French Onion Soup Recipe

French Onion Soup is the ultimate comfort in a bowl—deeply savory, rich with flavor, and crowned with melted cheese and golden toasted bread. This classic delivers elegance and warmth in every bite.

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A soul-soothing favorite, this French Onion Soup recipe balances perfectly caramelized onions, a luxurious broth blend, and three cheeses for a top layer that’s gooey, golden, and impossible to resist.

Star Ingredients That Make French Onion Soup Shine

• Yellow onions – Slowly caramelized to bring out their natural sweetness and depth, they form the heart of this iconic dish.
• Unsalted butter – Essential for caramelizing the onions evenly, adding richness without overwhelming the flavor.
• Red wine – Deglazes the pot and deepens the broth with a bold, complex note that ties the entire soup together.
• Beef and chicken broths – A combination that provides balance; beef for hearty depth, chicken for a lighter body.
• Fresh thyme and bay leaf – Infuse the broth with subtle herbal aromatics that echo traditional French flavors.
• Gruyère, Mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses – Each adds its own magic: nuttiness, stretch, and sharpness for a perfectly melted topping.
• French bread – Toasted to golden crispness, it’s the sturdy base that holds up under all that cheese.

How to Make It: French Onion Soup in a Few Tempting Steps

Caramelize the onions until deeply golden and syrupy—it’s the soul of the dish. Add garlic, deglaze with wine, and stir in the broths with herbs. Let it simmer slowly for a luxurious flavor.

Remove the herbs and season. Toast your bread slices until golden on both sides, then ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls. Top each with bread and a mountain of cheese. Broil until irresistibly bubbly and browned.

Secrets to Soup Success + Cheesy Variations

The trick to unforgettable French Onion Soup lies in patience—don’t rush the onion caramelization. Stir often and let them turn deep amber for maximum sweetness and flavor.

Red wine adds a beautiful depth, but if you’d rather skip it, substitute with extra broth and a splash of balsamic vinegar for tang. For a vegetarian twist, use all veggie broth and a vegan Worcestershire.

Mix up the cheeses to suit your mood—Fontina, Comté, or even a touch of blue cheese can transform the top layer into something spectacularly indulgent.

Keep the Comfort Going: Storing and Reheating Tips

French Onion Soup stores well and gets even better with time. Refrigerate leftovers in airtight containers for up to four days.

For freezing, skip the cheese and bread—store just the soup base. Freeze in portions for up to 2 months. Reheat on the stove over medium heat, then add freshly toasted bread and cheese before broiling.

Avoid microwaving the finished soup with cheese, as it can turn rubbery. Stick to oven reheating for best results.

French Onion Soup Recipe

A classic French Onion Soup crafted with deeply caramelized onions, a harmonious blend of beef and chicken broth, and crowned with a trio of bubbling cheeses atop toasted bread. Rich, savory, and perfectly comforting.

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: French

Keyword: French Onion Soup Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 5

Ingredients

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 24 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese room temperature
• 5 1- inch thick slices of French bread
• 1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese room temperature
• 5 large yellow onions thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 & 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere Swiss cheese room temperature
• 32 ounces low-sodium beef broth
• pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Melt butter in a large pot set over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and sauté, stirring frequently, until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Lower the heat to medium, then incorporate the salt and sugar. Continue to cook, stirring intermittently, for approximately 35 minutes, until the onions reach a deep caramel color and a syrupy texture.
• Add the minced garlic and cook until aromatic, around 1 minute.
• Deglaze the pot with red wine, scraping up the browned bits stuck to the base and sides.
• Introduce the beef and chicken broths, Worcestershire sauce, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf.
• Let the soup simmer gently on medium to medium-low heat for roughly 20 minutes, stirring from time to time.
• Remove the thyme and bay leaf, discarding both.
• Stir in balsamic vinegar and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
• Keep the soup covered on low heat while you prepare the bread.
• Position the oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet, brushing both sides with olive oil. Broil for 2–3 minutes, flipping once, until golden and crisp. Watch closely to prevent burning. Keep the broiler on.
• Place oven-safe bowls on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each two-thirds full with hot soup, then top with a slice of toasted bread. Evenly distribute Gruyere, Mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses over each.
• Broil until the cheese is melted, golden, and bubbly, forming a delicious crust over the bowl’s edge.
• Serve hot.

Notes

To make this dish vegetarian, substitute the meat-based broths with vegetable stock and use a vegan-friendly Worcestershire sauce.
For a non-alcoholic variation, replace the wine with additional broth; however, be mindful this alters the depth of flavor.
If oven-safe bowls are unavailable, toast the bread separately with cheese and add to the soup upon serving or use croutons as a topping alternative.