Description
Simple homemade French onion soup recipe with step-by-step instructions that actually work. Soft onions, rich broth, and perfectly melted cheese every time.
Ingredients
Soup stuff:
- ½ cup butter (salted, unsalted, whatever you have)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or vegetable oil if that’s all you got)
- 4 cups onions, sliced however you want
- 5 cups beef broth from a box (don’t get fancy)
- 2 tablespoons sherry (cooking wine from the grocery store works)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (fresh is fine too)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese pile:
- 4 pieces bread (stale French bread is perfect, regular bread works)
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 2 slices Swiss cheese, chopped up
- Some Parmesan cheese, grated (the stuff in the green can is fine)
Instructions
Put the butter and oil in your big pot. Turn heat to medium. Wait till it starts bubbling a little bit. Don’t let it get brown or smoke, just melted and bubbly. This takes like two minutes.
Cook the onions in butter and oil, stirring every few minutes until they shrink down and turn soft and translucent, about 15–20 minutes. Adjust the heat as needed to prevent browning too quickly or to speed things up.
Add the beef broth, sherry, thyme, salt, and pepper to the softened onions, then bring to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for 30 minutes so the flavors meld while you prep the bread and cheese.
About five minutes before the soup finishes, preheat your broiler and position the oven rack about 6 inches from the element to brown the cheese evenly without burning.
After 30 minutes of simmering, taste your soup. Add more salt if it tastes bland. Add more pepper if you like it spicier. Add more thyme if you want it more herby. This is your soup, make it taste how you like it.
Ladle the soup into four oven-safe bowls and top each with a slice of bread. Layer provolone, Swiss, and Parmesan on the bread generously for a cheesy finish.
Place the bowls on a baking sheet and broil 2–3 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown, watching closely to avoid burning. Let cool for a minute before serving, as the cheese will be very hot.
Notes
Make extra onions. If you’re already crying and cutting onions, cut up a few extra and freeze them. Next time you want to make this soup, you can skip the crying part and just dump frozen onions straight into the pot.
The cognac trick. If you want to get fancy, add a splash of cognac or brandy with the sherry. Makes it taste more expensive. Don’t buy expensive cognac for cooking – the cheap stuff works fine.
Don’t cover the pot when cooking onions. They release water as they cook and if you cover them, they steam instead of caramelizing. You want the water to evaporate so they get sweet, not soggy.
Smart shortcuts. Buy pre-sliced onions from the grocery store if you hate cutting onions or don’t have time. They’re more expensive but sometimes convenience wins.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French