After our first bite of this soup, we realized that it had been far too long since making this classic recipe. Because what’s not to love when you combine savory and sweet plus melty cheese and crunchy bread?! Get a glass of wine, turn up the music, and set aside some quality time in the kitchen to prepare one of our favorite soups of the season.
Love homemade soups – try our Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (with homemade noodles)!
Key Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- butter & olive oil – Helps to caramelize the onions to perfection.
- shallot – A mild and sweet onion flavor to enhance the onion flavor throughout.
- vidalia onions – These are the best onions for this recipe as they have a higher sugar content than other onions, giving this soup a subtle sweet flavor.
- sugar – To help bring out the sweetness in the onions.
- garlic – Sharp pepper notes help balance the sweetness.
- dry white wine – Used to degalze the pan during the caramelization process.
- flour – Helps to thicken the soup.
- beef broth – A strong and savory broth to help balance out the sweeter flavors.
- Better than Bouillon Beef Concentrate – Gives your soup a richer depth of flavor.
- worcestershire sauce & soy sauce – Both bring a unique umami flavor to add depth.
- balsamic vinegar – An ingredient with savory, sweet, and fruity notes.
- lemon zest – Just a bit to brighten everything up.
- baguette – Just a few slices to help you soak up every last bite of soup and melty cheese.
- gruyere cheese – A rich and nutty cheese that melts to perfection over the top of this sweet and savory soup.
How To Make French Onion Soup with Gruyere Cheese
Step 1: Add the butter and olive oil to a large Dutch Oven or large pot that’s been preheated to medium-high heat. Swirl the ingredients around a bit so that they coat the pan.
Step 2: add your shallots and onions and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until they’ve softened. Then increase the heat to medium-high and add some more butter and oil if the pan seems dry. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon to ensure the onions get cooked evenly.
Recipe Tip: Mandoline
Use a mandoline slicer to get consistently thin cuts of onion and shallot. Just be careful! Those slicers can be lethal for fingertips. We use protective gloves just to be safe.
Step 3: Cook your onions for another 30-45 minutes while moving them around the pot fairly often to ensure that they all get evenly cooked. This process may feel like it takes a long time, but trust us when we say that it’s worth it! Perfectly cooked onions make this recipe top notch. Note that as the onions cook down, they will decrease in size substantially. This is okay! The soup will get thickened up later in the cooking process.
Step 4: Add the sugar and stir to really amp up the caramelization process. The onions should be a deep golden brown at this point. Again, it’ll look like there’s not a lot in the pan, but fear not! Once we add in the rest of the ingredients, your soup will bulk up.
Step 5: Deglaze the pan by adding white wine and scraping any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. The onions should be brown in color and jammy in consistency. Add the garlic and stir it around the pan followed by the flour.
Step 6: Add broth ¼ cup at a time, stirring constantly. Stir in beef base, Worcestershire, balsamic, lemon zest, soy sauce, pepper, salt, and herbs. Cover and simmer 20–30 minutes.
Step 7: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°F. Slice baguette, arrange on a sheet pan, and brush with oil. Bake on the middle rack ~5 minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.
Step 8: It’s nearly time to chow down, folks! Ladle your soup into four small bowls or two big bowls and place two baguette slices on the top of the soup. Cover them with gruyere and parmesan cheese and place them under the broiler until the cheese is melty and bubbly. Remove the bowls from the oven and let them cool slightly before garnishing with fresh parsley and serving.
Recipe Tip:
Drop the top oven rack so that it’s not directly under the broiler. This helps to keep your cheese from going from melty to crispy.
What To Serve With French Onion Soup
Between the warming broth, hearty cheese, and crunchy bread, this really does make the perfect lunch or dinner. But if you’re going all in, serve a smaller portion along side our classic French Dip sandwich, an easy steak salad, or caesar salad.
As for what type of bowl to serve french onion soup in, any oven safe bowl will work, but if you’re going the classic route, this soup is typically served in a Lion’s Head bowl, a traditional french piece of dinnerware.
Recipe FAQs
- Onions – Cut these carefully, my friends! We like using a mandoline slicer while wearing protective gloves.
- White Wine – A dry cooking wine like chardonnay will work great.
- Storage – Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to five days in the fridge. Just keep the bread separate as it will quick get soggy if stored with the soup.
- Gluten-Free: Use 1-to-1 gluten-free flour and a gluten free baguette to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Dairy-Free: Swap out the cheeses and butter for dairy free options.
Other Easy Soup Recipes You Might Like
Made this recipe and loved it?!
We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Follow Us on Social
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 5 large vidalia onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, sub coconut sugar
- 3 teaspoons garlic, minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sub 1-to-1 gluten-free flour
- 6-7 cups beef broth
- 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon Beef Concentrate
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce, sub Tamari for gluten-free
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- pinch kosher salt, more to taste
- 1 herb bundle, fresh thyme, rosemary and sage sprigs tied together
- 6 slices baguette
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups gruyère cheese, shredded
- 2-3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Topping Suggestions:
- fresh parsley, chopped
- freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- Cook Onions: Bring a large Dutch Oven to medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons butter to the pan. Let butter melt; swirl to coat the pan. Add onions and shallot. Cook on medium heat until softened, about 15 minutes. Increase to medium-high and add additional butter or olive oil, if needed (if pan seems dry). Cook another 30 minutes until caramelized, moving around fairly constantly. Add 1 teaspoon granulated sugar and stir to combine to really get some extra caramelization.
- Deglaze Pan: Deglaze pan by adding wine and scraping up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. The onions should resemble almost a jam-like texture at this point. Add 3 teaspoons garlic and stir to combine.
- Finish Soup: Add 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and stir to combine. Slowly add 6-7 cups beef broth, approx. 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Add 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon Beef Concentrate, 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, pinch kosher salt and 1 herb bundle. Cover and let simmer 20-30 minutes.
- Baguettes: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450℉. Place baguette slices on baking sheet. Brush with olive oil. Place in oven, middle rack, until browned, approx. 5 minutes (watch closely).
- Taste + Adjust: Taste soup and add additional salt, as desired.
- Broil: Ladle soup into 4 small bowls or 2 big bowls. Place 2 baguettes on top. Cover with gruyere and parmesan cheese. Place under the broiler until cheese melted and bubbly (watch closely and I would recommend dropping the top rack so it isn't directly under the broiler).
- Serve: Remove and let cool slightly before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Notes
- Onions: I would recommend you (carefully) use a mandolin to help thinly slice the onions and shallot.
- White Wine: use a dry white wine such as a chardonnay.
- Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I would recommend making the baguettes as-needed – don’t store the baguettes on top of the soup as they will get soggy.
- Gluten-Free: use 1-to-1 gluten-free flour and a gluten-free baguette to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Dairy-Free: feel free to swap out the butter for vegan butter and choose a dairy-free alternative to the Gruyere and parmesan cheese.
Lo says
Absolutely Delicious!!! I just made it tonight without the Worcestershire but it still tasted amazing🖤 I subbed the Gruyère for Pecorino and it was perfectly delicious! Thank you so much!!
Erin Jensen says
Thanks, Lo!