Take the time to make this rich and delicious French Onion Soup from scratch and you’ll never go back to your "classic" version again.
This recipe pairs the perfectly caramelized onions with beef broth, dry Sherry, and Cabernet, and then tops them with cheesy and crispy bread for a delicious and hearty soup. Try it with homemade French bread croutons.
Gourmet Homemade French Onion Soup
I’m quite surprised that my kids (tweens) are big lovers of French Onion soup too. I just think that most kids don’t like onions. When we go out to a restaurant or a diner, my daughter orders French Onion soup for her meal.
The key to a good French onion soup is to slowly caramelize the onions, which brings out their natural sweetness. Then adding a few additional extra ingredients and touches.
You'll need lots of onions, and some tissues to wipe your watery eyes, don't even mind stinking up your house. Most importantly you'll need at least one hour of your time to put your heart and soul into this hearty French onion soup.
What Onions Should I use for French Onion Soup?
There are a few different types of onions that can be used. For a milder soup, white or yellow onions are a good choice. Those who prefer a stronger flavor can opt for red or purple onions.
Pro tip: Use all 3 varieties at once and you’ll be amazed by the soup flavor
How to Caramelize Onions for French Onion Soup?
Caramelizing onions is a simple process that can transform the humble onion into a rich, sweet, and complex ingredient. While it may seem like a daunting task, caramelizing onions is actually quite easy. All you need is some patience and the willingness to let the onions do their thing.
Cut the Onions - Start by cutting the onions into thin slices. The thinner the slices, the faster they'll caramelize. If you're short on time, you can cut the onions into thicker slices, but expect them to take a bit longer to reach that perfect state of sweetness.
Add Some Fat - Next, add some fat to a skillet over medium heat. You can use any type of cooking fat. I prefer butter or olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the onion slices and give them a good stir to coat evenly.
Let 'em cook - Now it's time to let the onions cook until they're caramelized to your liking. This will take anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on how thin you sliced the onions and how high you have the heat. Just be sure to keep an eye on them and stir them frequently so they don't burn—you're looking for a deep golden brown color, not blackened bits.
Deglaze - As onions are cooking they may begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. Simply add a little liquid at a time to a hot pan. Water, broth, or wine will work great for deglazing. Use a wooden spoon or wooden spatula to scrape the fond from the bottom of the pan and mix it right back into the onions.
If your onions start getting too dry, you can add a splash of water or chicken broth to help them along. Once they're finished cooking, give them a final season with salt and pepper.
How Much do Onions Shrink When Caramelized?
When the onion is cooked, two things happen that cause it to shrink. The first is that the onion loses water. When you cook an onion, the heat causes the onion's cells to break down and release their water content into the surrounding cooking liquid.
The second reason onions shrink during cooking is that they undergo a chemical change. This is when heat causes proteins to unravel and change shape. In onions, this results in the loss of cell structure, which causes them to become softer and smaller.
The shrinkage also depends on the type of onion and the cooking method. For example, yellow onions will shrink more than white onions when caramelized. And if you cook the onions slowly over low heat, they'll shrink less than if you cook them quickly over high heat.
In general, you can expect onions to shrink by more ⅔ of their volume when they're caramelized. So if you're starting with one cup of chopped onions, you'll end up with about ⅓ of a cup of caramelized onions.
How Many Onions Do I need for French Onion Soup?
Too many onions will make the soup overly sweet, while too few will result in a soup that lacks flavor.
So, how many onions should you use? For a standard-sized pot of soup (6 Quarts = 5.68 Liters), you will need about 2 pounds of onions. If you are using large onions, you may need slightly less.
Tips for the Best Deep and Rich French Onion Soup
Let’s summarize and proceed with cooking
Onions - For the perfect French onion soup, you need perfectly caramelized onions. This can be a bit of a process, but it's worth it for the end result.
Use the right pot - For French onion soup, it is best to use an oven-safe pot with a heavy bottom. Choose the wider pot if possible. The wide bottom will give onions plenty of room to caramelize. But what to do if I only have a small or narrow pot?
Cook onions in batches - You already know that you’ll need lots of onions to caramelize for the most flavorful French onion soup. Onions may not fit all at once in one pot. As a matter of fact, I prefer cooking onions in batches and lately, I’ve been using my air fryer to caramelize onions, which is a much faster process. Here's how to caramelize onions in the air fryer.
Now we know the French onion soup basics. Let’s proceed with cooking
Ingredients for Gourmet French Onion Soup
- 4 Tablespoons butter (unsalted)
- 2 pounds of onions, thinly sliced into half circles
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 quarts of organic beef broth, full sodium (about 2 liters) I usually get mine from Trader Joe's. You can use low sodium, and adjust your salt to your liking.
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme (fresh thyme is good to use too)
- 1 cup red wine (Cabernet, Merlot, or Pinot Noir is great)
- ½ cup dry sherry cooking wine (found in most supermarkets)
- 3 Tablespoons Demi-Glace. This is optional, but I highly recommend this. It helps to thicken the soup and adds a rich taste to it.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- French bread or french baguette
- Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced. Swiss, Mozzarella, and Provolone will work too, and I suggest mixing them as well. My favorite combination is Gruyere and Swiss or Gruyere and mozzarella.
- 2 TBS Flour (optional and it helps thicken the soup)
- Onion soup and dip mix - found in most supermarkets. It adds great taste to the finished soup. Normally I would recommend onion soup mix by Lipton, but after researching the ingredients, colors and preservatives in their mixes, I chose Goodman's because of its higher quality and natural ingredients
- Green onions, chopped, for garnish and extra flavor (you can use fresh thyme too)
Directions
These directions will apply to cooking the soup in Instant Pot. If you don’t have one – no worries, just follow the precise directions below and after the last step – let the soup simmer for an additional 30 minutes to 1 hour.
1. Melt butter on medium-low heat in Instant Pot. You can use a large Dutch oven or large heavy pot instead, preferably stainless steel.
2. Add sliced onions
3. Cook onions - keep stirring them just as needed to keep onions from sticking until they are soft, golden, and caramelized, about 40 minutes to an hour. (Note: If onions begin to stick, simply add a little amount of water at a time and deglaze.
"Deglazing" is a simple process of using your wooden spatula to scrape up the fond from the bottom of the pan and stir it back into the onions.
This is how your onions should look now, after about 45 minutes of caramelizing.
4. Sprinkle flour over onions, and stir to coat.
5. Add red wine, sherry, stock, and thyme, and bring to a simmer.
6. In a small saucepan over low heat mix 3-4 TBS Demi-Glace with water, according to package instructions, and add the mixture to the soup.
7. Add Goodman's onion soup mix
8. Take a spoon, taste your bouillon, and see if any more salt is needed. Usually don’t need any more sodium, but in case you have used the low sodium broth.
9. Add ½ teaspoon Ground pepper and chopped garlic
10. Close the Instant Pot lid, seal to pressure, and set pressure cook for 10 minutes.
(Note: if you’re using a stovetop, let your soup simmer on low heat for 30-60 minutes)
11. While the soup is cooking, toast bread in your toaster or air fryer and set it aside.
12. Once the soup is done, add hot soup into ovenproof bowls. I used French onion soup crocks with handles. If you don’t have those, just make sure the bowls you’re using are ovenproof.
Arrange the bowls on a baking pan. Place 1 or 2 slices of toasted bread over each bowl of soup. Sprinkle ½ cup grated cheese over bread in each bowl, and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and crusty, browned around the edges. Watch carefully so that bread doesn’t burn. Serve immediately and enjoy hot. Handle with care it will be very hot at first. I use these oven-proof gloves to remove the crocks from the oven.
(If you’re a low-carber you can skip the bread. I actually skip the bread myself. I too, enjoy my French Onion soup without the soggy bread, but my kids love the bread of course. My daughter even requests the ramen noodles in the french soup. I tried it and it tastes amazing with ramen noodles. Why not? There's no French Onion Soup Police!
How to Store French Onion Soup?
The best way to store French onion soup is in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will help to keep the soup fresh and prevent it from drying out. Make sure there’s no bread or croutons inside the soup.
If you are not planning on eating the soup within a few days, you can also freeze it. Be sure to use a freezer-safe container and label it with the date so that you can enjoy it at a later time. Use within 3 months.
Pro tip: French Onion soup is even tastier the next day!
How to Reheat French Onion Soup?
It's important not to overcook the soup when reheating it. The onions will continue to cook even after the soup is taken off the heat, so if they're already cooked through, they may become mushy when reheated.
Add a little bit of water to the soup before reheating it. This will help to prevent the soup from drying out.
Finally, be sure to heat the soup slowly, over low heat. This will help to preserve its flavor and texture.
Now you have this amazing French onion soup recipe. I would love to hear from you. Let us know what you think.
Please leave a review of this recipe and give it a star rating. It lets us know how we are doing and lets others know they should try it!
Disclosure: This post is not sponsored or compensated in any way. This is my own recipe. I only share what I love and cook in my own kitchen. This post may contain affiliate links.
Homemade French Onion Soup
Take the time to make rich and delicious French Onion Soup from scratch and you’ll never go back to your "classic" version again.
This recipe pairs the perfectly caramelized onions with beef broth, dry Sherry, and Cabernet, and then tops them with a cheesy crispy crouton for a delicious and hearty soup.
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons butter (unsalted)
- 7 medium or even large onions. I usually put 9 onions, but you can start with 7. (note: the onions will reduce their size dramatically during their caramelizing process) - white onions, sweet onions and yellow onions are ok. You can use 1 purple onion to add to the process as well. Slice the onions into half circles
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 quarts of organic beef broth, full sodium (about 2 liters) I usually get mine from Trader Joe's. You can use low sodium of course, then adjust your salt taste to your liking.
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme (plus some extra fresh thyme is good to use too)
- 1 cup red wine (Cabernet, Merlot or Pinot Noir is great)
- ½ cup dry sherry cooking wine (found in most supermarkets) Similar to this Holland House Sherry Cooking Wine.
- 3 Tablespoons Demi-Glace. This is optional, but I highly recommend this. It helps to thicken the soup and adds a rich taste to it.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- French bread or french baguette
- Gruyere cheese (Swiss, Mozzarella and Provolone will work too, but I suggest mixing it as well) My favorite combination is Gruyere and Swiss or Gruyere and mozzarella.
- 2 TBS Flour (optional and it helps thicken the soup)
- Onion soup and dip mix - found in most supermarkets. It adds great taste to the finished soup. Normally I would recommend onion soup mix by Lipton, but after researching the ingredients, colors and preservatives in their mixes, I chose Goodman's because of its higher quality and natural ingredients)
- Green onions, chopped, for garnish and extra flavor (you can use fresh thyme too)
Instructions
- Melt butter on medium-low heat in Instant Pot. You can use a large Dutch oven or large heavy pot instead, preferably stainless steel.
- Add sliced onions
- Cook onions – keep stirring them just as needed to keep onions from sticking until they are soft, golden, and caramelized, about 40 minutes to an hour. (Note: If onions begin to stick (Yes they will), simply keep adding some water and deglaze.
- “Deglazing” is a simple process of using your wooden spatula to scrape up the fond from the bottom of the pan and stir it back into the onions.
Sprinkle flour over onions, and stir to coat.
5. Add red wine, sherry, stock, and thyme, and bring to a simmer.
6. In a small saucepan over low heat mix 3-4 TBS Demi-Glace with water, according to instructions, and add the mixture to the soup.
7. Add onion soup mix
8. Take a spoon, taste your bouillon, and see if any more salt is needed. Usually don’t need any more sodium, but in case you have used the low sodium broth.
9. Add ½ teaspoon Ground pepper and chopped garlic
10. Close the Instant Pot lid, seal to pressure, and set pressure cook for 10 minutes.
(Note: if you’re using a stovetop, let your soup simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes)
11. While the soup is cooking, toast bread in your toaster or air fryer and set it aside.
12. Once the soup is done, add hot soup into ovenproof bowls. I used French onion soup crocks with handles. If you don’t have those, just make sure the bowls you’re using are ovenproof.
13. Arrange the bowls on a baking pan. Place 1 or 2 slices of toasted bread over each bowl of soup. Sprinkle ½ cup grated cheese over bread in each bowl, and place under the broiler until cheese is melted and crusty brown around the edges. Watch carefully so that bread doesn’t burn. Serve immediately and enjoy hot. Yes, it will be very hot at first.
LI Lady
There's no onion soup police LOL! This looks so delicious. I can't wait to try. Thanks for the recipe and explaining the steps.
Amy
I made this yesterday and it was fantastic! I did make a couple of changes to make it vegetarian for my daughter (veg broth instead of beef and omitting he Demi glace), and it turned out awesome. Being patient with the onions and not rushing the process was worth it. Thank you!
Irina
HI Amy...
So glad you liked the recipe. I can't wait to start making it again when the weather gets cold... You're right - being patient with onions is the key to successful FO soup and so many other recipes that would love a touch of caramelized onions
Linda Guhe
Hi. How can I print recipes from you blog. Thank you.
Irina
Linda, sorry this recipe didn't have a recipe card for some reason... now it does and you can print it. Thanks for letting me know. Enjoy!
Peter Plantec
This was an excellent article. I am French and know how to make real French Onion Soup. My only disagreement is that you can not honestly leave out the Demi. I thought the French Onion Soup mix was a bit much, but then it does add nice flavor. I agree with the More than Gourmet Demis…they are not exactly like house-made, but they are awesome and save an immense amount of time. The are costly, but well worth the investment just in time saved.
Irina
Thank you!
Regenna Biermann
Love love love this recipe. You nailed it! I would not change a thing. My husband said, "This soup could not be any better!". Thanks for posting.
Irina
Yummo! So glad that you and your husband enjoyed it. It is is my absolute favorite soup too
Carol M
I love a good French onion soup and this sounds fantastic. My husband does not care for it. I would like to make this for myself when I have a craving for it. Is it possible to freeze the soup and add the toast and cheese when ready to broil?
Irina
Oh 100% Yes. I too, make this batch in the recipe and freeze the leftovers in plastic food deli-type storage containers with lids. They freeze well, don't break.
When ready to eat, I take it out of the freezer, defrost a bit so it is slightly loose and transfer it to a pot to heat up the soup. Then transfer to an oven-proof crock to broil with the bread and cheese on top. Yum!