With this easy French onion soup you get deep, sweet flavours, melty cheese and toasted bread, all in one hot bowl of delicious soup.
There are many varieties of onion soup but this easy French onion soup has to be my favourite. The deep flavour of the beef stock with the sweet onions is heightened only by the ooey gooey cheesiness of the Swiss cheese on a baguette.
These are my favourite things but these are also the things that make an onion soup distinctly French.
You should know that I was warned by Kyle that the amount of onions in this recipe exceeded his personal preference. But I think it’s perfect! So, if you have someone in your household that might prefer fewer onions reduce it to a pound and a half.
Preparing Easy French Onion Soup
Ingredients
Onions: Onion is a very common vegetable that is used both raw and cooked in food preparation. It has a sharp flavour raw that often sweetens once cooked. There are many varieties of onions, some that are milder than others. We use the sweet onion in this recipe to maximize that sweet flavour.
Fresh thyme: This herb has an amazing flavour that goes so well with most meats and veggies. It is part of the mint family and is a small bush, with branches that are covered in small leaves.
Beef broth: The beef stock carries a lot of flavour. It’s made from beef bones and vegetables, with different varieties adding spices and other flavours like vinegar or lemon. It has a beautiful dark colour adding a nice depth of colour to this soup.
Red wine: A full-bodied cabernet sauvignon is the perfect addition to this French Onion soup. Though it adds a bold flavour and beautiful colour it’s an optional ingredient that you can easily skip if needed.
Butter: Butter is churned milk or cream and is high in fat. It is solidified when refrigerated, holds a semi-soft, spreadable consistency at room temperature, or can be liquefied when heated.
Olive oil: I use olive oil for this recipe because of its mild flavour. Olive oil is the fat extracted from olives. The least processed is extra virgin olive oil, which I use in this recipe.
Baguette: A baguette is a French bread that is very long, thin and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Swiss cheese: Swiss cheese is a medium-hard cheese known for its distinct holes which are called eyes. It’s actually a generic name for a few Swiss cheese varieties resembling Emmental. It has a mild, slightly nutty flavour and melts beautifully.
How to Make Easy French Onion Soup
The most effort will go into cutting the onions. After this step, it’s smooth sailing. So, let’s start with the hardest part.
Start by peeling the onions and slicing them into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
Next, add a tablespoon of butter and oil to a pot and warm on medium-high heat.
Once the butter starts bubbling, add half of the onions to the pot
. Stir to coat in the oil and butter. Cook down for about 10 minutes.
NOTE: You can cook all of the onions all at once but I find it easier to split it up into two batches. The less you stir the onions, the more the onions will brown. Just keep a close eye to make sure they don’t burn.
Move the cooked onions into a bowl and set them aside. Repeat the cooking process for the second batch.
Add all the cooked onions back to the pot with the thyme and stir.
This next step is optional. If you have a nice full-bodied red wine laying around add it to the pot and cook down for about 5 minutes. I like to use cabernet sauvignon.
If you want to skip the wine, just add the beef stock, salt and pepper at this point. Then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, preheat the oven to 400°F. It’s time to make the crostini.
Cut the baguette into ½-inch thick slices and lay them out on a lined cookie sheet.
Toast the baguette slices for 10 minutes, or until you have reached your desired colour. You don’t want to under toast or they will get really soggy really fast.
Once the soup is done cooking, pour it into oven-safe French onion soup bowls.
Now add a toasted slice of baguette with a slice of Swiss cheese on top. Place the bowl in the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
I like to wait a few minutes before serving as it’s very very hot coming out of the oven. Be cautious when eating even if you wait a few minutes.
Substitutions
Sweet Onions: I used sweet onions for this recipe however yellow onions will work equally as well. They’re not quite as sweet as the sweet onions but they’re not too far off. You can also substitute with red onions which are quite sweet, especially when cooked.
Fresh Thyme: You can use dried thyme instead of fresh. If you do, add ½ teaspoon of dried thyme.
Baguette: Naturally a French baguette is a perfect choice for French onion soup however you may not always be able to find it. Luckily, it’s not a big problem. You can easily substitute it with a French loaf like Boules de Pain or even an Italian bread like a ciabatta.
Serving French Onion Soup
This soup is perfect all on its own. With the toasted baguette and cheese on top, it’s a complete meal. If you like bread, serving it with an extra toasted baguette on the side is always welcome.
If your kids won’t try the soup as is, try blending it before pouring it into the bowls. You can still top with a toasted baguette and a slice of cheese but be extremely careful when serving it to your littles.
Let the soup cool before topping it with the toast. Or serve the toast with melted cheese on the side of the soup.
This easy French onion soup also makes great leftovers. Heat it up with a side of delicious grilled cheese for a complete lunch.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
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Easy French Onion Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Knife
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 900 g sweet onions
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs (or ½ tsp dried thyme)
- 900 ml Beef stock
- ⅓ cup Red wine (optional)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ a baguette
- 4 Swiss cheese slices
Instructions
- Start by peeling and slicing the onions into 1/8” thick slices900 g sweet onions
- Add a tablespoon of butter and oil to a pot and warm on medium-high heat.1 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 tbsp olive oil
- Once the butter starts bubbling, add half of the onions to the pot. Stir to coat in the oil and butter. Cook down for about 10 minutes. You can cook all of the onions all at once but I find it easier to split it up into two batches. The less you stir the more the onions will brown just keep a close eye to make sure they don’t burn.900 g sweet onions
- Move the cooked onions into a bowl and set them aside. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the remaining onions.
- Add all the cooked onions back to the pot with the thyme and stir.900 g sweet onions, 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- Optional: Add the wine and cook down for about 5 minutes.1/3 cup Red wine
- Add the stock, salt and pepper and cover and simmer for another 20 minutes.900 ml Beef stock, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper
- While the soup is cooking, turn the oven to 400°F.
- Cut the baguette into ½-inch thick slices.½ a baguette
- Toast the bread on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes.
- Once the soup is done cooking, pour some into oven-safe bowls, and top with a toasted slice of baguette and a slice of Swiss cheese. Add back to the oven for 5 minutes.4 Swiss cheese slices, ½ a baguette
