Easy French Onion Soup

5 from 3 votes
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If you are looking for an easy French Onion Soup recipe, well I got ya! I love this soup for so many reasons; it’s comforting, flavourful, and is packed with nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium and manganese. It’s topped with a mountain of shredded mozzarella and swiss, which bakes to perfection in the oven and leaves a beautiful golden crisp to the top.

The homemade garlic and thyme croutons take this soup to the next level, but if you are feeling lazy and want to use store-bought croutons, go for it, it still tastes amazing! I should also mention that if you are vegetarian, you can sub out the beef stock and use vegetable stock, making this the perfect vegetarian French Onion Soup recipe.

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Looking for more soup recipes?

Don’t forget to check out some of my other Soups + Crockpot recipes on my blog! I will link a few personal favs down below:

French Onion Soup at a glance

Taste: the overall taste is incredibly flavourful, and the cheese adds such a nice richness to the soup.
Time: the onions need to sauté for at least 35 minutes to really caramelize, so you should have this soup ready in about an hour. But don’t let that deter you, the majority of this time, the onions are doing all the work.
Effort: besides slicing the onions, very minimal effort here!
Difficulty: anybody can make this recipe! anyone! I promise! The hardest part is going to be cutting up the onions, besides that everything is super straight forward.
Have onions kicking around? Any time I see onions piling up in my pantry I always make this recipe because there’s nothing worse than wasting food, so put those onions to good use and make some French Onion Soup!

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need to make my Easy French Onion Soup. For the exact detailed measurements and ingredients, scroll to the bottom of this page to review my recipe card.

  • Onions: duh!
  • Olive oil: this is going to help sweat down those onions and give them a beautiful golden colour.
  • Butter: same thing as the olive oil, the butter is going to help sweat down those onions and give them a beautiful golden colour.
  • Garlic: and lots of it!
  • Worcestershire: this will add a really nice saltiness to the soup.
  • White wine: you can also substitute for red wine here I just prefer the flavour the white wine gives.
  • Beef broth: if you are vegetarian feel free to substitute the beef broth with vegetable broth.
  • Tomato paste: this will help thicken the soup slightly and also give it an additional depth of flavour.
  • A bunch of different spices I will list below.

Tips before getting started

Slice your onions pretty fine! You don’t want big thick chunks of onions in your soup so try to slice them as thin as you can.

Caramelize those onions! If you notice that your onions are absorbing too much of the liquid and appear to be burning, feel free to add a little bit of extra butter or olive oil to the pot to re hydrate them to continue caramelizing.

You can top with whatever type of cheese that you like! Traditional French onion soup uses gruyere, although I prefer the flavour of swiss so that’s what I use in my recipe. They are pretty similar in flavour, although gruyere is a bit stronger.

When you top your soup with croutons, just be aware that they will absorb a lot of that broth, so don’t add as many croutons as you think if you are looking to have a more brothy soup base.

Substitutions & FAQ’s

Can I substitute red wine for the white wine?
Absolutely! The red wine taste really delicious as well!

Do I need to use wine in this recipe?
If you are wanting to completely omit the wine, no worries here, just add a little extra stock.

Do I need to let the onions caramelize for 35 to 45 minutes?
Yes! Slowly cooking the onions is going to increase the flavour and also soften them to be the perfect consistency and texture in the soup.

Storing & reheating

If you making a big batch of this soup and you are not intending to eat all of it in one sitting, here is what I would recommend for storing: refrigerate the soup without the croutons or cheese and add those items when you are planning to cook and eat the soup. If you refrigerate the soup with the croutons and the cheese it’s going to absorb all of the broth and won’t be ideal for reheating. Before adding the soup to an oven safe bowl along with the croutons and cheese, quickly heat up the soup so it goes into the oven hot.

Want to freeze this recipe? Let the soup come to room temperature and freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Be sure to freeze without the croutons and cheese.

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5 from 3 votes

Easy French Onion Soup

This is my Easy French Onion Soup recipe that is incredibly simple to make. The caramelized onions give this soup an incredible depth of flavour, and it's finished off with homemade croutons and a mountain of mozzarella and swiss. Oh, and it's the perfect recipe to use up any onions you have kickin' around! I hope you love this one as much as we all do.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

Soup Ingredients:

  • 8 yellow onions, sliced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup butter, unsalted
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped fine
  • 2 tbsp worcestershire
  • 1/3 cup dry white wine, chardonnay
  • 5-6 cups beef stock
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1.5 cups mozzarella, shredded
  • 6-8 slices swiss
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Crouton Ingredients:

  • 1 old baguette , chopped into half inch cubes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme

Instructions 

  • Set your oven to 400 °F.
  • Begin by chopping your baguette into half inch cubes and place in a medium sized bowl. Add all of your crouton ingredients and combine well. Taste here to adjust for any seasionings.
    (if using store-bought croutons ignore this step)
  • Add the croutons to a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until the croutons become golden in color. Remove from the oven and set aside.
  • Thinly slice your onions, and set aside.
  • To a large pot add your olive oil and butter and set to low/medium heat. Once hot, add your onions.
  • Add your sugar, and sauté the onions anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes, on low/medium heat.
    (be sure to stir the onions every few minutes to prevent them from sticking to the base of the pot)
  • Once the onions are caramelized and golden in colour, add your garlic, salt, fresh thyme and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes.
  • Add your tomato paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or just until the tomato paste turns a darker red color.
  • Deglaze with your white wine and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the wine reduces by half.
  • Add your worcestershire and beef stock and stir to combine. Taste here to see if you need any additional seasionings.
  • Bring the soup to a simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Turn the heat off and ladle your soup into your oven safe bowls.
  • Top with croutons, followed by the cheese and bake in a 400 °F oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese becomes bubbly and slightly browned.
  • Enjoy right away!

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4

About Sammy Montgoms

I am so glad you are here. I am a BIG foodie gal. I am one of those people who lives to eat, rather than eats to live. I love to create nostalgic Italian dishes (especially pasta), but I also love to whip up simple and quick recipes for my family. Hopefully, my page inspires you to do the same. Thank you for being here, and happy eating!

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6 Comments

  1. The French onion soup recipe says sugar but tho sugar in the ingredient listโ€ฆdid I totally miss something?

    1. Hi Heather! If the video says sugar, that was a mistake LOL. The recipe here is the correct one ๐Ÿ™‚
      Hope this helps.
      Sammy

  2. 5 stars
    I made this a couple weeks ago, and my husband said it was the best soup I have ever made! SO yummy and filling. By the way, I make all kinds of soups in the fall and winter, and kind of consider soups to be my specialty as a cook. So for him to say that is a huge compliment. Love your recipes!