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Epicurious

Our Favorite French Onion Soup

4.9

(126)

Read ReviewsTriangle
French onion soup in a white ovenproof bowl topped with melted cheese on bread.
Photo by Charles Masters, food styling by Sue Li

  • Active Time

    30 minutes

  • Total Time

    1 3/4 hours

Buy the best beef broth you can, or better yet, make your own for a rich, full-flavored French onion soup. And if you don't have ovenproof bowls or ramekins for the soup, don't worry—you can just top your soup with melty cheese toasts.

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a main (or 6 as an appetizer)

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 pounds Vidalia onions (about 4 medium), halved lengthwise, peeled, and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
1½ cups dry white wine
6 cups homemade beef broth or store-bought low-sodium beef broth
10 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 baguette
1 garlic clove, cut in half lengthwise
2 teaspoons sherry, preferably Fino or Manzanilla
4 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 cup)

Special equipment:

kitchen twine, six 8-ounce or four 16-ounce oven-safe ramekins or bowls (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large Dutch oven or other large pot, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the oil and onions; cook onions are until softened, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, and sugar; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are deep golden brown and caramelized, reducing heat slightly if onions seem to be browning too quickly, 35 to 45 minutes more.

    Step 2

    Add wine and raise heat to high. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes.

    Step 3

    Tie thyme and bay leaves into a bundle with twine. Add broth and herb bundle to pot with onions. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until broth is thickened and flavorful, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Taste and adjust seasoning.

    Step 4

    Heat the broiler. Cut two ½-inch baguette slices for every serving of soup. Place baguette slices on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until crisp and dry but not browned, about 1 minute per side. Rub one side of each toast with the garlic clove and set aside.

    Step 5

    Place ramekins or ovensafe bowls on a rimmed baking sheet, add ½ teaspoon of sherry to the bottom of each, and ladle soup on top. Top each serving of soup with two garlic-rubbed toasts. Divide cheese among the servings, covering the bread and some of the soup. Carefully transfer baking sheet to oven and broil until cheese is melted and bubbling, 4 to 8 minutes. (Alternatively, if using regular soup bowls: Top each garlic-rubbed toast with some cheese and return to broiler to melt, about 2 minutes more. Divide sherry and soup among bowls, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and top each serving with two cheese toasts.)

Do ahead:

Soup can be made up to 3 days ahead (without toasts or cheese) if refrigerated, or up to 6 months ahead if frozen. Toasts can be made (without cheese) and kept sealed at room temperature for up to 3 days.

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Reviews (126)

Back to TopTriangle

  • THE BEST! I've been making it, with Rhoda's bone broth, since it was published. Family favorite for Christmas eve dinner!

    • Amy from Boston

    • 12/18/2023

  • This recipe by far is the best and my favorite. I just made this last week and have it on rotation again. My family raved about it and it was gone in one night. I have tried many recipes and this one tastes the best. Make it!!

    • Joanna

    • Auburn, CA

    • 10/11/2023

  • This recipe is perfect. I followed it exactly except for having to use dried thyme. I put the thyme and bay leaves in cheesecloth and tied it shut. I used 1.5 tsp of dried thyme. I did use my own homemade beef broth though. Delicious! Everyone loved it!

    • NH Stacy

    • Whitefield, NH

    • 6/19/2023

  • Great recipe but with a few tweaks. I have to say I haven’t made it as it was meant to before, I automatically adjusted the first time I was making it, but I love a dark and rich French Onion Soup. So, I read some of the reviews and made a few changes but it came out amazing. I added an additional 2 cubes of beef bouillon, a 1/2 cube of chicken bouillon, and about 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. I also used a red wine (Merlot) instead of the white wine and skipped the sherry. I used provolone in addition to Gruyère but honestly I think I like using a Swiss cheese more but that’s just my preference. Also, maybe it was just the pan I was using/my personal preference for how much I like my onions cooked but they took extremely long - about 2 hours - I was also using yellow onions because that’s what they had at the store. Definitely try this recipe!

    • Cassidy

    • New Jersey

    • 11/28/2022

  • We make this all the time. We cook the onions until very carmelized - about 1-1.5 hours. Every few minutes we scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the cast iron pot. We use a bread rusk on top in oven safe bowl and put gruyere slicces on top. SO good. and easy. This is the best recipe!!

    • Anonymous

    • Seattle, WA

    • 11/5/2022

  • I love FO soup! I've had it in different restaurants and in other countries! I've decided to perfect it myself! I'm partial to gooey Cheese on top! I always thought it was Mozzarella? Does Guerre also stretch and melt like that? I'm going to experiment! I do love the wine and cognac for flavor! This soup will be perfect on a cold winter day! I raised my kids on home cooking, I loved spoiling them with healthy things They just didn't know it! Thank You for the recipe! This is going to be fun! I gave 4 Stars because I haven't made it yet! I'll be back! : - )

    • Rosebud

    • Dual Residence, Michigan and Arizona!

    • 6/21/2022

  • On Review below by Deb in Arizona - I meant to say add flour to onions - not chz!!! Also vidalia onions are the best! Also yes you cook the onions as stated!!!! The onions reduce a ton and the caramelization. Is super important to this recipe! Please see my review below this one.

    • Deb

    • Arizona

    • 5/11/2022

  • I believe everyone probably tweeks recipes as we all have different tastes. We love a super rich FO soup. I added 4 tablespoons cognac with the wine, added 2 tablespoons of Better Than Bouillon- Beef to beef broth. This makes sauce very rich. I also added tablespoon flour to onions before I added broth etc. also during caramelization I added another half teaspoon cheese. Also you need a hearty loaf of baguette that will not fall apart. Everyone raved about this soup!

    • Deb

    • Arizona

    • 5/11/2022

  • Depending on the sweetness of the onions used this might be too sweet, but knowing mine were sweet I omitted the sugar. I also added a splash of white wine vinegar. Had no fresh time so used 1/4 tsp of dried. I also had no sherry so substituted with a splash of brandy. I like to play with a mix of broths when I make this, and I actually prefer half chicken and half beef stock, but it's not classic to mix them. Either way, this soup is fabulous.

    • Anonymous

    • Alberta, Canada

    • 10/11/2021

  • Cook the onions for an hour???? That’s just freakin stupid

    • Jdswg

    • 9/19/2021

  • Great recipe. Only change I did, and I certainly don't doubt the above, but I think toasting (or even using an older, died out baguette w/out toasting) is fine, this is peasant food. Then cubing it and melting or even just grating some Gruyère on top of that is more traditional. Then pouring the soup on top and baking for a few minutes. Might not be, but that's how I was taught. In any case its super awesome and I love it.

    • Interval

    • Seattle WA

    • 9/18/2021

  • Vidalia onions have too much sugar content making this a very sweet soup. I wouldn't recommend this type onion. I also wouldn't recommend mozzarella for the cheese. It clumps too much and doesn't incorporate well into the dish. Save mozz for the pizza.

    • wot

    • NJ

    • 8/1/2021

  • I made this today and even thought it's summer I love soup anytime. This soup is worth the time it takes to brown the onions and the wine and sherry is worth the splurge.

    • Cpatwr

    • Casper Wyoming

    • 7/2/2021

  • I've been making FoS for years. This is hands down the best recipe I've used. I also recommend not to skip the sherry, I had only cooking Sherry in hand, but that was perfect. I also used swiss, just because of family tradition, but I may try gruyere when it's left over time today. Thank you so much for sharing this I will certainly pass it on!

    • SweetSerenity007

    • Phoenix, AZ

    • 6/8/2021

  • P.S. to my prior review...I used regular yellow onions - sweet onions don't have enough flavor for me. I also used Swiss Cheese as I only had enough Gruyere cheese for another dish I was going to cook for Sunday dinner. The Swiss tasted just as good and we like to use a lot of cheese :-)

    • pennyminnesota9453

    • chicago

    • 3/14/2021

TagsSoupSoup/StewFrenchEuropeanOnionRoot VegetableVegetableGruyèreCheeseDairyBeefMeatStarterMainDinnerLunchNut FreeDutch OvenEpicurious

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