French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup is probably one of the simplest soups in terms of the few ingredients it requires. The thing about French Onion Soup is that it takes time – lots of time to perfectly caramelize the onions. This recipe is perfect to make on a dreary day when you want to have a delicious and comforting meal and have the time to babysit the onions for a time. We sweat the onions for 30 minutes and then caramelize them low and slow for at least an hour – sometimes longer. They take a long time but the flavor makes it all worthwhile.
We love the cheesy toast part of French Onion Soup best, so we make extra to supplement the one cooked in the soup bowl. Just serve them on the side and you can dip (or submerge!) the extra toasts in any remaining broth. We recommend you use Gruyère cheese (if you can find it) as opposed to any other swiss cheese. It has a deep, nutty flavor that perfectly complements the onion soup.
Hope you are all safe and eating well!
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Place the sliced onions in the pot and coat with melted butter.
Cover and “sweat” onions for 30 minutes.
Beautifully caramelized onions!
Add the stock, thyme sprigs and pepper and simmer.
Ladle soup into oven proof serving bowls.
Top with Gruyère cheese.
Add a piece of toasted bread, and top with more cheese.
Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown in places.
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 4 large Vidalia onions thinly sliced
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- Salt
- 3 Tbsp cognac or brandy
- 6 cups beef stock
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 oz Gruyère cheese grated
- 4-6 slices French bread sliced into ½” slices
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the onions and sprinkle with salt. Stir to coat the onions in the butter. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and stir in the thyme and the cognac. Raise the heat slightly and cook onions, stirring often until they turn a deep caramel color, about an hour. Watch them carefully! You don’t want them to burn.
- Add the stock, thyme sprigs and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toast the bread slices. This can be done in a toaster or in the oven. In the oven, place bread slices on a baking pan and cook at 350° F for 10 minutes until golden and crispy.
- Remove the time sprigs from the soup. Ladle the soup into 4-6 ovenproof soup bowls or large ramekins (the number of bowls you use will depend on their size). Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of the soup and place a slice of bread on top of the cheese. Top the bread with more cheese.
- Place the bowls on a baking sheet and place on the middle rack in the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown in places.
- We like to make some extra cheese toasts to serve on the side. You can make extra slices of toasted bread and top them with grated cheese. Broil them alongside the soup for 2-3 minutes until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
- Serve immediately.