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Easy French Onion Soup

Name: Easy French Onion Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 64 min
Total time: 69 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 3 tablespoons butter; 3 onions ((vidalia, or 4 cups of sliced onions)); 2 teaspoons garlic paste ((or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed)); 32 ounces beef broth ((or vegetable if you want to keep it vegetarian)); 1/4 cup dry sherry; 1/4 cup dry white wine; 1 teaspoon thyme ((or two fresh sprigs)); 2 teaspoons maple syrup ((optional)); 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce; 1 teaspoon soy sauce; 1 teaspoon salt; 4 slices crusty bread ((small French bread loaf)); 2 slices provolone cheese; 1 slice muenster cheese

Last updated on October 20, 2021. Originally posted on October 20, 2021 By Elaine 34 Comments

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If you only get onion soup in a restaurant because you think it’s difficult to make, this easy French onion soup recipe will teach you that not only is it simple to put together, it is also extremely delicious to eat. Serve it to your guests and they will be impressed with how it looks and tastes.

A cheesy spoonful of onion soup held over the crock with salad and bread in the background

Before, when Christopher wasn’t thrilled about eating soup, French onion soup is the only soup he wanted or would eat at a restaurant. He has since branched out but I do still love making this soup for him. (fit classics)

My favorite thing about this soup is the cheesy crispy bread topping the oniony goodness.

One of the things I don’t particularly like about French onion soups I find in restaurants is they are too sweet! I know that most people love that about it. But not me. I’m funny that way. I LOVE sweets but I don’t like sweetened foods for dinner.

One of the things I think happens in restaurant soups is either they add sugar to it and it doesn’t need it because the natural caramelizing of the onions is sweet enough.

Since I’ve been making this at home, I stopped caramelizing the onions because I use sweet onions like Vidalia and I actually like it better. So, this recipe proves that you don’t need to use camalized onions for a delicious soup! That means that you can get this delicious soup on your table that much faster.

Try it like this and see what you think.

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Helpful tips

Use vidalia onions as they are the sweetest and have such a lovely flavor.
If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, I really recommend their organic broths as they are affordable, tasty and robust.
I melt different types of cheeses each time I make this soup. My favorites are muenster, provolone, gruyere, provolone, and Swiss cheese. But you can use whatever you like.

Ingredients and substitutions

Olive oil – extra virgin.
Butter
Onions – Vidalia which are naturally sweet. You can substitute them with yellow onions.
Garlic – cloves or garlic paste.
Beef broth – you can use low sodium broth.
Dry sherry – you can omit this but it gives it such a nice flavor.
Dry white wine – sauvignon blanc is a good option.
Thyme – I use dried thyme, but you can add 2 thyme sprigs.
Maple syrup – optional, I only add a small amount because hub does like his a little sweet.
Soy sauce – optional
Worcestershire sauce
Bread – I use a crusty French bread. French baguettes are also a great choice.
Cheese – I use provolone and muenster cheese but gruyere cheese and Swiss cheese are great choices too.

How to make easy French onion soup

Pre-step

Get a Dutch oven or stockpot.

Step one

Gather the Vidalia onions.

Onions on a board and a knife on the red cutting board

Step two

Cut onions in half and then in thin slices. (A)

Step three

Sliced onions filling my 8 cup bowl. (B)

The sliced onions on a red board and then placed in a glass bowl

Step four

Heat the Dutch oven on medium-low heat. Add oil and butter and once that heats up, add onions and sauté for 15 minutes. (C) Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.

Step five

Add beef broth, sherry, wine, thyme, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. Scrape the bottom of the pan for any browned bits and stir until combined. (D)

Onions sautéed and then broth added to the pan for the soup

Step six

Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer and cook for 50 minutes. (E)

Step seven

Slice bread and get out the cheese from the refrigerator.

Ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls. (F)

On the left - the soup in a Dutch oven and on the right - the soup is in two crocks

Step eight

Place your oven rack in the second highest position and turn the broiler on high.

Step nine

Toast bread in a toaster or toaster oven and place a few pieces of toast in each crock. (G)

Step ten

Either cut or tear your cheese in half (in this case, muenster) and place a half in each bowl. Then place a piece of provolone in each crock. (H)

Bread added to the crock and cheese on top of that

Step eleven

Put the crocks on a rimmed baking sheet like a jelly roll pan and place it in the oven for two minutes. Stand there and make sure the cheese doesn’t burn.

Cheese melted on the crocks of soup with a salad in the background and bread on a cutting board

Look at all that melty cheese!

I had to stick little trivets under the bowls since they were piping hot.

Let’s stick my teaspoon in the soup, shall we?

A spoon is in the crock of cheesy onion soup with a salad and sliced bread in the background

Yum!!

If you have leftover soup, you can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5 days.

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I hope you enjoyed this easy French onion soup recipe as much as Christopher and I love eating it!

Please leave me a comment. What is your favorite soup?

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

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