Easy French Onion Soup Recipe (Seriously, The Only Recipe You Need!) (2024)

FAQs

What is French onion soup made of? ›

What Is French Onion Soup? French onion soup, or soupe à l'oignon gratinée, is a classic French dish made with caramelized onions and beef stock or broth. The soup is topped with bread and cheese, then gratinéed to rich, gooey perfection. It's traditionally served in a ramekin or a ceramic crock with a handle.

A few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf elevate the soup even more, but I take it a step further, adding a splash of fish sauce for complexity and depth—don't worry, it won't taste fishy—and a hit of cider vinegar to balance some of that oniony sweetness.

After making its debut in the 18th century, it has become a national treasure. During ancient times (and still today), onions were cheap and easy to grow, and hence, readily available. For the poor, the onion was a savior, with onion soups being popular during the Roman times.

What is the Difference Between Onion Soup and French Onion Soup? French onion soup is always made with beef stock. Other onion soups can be made with chicken, vegetable, or beef stock. Additionally, French onion soup typically contains wine or sherry, which isn't typical or necessary in other onion soups.

Wine is optional to deglaze the pan and add flavour to the soup. I recommend a dry white or red wine, such as a good quality Pinot Grigio/Gris, Sauv Blanc, Sémillon, Chardonnay, Merlot or Pinot Noir. Generally, if you can't drink it, don't cook with it.

What is the best way to thicken French onion soup? The easiest way to thicken your French onion soup is with flour.

The caramelized onions for this soup cook more quickly due to a pinch of baking soda but still have that deep, slow-cooked flavor. Topping the soup with hot, cheesy toasts prepared while the soup simmers, eliminates the need to bake the soup in specialty French onion soup bowls.

Onion soup, at its very essence, is nothing more than onions and water boiled together. Period, done, finished, everything added from that point on is pure opinion. Caramelizing the onions brings out sugars, and makes a more luxurious silky and sweet soup, adding flour gently thickens and provides body.

Lack of seasoning: Seasoning is crucial in any dish, and French onion soup is no exception. If you don't add enough salt, pepper, or other herbs and spices, the soup may taste bland. Weak broth: The quality and intensity of the beef broth used in the soup can greatly impact its flavor.

The Onion Soup, a traditional and warming dish

It has even become a trendy dish that tourists are eager to try to experience French gastronomy. However, onion soup is in fact not part of French people's daily meals. It was originally meant to be eaten after a family reunion in the middle of the night to cure hangovers…

Is French onion soup good for your gut? ›

Onions are a great source of soluble fibre and therefore a good prebiotic; food for the good gut bacteria. Optimal gut health is crucial for weight loss and this delicious soup provides great nutrients to help boost weight loss as part of a weight management programme.

With such a soup, a knife is your friend, not your enemy. Using both the soup spoon and the knife, push the baked cheese against the rim of the cup or bowl and cut it gently with the knife. Once you've broken the cheese barrier, you can use the knife again to nudge bits of cheese onto the spoon.

First, French onion soup calls for a ton of onions. While onions aren't expensive, there's a lot of labor involved in halving, peeling, and slicing 10, 12, 50, or one billion onions (I don't know how much soup you make).

The underlying flavor of this soup is the deep umami flavor of the caramelized onions. If you rush this process, the result will be a bitter charred flavor, and if you underestimate and skip this process the flavor will be nowhere near as deep or complex.

Also, cutting pole-to-pole results in more uniformly sized slices, both in width and length. For certain cooking preparations using onions, such as French onion soup (our recipe here), this means more manageable and uniform cooking and browning.

Well, you'll be pleased to know that french onion soup is, in fact, a highly nutritious choice.

French onion soup is the ultimate comfort food. Onions get slowly cooked until sweet and caramelized, then simmered in rich broth until they're practically falling apart. To finish it off, toasted bread is added to give it that lovable crisp-gone-soggy texture and a generous amount of Gruyère cheese is melted on top.

Sweet caramelized onions in a savory broth with a sherry wine vinegar gastrique, sea salt, topped with cheese and black pepper and sea salt croutons.

The Onion Soup, a traditional and warming dish

It has even become a trendy dish that tourists are eager to try to experience French gastronomy. However, onion soup is in fact not part of French people's daily meals. It was originally meant to be eaten after a family reunion in the middle of the night to cure hangovers…