Authentic French Onion Soup
This is a traditional French Onion Soup recipe that is very easy to make. Its the perfect soup to serve with a simple salad for a delicious and healthy dinner. Make a pot of soup the night before and all you’ll need is a few minutes to put the finishing touches on your meal when you’re ready to eat.
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 onions, thinly sliced (yellow or Vidallia are good choices)
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp flour
5 cups beef broth (not condensed)
1/2 cup red wine
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 baguette (French bread)
8 slices Swiss or Provolone cheese
Directions:
- Melt butter in large saucepan. Stir in sliced onions and sugar. Cook over med-low heat until onions are caramelized. This step might take awhile, but it is a crucial to cook until the onions are caramelized in order to develop the most flavor.
- Add flour to the caramelized onions and stir to combine well. Continue cooking for a minute or two.
- Stir in the beef broth, red wine, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- If you are preparing the soup ahead of time, cool and refrigerate until ready to serve. Before proceeding, bring soup up to a boil, then finish as directed.
To Prepare Soup for Serving:
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Slice four 1-inch thick slices from the baguette and bake on a sheet tray for about 10 minutes until lightly toasted. Turn heat up to 425° F.
- Arrange 4 heat-proof mugs, soup bowls or small sourdough bread loaves on a sheet tray with sides to make them easier to handle. If you’re using bread bowls, cut a circle in the top of each loaf (approximately 3 – 4 inches in diameter), gently pull to remove top. Pull some of the bread out from inside the loaf to create a bowl – save the bread to serve with the soup!
- Ladle soup into cups, bowls or bread bowl, top with a piece of toasted baguette and 2 slices of cheese. Bake in a 425° F oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve immediately with extra baguette slices.
You can use either a Provolone or Swiss cheese to top the soup. I used Swiss for the soup in the ramekin and Boars Head sharp picante Provolone for the bread bowl. Swiss is the traditional cheese used for authentic French onion soup, but many people prefer a Provolone which is certainly just as good. My kids love the Provolone and they like their soup served in a bread bowl, so that’s how I make theirs.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 50 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
How to Make French Onion Soup
Slice onions and cook slowly.
Cooking the onions slowly and allowing them to caramelize helps bring a wonderful depth of flavor to the soup. Don’t rush this step.
For a hearty lunch we like to serve this French Onion Soup in a bread bowl!
A ramekin or oven-proof bowl are perfect for French Onion Soup
A wonderful match for French onion soup is a salad of spring greens drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add a glass of wine and you have a simple lunch or dinner.
Note: When making any dish that calls for wine, be sure to use a good quality wine that you would actually drink. Cheap cooking wines are no substitute for the real thing. If you wouldn’t drink it – don’t use it! This French Onion Soup calls for red wine, so pairing it with the same wine used in making the soup ties everything together nicely.
