It may look intimidating ... but this Easy French Onion Soup will be the most foolproof version you'll ever make! The worst part of the whole thing is chopping 2.5kg of onions. And even then, I'll equip you with 3 easy steps to ensure perfect results every single time - without needing to be meticulous!
I absolutely adore soup. I especially adore the combination of soup, bread and cheese. So this foolproof, Easy French Onion Soup recipe may be my favourite ever!
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Plus I quite literally made this recipe about 30 times before I was happy with the timings, the top tips and the tricks to making this foolproof! So I'm feeling really confident that you're going to love it too.
Check out the end of this post (just above the recipe card) for some more of my Soup Recipes.
Essential Steps For The BEST French Onion Soup!
You don't need to worry too much about slicing your onions particularly thinly if you follow these steps. Because, let's be honest, slicing 2.5kg of onions ain't an easy task!
- Use the lid method i.e. make sure to put a lid on your pot for the first 1 hour! It helps to sweat down and soften the onions.
- Ensure you do not skip the 5 minute High Heat section (this will develop some extra colour on the onions) before adding the wine.
- Simmer the onions for as long as you can / want (once you've added the stock) - this will reduce and intensify the stock and subsequent flavour of the soup!
Ingredients for Easy French Onion Soup
- Salted Butter/ Olive Oil: oil isn't essential, but it's good to add a little oil into the mix when cooking with butter, as it reduces the likelihood of it burning.
- Brown Onions
- Sugar
- Garlic
- White Wine: this adds a major flavour boost to the soup, so I would encourage you not to omit it. However, if you need to - just leave it out completely. Don't increase the volume of the liquid (stock) to compensate, as we reduce it down significantly and therefore is negligible.
- Thyme (optional): if using fresh, just remember to remove the stalks from the soup before serving. Or substitute for dried thyme.
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Plain Flour (All Purpose): used as a thickening agent, so fine to use a gluten free substitute if necessary
- Beef Stock: I really love to use Knorr Rich Beef Stock Pots in this recipe, as it adds a boost of dark brown colouring to the soup. Normal beef stock is absolute fine as it won't affect the flavour - my preference purely adds to the aesthetics.
- Water
- Salt
Method: How To Cook Easy French Onion Soup
Add salted butter and olive oil into a pan with brown onions (peeled and thinly sliced), sugar and fresh thyme.
Cook on medium/high heat for 30 minutes with lid on the pot (this will help sweat the onions down), checking after 15 minutes or so and giving it a stir.
After 30 minutes, add garlic cloves (finely chopped) and Worcestershire Sauce then cook for further 30 minutes at medium/high heat (with lid still on).
If using fresh thyme, remove the stalks at this stage - the leaves should have come off and will flavour the soup. But the stalks need to be removed.
IMPORTANT STEP: Remove the lid from the pot, turn the heat up to high and cook for 5 minutes, whilst stirring consistently, until you achieve satisfactory caramelisation on the onions - this stage will help to darken the colour of the soup (in addition to the stock)
Pour in white wine and continue to cook on high heat until it’s nearly all absorbed into the onions (5 - 10 minutes). Then add plain flour and stir through - this will provide a slightly thicker consistency to the soup.
Add beef stock (stock cubes) and water (boiling) - stir to dissolve the stock pots
Leave on medium/high heat for approx. 60 minutes (this will ensure the onions are totally soft and reduce the liquid to create a gorgeously decadent soup). Finally, add salt to season and get ready to serve.
Bread and Cheese Topping Method Options
Turn on the grill and select your serving bowl, whilst preparing slices of French Baguette for each bowl to layer on top.
- Option 1: Ladle soup into bowl, place bread on top, and sprinkle with grated cheese blend. Place under a grill, watching closely, until cheese is bubbling and you start to see a little colour. Remove and serve.
- Option 2: Add Comte / Gruyere / Cheddar Cheese / Mozzarella (grated) onto slices of French Baguette - melt under a grill then place into soup bowl before garnishing with chives or thyme (fresh) to serve.
Storage + Re Heating
The French Onion Soup can be stored in the fridge for 5 days once cooked.
It can also be stored in the freezer for up to 4 months, and reheated straight from frozen. My fridge is always stocked full of different soup options!
And finally…
If you do choose to make it, I hope you enjoy it!
Why not try some of my other Soup Recipes like my:
- Carrot and Coriander Soup
- Squash, Coconut and Chilli Soup
- Slow Cooker Leek and Potato
- Hearty Lentil and Vegetable Soup
If you have any other questions, or want to tell me what you think of my recipe, then please leave a comment below!
Easy French Onion Soup (Foolproof Recipe!)
Ingredients
- 100 g salted butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2.5 kg brown onions unpeeled weight
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 5 g fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried (optional)
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 400 ml white wine
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tablespoon plain flour
- 2 rich beef stock pots or beef stock cubes
- 2 litres water
- 2 teaspoon salt
- chives or thyme (fresh) optional garnish
- French Baguette
- Comte / Gruyere / Cheddar Cheese / Mozzarella any cheese you fancy - I'll provide an overview of the options in the Notes section below
Instructions
- Add 100 g salted butter and 2 tablespoon olive oil into a pan with 2.5 kg brown onions (peeled and thinly sliced), 2 teaspoon sugar and 5 g fresh thyme.
- Cook on medium/high heat for 30 minutes with lid on the pot (this will help sweat the onions down), checking after 15 minutes or so and giving it a stir
- After 30 minutes, add 3 garlic cloves (finely chopped) and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce then cook for further 30 minutes at medium/high heat (with lid still on)
- If using fresh thyme, remove the stalks at this stage - the leaves should have come off and will flavour the soup. But the stalks need to be removed.
- IMPORTANT STEP: Remove the lid from the pot, turn the heat up to high and cook for 5 minutes, whilst stirring consistently, until you achieve satisfactory caramelisation on the onions - this stage will help to darken the colour of the soup (in addition to the stock)
- Pour in 400 ml white wine and continue to cook on high heat until it’s nearly all absorbed into the onions (5 - 10 minutes)
- Add 2 tablespoon plain flour and stir through - this will provide a slightly thicker consistency to the soup
- Add 2 rich beef stock pots (stock cubes) and 2 litres water (boiling) - stir to dissolve the stock pots
- Leave on medium/high heat for approx. 60 minutes (this will ensure the onions are totally soft and reduce the liquid to create a gorgeously decadent soup)
- Finally, add 2 teaspoon salt to season and get ready to serve
- Turn on the grill and select your serving bowl, whilst preparing slices of French Baguette for each bowl to layer on top.
- Option 1 for Cheese Topping: Ladle soup into bowl, place bread on top, and sprinkle with finely cheese blend. Place under a grill, watching closely, until cheese is bubbling and you start to see a little colour. Remove and serve.
- Option 2 for Cheese Topping: Add Comte / Gruyere / Cheddar Cheese / Mozzarella (grated) onto slices of French Baguette - melt under a grill then place into soup bowl before garnishing with chives or thyme (fresh) to serve.
Notes
- Use the lid method i.e. make sure to put a lid on your pot! It helps to sweat down and soften the onions.
- Ensure you do not skip the 5 minute High Heat section (this will develop some extra colour on the onions)
- Simmer and cook the onions once you've added the stock for as long as you can / want - this will reduce and intensify the stock and subsequent flavour of the soup!
Linda says
Thank you for sharing this recipe