Easy French Onion Soup
This easy French onion soup recipe proves you don’t need a restaurant reservation to enjoy this comforting classic. Made with deeply caramelized onions, rich broth, and topped with melted cheese, it’s simple to prepare and always impressive. Serve it at your next dinner and watch it disappear.
Back when Christopher wasn’t a big soup fan, French onion soup was the one exception—he’d order it every time we went out. He’s since expanded his soup horizons, but I still love making this one for him. It’s a classic.
What I love most is that golden, cheesy bread on top. It’s the perfect finishing touch for the savory, onion-rich broth underneath.
Many restaurant versions lean too sweet for my taste. While plenty of people enjoy that, I’ve never been a fan of sugary flavors in savory dishes—even though I have a serious sweet tooth.
One reason restaurant soups are often too sweet is that they add sugar to speed up the caramelizing process, but it’s not necessary. Sweet onions like Vidalia bring plenty of natural sweetness on their own. In fact, I’ve stopped caramelizing the onions altogether when I make this at home—and I think the soup is even better for it. It’s faster, easier, and every bit as delicious.
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. But you can substitute them with yellow onions instead.
- If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, I really recommend their organic broths as they are affordable, tasty and robust. Though with that said, I don’t like any low sodium broth because companies always add sugar or something to mitigate the taste.
- 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.
- I use a dry white wine like Sauvignon blanc or Pinot Grigio, but I find Chardonnay too sweet.
- You can omit the dry sherry but it gives it such a nice flavor.
- You can also use two thyme sprigs instead of dried thyme.
- My go to bread is a crusty French bread. A great choice is a French baguette.
How to make easy French onion soup
Pre-step
Get a Dutch oven or stockpot.
Step one
Gather the Vidalia onions.
Step two
Cut onions in half and then in thin slices. (A) And place them in a large bowl. I use an eight-cup bowl. (B)
Step three
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 four
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)
Step five
Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer and cook for 50 minutes. (E)
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Step six
Slice bread and get out the cheese from the refrigerator.
Ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls. (F)
Step seven
Place your oven rack in the second highest position and turn the broiler on high.
Step eight
Toast bread in a toaster or toaster oven and place a few pieces of toast in each crock. (G)
Step nine
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)
Step ten
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.
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?
Yum!!
If you have leftover soup, you can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5 days.
Other popular soup recipes
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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Easy French Onion Soup
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
Add-ons
- 4 slices crusty bread (small French bread loaf)
- 2 slices provolone cheese
- 1 slice muenster cheese
Instructions
- Heat a medium saucepan on medium-low heat and add oil and butter.2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons butter
- Once the oils heat up, add onions and sauté for 15 minutes – until juices are released.3 onions
- Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.2 teaspoons garlic paste
- Add broth, sherry, wine, thyme, maple syrup, salt, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.32 ounces beef broth, 1/4 cup dry sherry, 1/4 cup dry white wine, 1 teaspoon thyme, 2 teaspoons maple syrup, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- Bring to a boil, and lower to a simmer and cook for 50 minutes.
- Preheat oven to broil, on high.
- Cut a French loaf into slices. Toast 4 pieces (or as many pieces as you are serving). I use two per crock.4 slices crusty bread
- Ladle soup into the crocks. Place toasted bread on top of the soup, as well as half a piece of Muenster and a full piece of provolone.2 slices provolone cheese, 1 slice muenster cheese
- Place crocks on jelly roll pans and then under the broiler. Stand there and make sure the cheese doesn't get burned – mine took 2 minutes.
- Serve, smile, and enjoy.
Equipment
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Helpful tips
- Vidalia onions are my top choice for this recipe because of their natural sweetness and mellow flavor. If you can’t find them, yellow onions make a good substitute.
- If you live near a Trader Joe’s, their organic broths are a great option—flavorful, affordable, and rich. Just a heads-up: I avoid low-sodium broths since they often contain added sugar or other ingredients to balance the flavor.
- I like to mix up the cheeses when topping this soup. Muenster, Provolone, Gruyère, and Swiss are my favorites, but feel free to use whatever cheese you enjoy most.
- For the wine, I stick with dry whites like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. I find that Chardonnay tends to be a bit too sweet for this dish.
- Dry sherry adds a lovely depth of flavor, but you can skip it if needed.
- If you prefer fresh herbs, you can use two sprigs of thyme in place of dried thyme.
- For the bread, I love using crusty French bread. A baguette works especially well for the cheesy topping.
Nutrition
Originally published in April of 2018.
This is my favourite soup and it was so good. Loads of cheese is a must.
Yay Dannii! Thank you for your comment.
ммм I really like this French onion soup! It was very tasty. I like that it can be prepared quickly and easily.
Thanks Veena!!
I love how easy this is and how delicious it came out.
Thank you Claire!
Yum this is one of my very favorite soups, and love the shortcuts you’ve done here…it was wonderful!
Thanks so much Paige! I appreciate it.
Oh my goodness…this recipe!! It’s perfect! Will make it again.
Thanks so much Amanda!
I think this is one of my all-time favorite soups; it is rich and full of flavor! Love it.
Thanks so much, Stacey!
Talk about the ultimate comfort food! That cheesy layer on top is broiled to PERFECTION. Delicious!
Thanks so much Julie!! 🙂
Mmmmmm. The savory broth! The gooey, nutty cheese! The soggy bread! A perfect meal.
We’ll have to have it again soon!