By Sara Bonisteel
Updated Feb. 28, 2024
- Total Time
- 1 hour 20 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- 5(6,567)
- Notes
- Read community notes
In 1954, what was then called the Food News Department of The New York Times released a pamphlet simply called “Soups,” which had 20 recipes for soups “thick and thin, hot and cold,” including those for minestrone, shrimp bisque and this French onion soup. We’ve updated the recipe adding sherry and wine to layer in more flavors. The bulk of the time is spent on caramelizing the onions, a process that always takes longer than it seems it should. But it’s worth the wait.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 to 4large red or yellow onions (about 3 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2quarts beef stock (8 cups)
- 1cup dry white wine
- 1tablespoon dry sherry
- 1tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- 8 to 12(½-inch) slices French bread (from 1 loaf)
- 1½cups grated Gruyère cheese
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
397 calories; 17 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 20 grams protein; 1216 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
Step
1
Melt butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and ½ teaspoon salt, stir and cover, letting onions soften for 5 minutes. Remove lid and let onions caramelize until golden brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Adjust heat if onions are browning too quickly. The caramelization process may take 45 to 60 minutes.
Step
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Meanwhile, warm broth in a saucepan over low heat.
Step
3
Once onions are caramelized, add wine and sherry to the pot and allow mixture to come to boil. Stir in flour and let thicken for a minute or two.
Step
4
Slowly add warm broth, ¼ teaspoon salt and the pepper to the onion mixture and boil uncovered for 10 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Step
5
Heat the broiler, and arrange individual ovenproof casseroles on a baking sheet. Ladle soup into casseroles, and cover top with bread slices. Sprinkle each casserole generously with Gruyère.
Step
6
Broil for a minute or two, watching carefully, until cheese melts and browns. Serve immediately.
Tip
- You can prepare the soup through step 4 up to 2 months in advance. Thaw and reheat, then top with the bread and cheese and broil to serve.
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6,567
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Cooking Notes
diane
Simplify by making overnight caramelized onions. Fill slow cooker with 4-5 lbs sliced onions, pour 1/3 cup olive over the onions & mix well. Cover with lid and cook on HIGH for 7-9 hours. Yes it does indeed needs to be High. I had my doubts at first, but I've done this probably at least 20 times and the onions cook way down & caramelize beautifully. I haven't tried this yet with my new multi-cooker but plan to try that next using slow cooker function.
Gonzalo
1 Tbsp of Sherry is a very small amount, it won't add any significant flavour. Also, if Sherry boils for a long time, it completely loses its aroma. I suggest adding 2 tbsp on each individual soup dish just before broiling (that's the way people have fancy consomme in Madrid).
lotsadogs
When I make French Onion Soup, I cut the bread into crouton sized pieces and then brown them in butter in a large skillet on the stove. I use them in place of the toasted bread. It makes the soup easier to eat--no cutting through hard French bread crusts with a spoon--and I really like the extra flavor imparted by the croutons. And, I save some croutons for the leftover soup.
Elisa
Great and easy recipe. I suggest doubling the onions and mixing in some leeks. Also, since I don't have oven proof casseroles, I toasted the bread with the cheese on top (in toaster oven), and served on regular soup bowls.
Bri
I used vegetable stock plus a little soy sauce and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce instead of the beef broth to make it vegetarian. It was amazing! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Joanne
Toast bread first.
Gail
If you have it, use bacon fat rather than butter to carmelize the onions. Makes a huge flavor difference.
RES
This soup is marvelous, and perfect for a chilly day. I followed the recipe faithfully and used homemade beef stock. The hardest part for me was slicing those onions. My eyes were tearing so much, I had to put on a scuba mask to finish this step.
Gorney44
Great flavor but I’d say to double the onions.
Debbie
Loved this recipe. Finally somebody admits how long it takes to actually caramelize onions! The flavor is wonderful. I did cut the amount of beef broth to 6 Cups, because I agree with other cooks, there were just not enough onions to sustain 8 cups of broth. Next time I will double the onions.
Dennis
Several folks thought the amount of onions called for was insufficient. Note it says “ 3 or 4 large onions ( about 3lbs.). My onions were a little larger then a baseball and it took 9 to yield 3 lbs.
johonna
Delish and relatively easy. I took the advise of some posters here and added an onion and a leek. I also added a couple tablespoons of brandy with the wine and sherry, and some thyme with the stock. After all the stock was in, I let the soup reduce for 30 min. Oh, and I toasted the bread with butter under the broiler before adding to the soup. YUM!
Lori B
Broth and stock are used interchangeably in this recipe; they are not the same. Broth is made with vegetables, stock is made with just bones. I think the latter would be best here.
GamesDean
Don't get super hung up on the quantities in recipes. Treat it as more of a basic guideline with orderly steps. It's cooking, not science. This is a really good recipe for this soup. I just used the ingredients listed here in varying quantities and it was fantastic. I really, really, REALLY suggest making your own beef (or other) broth for this. Harris Teeter sells 2 lb. bags of beef bones. I used two bags, boil/rinse, roast, boil/simmer with shallots, garlic, thyme for 5 hours. Fantastic.
Lisa Kav
French onion soup is heavily dependent on using good broth. Do yourself a favor and make it. Great recipe.
me
Double the onions and toast bread before adding it to soup
Island Girl
As for slicing onions, I always put them in the refrigerator to chill. There are no tears when slicing them. Works all of the time.
Jeanne Marie
You gotta make sure you cut the onions towards the root (or top), not like you would for slices or “half” slices for burgers or sandwiches. Cutting them towards the root helps them to keep their shape and they don’t melt away into nothing.
Angelina
Adding the flour in this recipe is not intended to thicken the soup, but rather to absorb some of the fat (butter/oil) used in carmelizing the onions. A typical roux is intended to thicken and the perfect ratio for a roux is 1:1 fat:flour, but use your common sense about how little flour you need to just absorb some of the fat in this soup. Add that little bit of flour directly to the fully carmelized onions prior to adding anything else, allowing the flour to "cook" because flour is raw.
Emily T.
I use 8 yellow onions, 8 TB salted butter, 1/2 cup sherry, 2 cups white wine, 12 cups beef stock, 2-3 TB flour. Salt to taste but not much needed. It comes out perfect!
Harriet in Iowa City
Is there a particular onion that is better for the recipe??
Jenny G
I took page from chef friend: caramelize onions on stove till they just start to get hint of brown, then spread across a cookie sheet & salt 1-1/2 tsp + into oven. Salt will draw out water to help caramelize. Temp 175-250, dep on how often you stir. 1st time I did@ 200, then had to leave to go somewhere after a couple of hours so turned to 175. 2nd time @ 225. Stir every 30-60 mins for 4-5 hours. Edges will caramelize 1st then keep close eye--you'll get jammy,delish sweet yum you can eat w/ fork
suzeshoes
Try making caramelized onions on outdoor grill....
Mjames
Can you use a crockpot to carmelize onions for this soup
Gayle Teget
When I make French Onion soup, I partook the onions in the microwave on high for about 10 minutes. It shortens the time to full carmelization on the stove.
Scott
Try a variation by using mushroom stock. Also sherry should be stirred in right before serving, as someone else pointed out its contribution is lessened. A bit of soy sauce is also amps up the layers of flavors.
Joyce
I have used a recipe just like this and make it in a crock pot. It’s better than any restaurant I have been to. It can be found in a recipe book by a well known chef in the 1970s.
Natalie Bluestein
This soup is so delicious and easy, I'd make it every night if I could!
G Pea
I use half beef broth and half chicken broth. I only add a sizeable amount of cooking sherry, no wine, and a couple bay leafs. Very aromatic and so tasty.
Lisa C
I have made it this way ever since living in Europe, and my family cannot have it often enough. It is so flavorful and satisfying. The trick is building layers of flavor. The only thing I do differently is toast the bread slices before adding them to each bowl.
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