The greatest French onion soup recipe I’ve found is this one. It never fails to please and I’ve been cooking it for 30 years. It also makes a beautiful display!
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
- 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
- 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 4 thick slices French bread
- 8 slices Gruyère cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup shredded Asiago cheese, at room temperature
- 4 pinches paprika
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in red onions, sweet onions, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy, about 35 minutes.
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- Stir in chicken broth, beef broth, red wine, and Worcestershire sauce. Bundle parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with kitchen twine; add to the pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard herb bundle. Reduce heat to low; stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover soup and keep warm over low heat while you prepare the toast.
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- Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven’s broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil, turning once, until well toasted on both sides, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; do not turn off the broiler.
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- Arrange 4 large oven-safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice of toasted bread, 2 slices Gruyère cheese, and 1/4 of the Asiago cheese. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.
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- Cook under the hot broiler until bubbly and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal as it melts.
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- Serve hot and enjoy!
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- You can substitute Italian bread for French bread, Swiss for Gruyère, and mozzarella for Asiago.
- Please note the differences in yield and ingredient amounts, as well as the use of cheesecloth for the herbs when using the magazine version of this recipe.
Reviews
Too sweet for my personal taste
This was good but still felt it was just a hint off from what I was looking for. That being said husband thought it was spot on. Caramelized onions about 10 min longer to get color I wanted. Store was out of fresh thyme so I had to use dried. It’s a Good soup.
Been on this app for years and never written a review until now. I felt I had to. I tried this recipe based on the over 1800 reviews that stated it was amazing, best soup ever, etc. The reviewers stated to make this EXACTLY how it’s written. So I did. My 18 year old took a spoonful or two and wouldn’t eat any more. My husband said “Eh, it’s okay”. I couldn’t eat it. French Onion Soup should have a deep, rich flavor. It’s supposed to be more of a “meal in a bowl” than a “soup”. So I tried again. First of all, NO chicken stock. I’m not making chicken soup, again I want a deep rich flavor, so I used 6 cups of beef stock. The red onions are also a miss. I used yellow onions only, more flavorful. No red wine, it made it tasteless. I used sherry this time, again for more flavor, may use a cognac/white wine mix next time a la Julia Child. And definitely no vinegar. I think perhaps she added vinegar because of the lack of flavor in the red onions. Didn’t add the parsley either, wrong herb for this recipe in my opinion. I have a newer double oven too, so if you do, don’t put the bread under the broiler for 3 minutes, it will burn and smell. I only broiled for a minute/minute and a half, same with at the end, only 3 minutes for the cheese to melt. This time it was MUCH better. Deeper flavor, very rich, something you would eat on a cold day to warm you up on the inside. This is how I prefer French Onion Soup, others may want it different. But I wanted to give some helpful advice.
I followed the recipe and it was delicious. Wasn’t hard to make and the extra time it took was totally worth it.
I cried my eyes (slicing onions) but it was worth every tear. I followed the recipe until almost the end. It did not need anymore salt. Only used Gruyère cheese because that’s what I had. Also used a torch to melt the cheese instead of turning on the oven. Delicious!
Always delicious! I have been making this recipe for years. The fam loves it, and I keep it in the fridge for a quick, tasty lunch or a snack to hold one over until dinner. I use sliced Italian bread with Swiss cheese and toast up the whole loaf. I keep the cheesy bread in a plastic bag, and when someone wants to eat, they heat some soup in the microwave and pour it over a slice of bread. The soup heats the previously toasted bread and the cheese. Perfect!
Slicing and Carmalizing the onions is very time consuming but it is worth the effort!
My husband really loved this recipe.. took longer than I thought but i’m not as experienced as others on here.. I did follow the directions but did add more butter for the caramelizing of the onions. Highly recommend.
I made this soup this afternoon for my wife and I. Followed recipe exactly and only added a quarter teaspoon of salt. Made six 12 oz servings. We love it and am saving the recipe.
Turned out amazing – my first attempt at this. Only issue was I charred the first batch of bread. Highly recommend trying this recipe.
Recipe creator here! I want to thank all you wonderful people who have made and reviewed this French Onion Soup recipe. It is a true classic! It’s been more than ten years since I submitted this to Allrecipes and so now I’ve been making this exact version for over 40 years! It is always well received. Last thing. I wanted to submit this photo because this is exactly what I strive for with the completed recipe. I hope this helps! Thanks again! ~ Marlene (Jersey Tomato)
I love French onion soup! And this recipe was delicious. I only had a mozzarella provolone blend cheese on hand, so that what I used. I can’t wait to make it again once I shop for the exact ingredients specified in the recipe.
I did not deviate from the recipe. I thought the soup was very good , but I think I would use all beef broth the next time. I didn’t notice any super sweet taste like others had mentioned.
Can’t go wrong! Delicious is an understatement.
Best recipe for French Onion soup. So easy and so flavorful! I made for just me -love this site and how it adjust recipes for number of servings. The red wine and vinegar absolutely make this kicked up a notch in depth of flavor.
I personally loved it. Wife and kids did not like the red wine kick to it. Too bad..I got to enjoy the whole batch! lol
This is a great well balanced recipe. I do add a half cup of Sherry to the recipe along with the rest of the ingredients. I make a large pot and a bag full of cristinis. That way it’s very easy at any time to put together a great bowl of French Onion Soup.
I did double this recipe! No changes! At one point we thought we could stop at the caramelized onions! It was absolutely delicious! Froze 2 large containers of onion broth because reviews said freezes well!! Gave a frozen container to a friend!! Thanks! We did use Sam’s seasoned croutons instead of bread! Thanks for your recipes!
This is my favorite recipe for French onion. I make no changes. Doesn’t need it. Been a hit every time I make it.
Wonderful, full bodied, rich onion soup. Better than any restaurant. I made the recipe almost as was written, using all yellow onions and omitting the vinegar. It was fantastic. Will make this again and again!
What a disappointment! The soup was sweet. I followed the recipe exactly. It filled my kitchen with a lovely aroma. My whole family loves French Onion Soup and were eager to sample the new recipe. But when we sat down to eat it, no one at the table finished their bowl. All agreed it was just sweet. I wonder if it would be better using regular onions instead of sweet onions called for in the recipe