The Best French Onion Soup

The Best French Onion Soup. The most delicious and flavor packed french onion soup that’s super easy to make and topped with a slice of baguette and gruyere cheese for dunking. Simple and easy comfort food perfect for chilly days.

Early on in marriage I learned that French Onion Soup was my husband’s favorite. I grew to like it too and, before long, restaurants were ranked according to their French Onion Soup.

But, as a new wife and a foodie with a fierce competitive spirit, I decided to develop my own version of French Onion Soup, and I was quietly determined to make mine the best my husband had ever had.

I started with a recipe that sounded promising, then added garlic, shallots, and a few other personal touches – it was an instant hit! I’ve been making this soup for years now and my husband still raves about it every time! When I serve it to guests, they almost invariably ask for the recipe.

So I figured, why not share it with you too?

Best French Onion and Shallot Soup

As with most good soups, this one takes a little time to prepare, but it’s so worth it. I usually serve it as a main dish with a big green salad, but it makes a pretty impressive first course too.

If you’re entertaining guests, this soup pairs well with my Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken with White Wine.

Tips for Making French Onion Soup

• Stock vs. broth: I use a 50/50 blend of beef stock and beef bone broth (Bonafide is my favorite store bought brand) – I love the rich flavor of meat stock, but also like the nutritional benefits of the bone broth. Chicken stock/broth could be substituted for a lighter flavor.
• Oven safe bowls: Last year I finally bought oven safe bowls similar to these. If you don’t have oven safe bowls, see below.
• How to make cheese toasts in the oven:  If you don’t have oven safe bowls, just sprinkle the cheese blend generously over the bread slices you toasted in the oven. Heat the cheese toasts at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is mostly melted, then broil for 1-2 minutes until the cheese begins to brown.
• This recipe is even better on the second day – just reheat the soup on the stove and follow instructions for preparing the toast and broiled cheese topping.
• The onions: I love using a mix of shallots and onions because shallots give a nice sweetness to the soup but you can use only onions if you don’t have them.
• Herbs: Make sure to use fresh thyme and not dried, it makes a huge difference to the flavor of the soup.
• Cheese: Gruyere is what’s commonly used to make french onion soup, it’s a perfect melting cheese and doesn’t lose flavor as it melts. Comte or fontina cheese would be great substitutes.
• Take your time: Allow time for the onions to caramelize and don’t be tempted to turn the heat up to speed up the process, the onion will just burn and the soup will become bitter. If you take time to caramelize the onions the end result is incredible and you’ll have the most delicious tasting soup!

Best French Onion & Shallot Soup

The best French Onion and Shallot Soup ever – this simple meatless recipe gets rave reviews every time!

4.96 from 49 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Keyword: french onion soup, Soup with cheese

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 629kcal

Author: Dena Norton

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 Tbsp pastured butter
• ▢ 2 large yellow onions halved and thinly sliced
• ▢ 2 large shallots halved and thinly sliced
• ▢ 3 large garlic cloves minced or pressed
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 2-3 tsp sea salt to taste
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• ▢ 2 tsp all purpose flour, can omit for gluten free/grain free
• ▢ 3/4 cup dry white wine
• ▢ 6 cups beef stock/broth, I use a 50/50 blend of beef stock and beef bone broth
• ▢ 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• ▢ 6 slices baguette or other crusty bread sliced 1" thick
• ▢ 1 pound Gruyere cheese grated or thinly sliced (ask the cheese counter staff to slice it for you)
• ▢ 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onions, shallot, garlic, bay leaves, sea salt, and black pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until onions and shallots are translucent.
• Turn heat down to medium low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions and shallots are a deep golden brown (approx 20 min).
• Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute before adding wine. Stir well and cook 2 more minutes.
• Add stock/broth and thyme. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While the soup simmers, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes, turning over halfway through cooking. (Bread should be dry with a slightly soft center that still springs back when touched)
• Once soup is ready, preheat broiler.
• Ladle soup into oven safe ramekins* (leave 1/4-1/2" at the top). Add 1 slice toasted bread to each, then top with sliced of Gruyere and a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and broil for a few minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Serve immediately, topped with a crack of black pepper and fresh thyme leaves.
• Extra stores well in the fridge and tastes even better the second day!

Notes

• Stock vs. broth: I use a 50/50 blend of beef stock and beef bone broth - I love the rich flavor of meat stock, but also like the nutritional benefits of the bone broth. Chicken stock/broth could be substituted for a lighter flavor.
• Oven safe bowls: Last year I finally bought oven safe bowls similar to these (on sale at the time of publishing this!). If you don't have oven safe bowls, see the Notes section of the recipe for instructions on how to get the broiled cheese topping on a baking sheet.
• How to make cheese toasts in the oven:  If you don't have oven safe bowls, just sprinkle the cheese blend generously over the bread slices you toasted in the oven. Heat the cheese toasts at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is mostly melted, then broil for 1-2 minutes until the cheese begins to brown.
• This recipe is even better on the second day - just reheat the soup on the stove and follow instructions for preparing the toast and broiled cheese topping.
• The onions: I love using a mix of shallots and onions because shallots give a nice sweetness to the soup but you can use only onions if you don't have them.
• Herbs: Make sure to use fresh thyme and not dried, it makes a huge difference to the flavor of the soup.
• Cheese: Gruyere is what's commonly used to make french onion soup, it's a perfect melting cheese and doesn't lose flavor as it melts. Comte or fontina cheese would be great substitutes.
• Take your time: Allow time for the onions to caramelize and don't be tempted to turn the heat up to speed up the process, the onion will just burn and the soup will become bitter. If you take time to caramelize the onions the end result is incredible and you'll have the most delicious tasting soup!

Nutrition

Calories: 629kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 1793mg | Potassium: 224mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1244IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 872mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @BacktotheBookNutrition or tag #BacktotheBookNutrition!

Other Soups You’ll Love!

20 Minute Rotisserie Chicken and Rice Soup

Easy Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Rustic Split Pea Soup