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A mug of French onion soup is topped with melted cheese, overflowing down the sides. Two slices of bread are beside the mug on a dark plate. The background includes a blurred plant and kitchen items.

Easy French Onion Soup (Foolproof Recipe!)

Lauren
There are a few absolute Must Do's to result in this Foolproof recipe for Easy French Onion Soup and I'm about to break it down for you!
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Caramelisation 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine French
Servings 8
Calories 272 kcal

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

Nutrition Facts are for French Onion soup only - they do not include the French baguette and cheese topping.
Cheese Options:
Traditional Options - Comte and Gruyere (Alpine Cheeses)
Non-Traditional Options - Cheddar and/or Mozzarella
I personally like to use a combination of all of the above - I'm a traditional girl at heart so I usually have Comte in my fridge anyway. But if I want a drool-worthy cheese pull then I'm going to want to add some mozzarella into the mix!
Must Do's 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!
  1. Use the lid method i.e. make sure to put a lid on your pot! It helps to sweat down and soften the onions.
  2. Ensure you do not skip the 5 minute High Heat section (this will develop some extra colour on the onions)
  3. 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!
White Wine Note: 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.
Please refer to my 'How To' section above if you want a detailed photographic step by step guide on how to make Easy French Onion Soup. This can be especially helpful for seeing the different levels of caramelisation on the onions.

Nutrition

Calories: 272kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 4gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 955mgPotassium: 511mgFiber: 5gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 350IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 86mgIron: 1mg
Keyword classic french onion soup, easy french onion soup, french onion soup, simple french onion soup
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