef broth, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Raise heat to bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 35 minutes.
- While soup is cooking, brush olive oil on sliced baguette. Place them on a prepared baking sheet and put into a 350° oven for 5-7 minutes until toasted.
- Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs from soup. Adjust seasonings if needed.
- Ladle soup into oven safe ramekins and top with toasted baguette and cheese. Put under the broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly.
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