This easy French Onion Soup recipe is one of my favorite winter meals: slow-cooked caramelized onions, a dash of cognac, melted gruyere and toasted baguette. Life doesn’t get better than sipping on spoonfuls of this French onion soup!
Onions make me cry. A LOT. While I think most people feel the onion burn, how many people feel like their eyeballs are going to fall out from the onion agony? That’s me! That’s why I call in my hunky support, AKA Eric, to help me chop! He’s an onion pro.
Oh and did I mention that this French Onion Soup is a dream? Slow-cooked onions caramelize to a deep mahogany, cognac and butter add complexity and richness, and lots of melted gruyere and a piece of toasty baguette might bring you to your knees. This is the way French Onion Soup should be made!
Other Soup Recipes You’ll Love!
- Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup With Sausage and Kale
- Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
- Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
- Tuscan White Bean & Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
- 50 mL cognac (1 nip)
- 8 large Spanish onions cut into 1/4 inch strips
- ¾ pound gruyere cheese grated (sub Emmental or Jarlsberg cheese)
- ¼ pound Parmigiano-Reggiano or parmesan cheese grated
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Baguette cut in ½ inch slices
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In an extra-large pot, add butter and onion strips. Leave pot top off, and turn heat to medium-high. Let onions cook down to about a third their original size, tossing every few minutes. At first, it might be difficult to toss your onions but it should get easier as they cook down!
- Once onions cook down, keep heat at medium-high and let onions caramelize for 40-50 minutes until mahogany brown. Stir onions every few minutes.
- Once onions are mahogany brown, deglaze pot with cognac. Stir. Add chicken broth and salt. Stir again.
- Bring soup to a boil over high heat, then bring down to a simmer over low heat. Simmer, covered, for at least 10 minutes. I recommend simmering for at least 30 minutes for best results!
- Preheat oven to broil. Place soup in oven-safe ramekins. Rest a piece of baguette on the top of the soup. Add a generous amount of gruyere and a pinch of parmesan. Place in the oven on the broil setting for 3-5 minutes until the cheese melts and browns slightly. The baguette should be toasty. Serve with a big piece of baguette on the side!
Video
Notes
- Spanish onions are a larger, drier type of yellow onion. Since they contain less moisture, they caramelize faster! If you can’t find Spanish onions, you can substitute regular yellow onions. You may need to add in 2-3 extra onions if they are small. You also might have to increase the caramelization time by 10 minutes!
- If onions are burning, the heat is likely too high. Turn the heat down and add a splash of olive oil. If onions aren’t almost caramelized after 40 minutes, your heat is likely too low.
- If you don’t have oven-safe ramekins or bowls, go buy them! HA! Just kidding. You can also serve the soup in regular bowls sprinkled with lots of gruyere and a pinch of parm. You can toast a few pieces of baguette in the oven to dip into the soup!
