BEST French Onion Soup
My French onion soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food, loaded with sweet caramelized onions in a luscious broth, topped with crispy baguette slices and lots of gooey Gruyère cheese.
Servings: 8 medium servings (~3 quarts total)
Ingredients
- 64 ounces chicken broth
- 6 large Spanish onions cut into ¼ inch strips
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 50 ml cognac 1 nip
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound Gruyère cheese grated
- Baguette cut into ½ inch slices
Instructions
- Melt butter in an extra-large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and salt. Caramelize, uncovered over medium-high heat, for 35-50 minutes until richly brown. Toss onions every 3-5 minutes (more frequently towards the end), scraping down brown bits in bottom of pot.
- Once caramelized, keep onions in pot and deglaze with cognac, scraping down brown bits.
- Add chicken broth, thyme sprigs, salt and pepper. Stir.
- Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, and then bring down to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer (covered) for 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.
- Preheat oven to broil. Toast baguette slices under broiler for 3-5 minutes until lightly toasted. Then add a generous pinch of Gruyère to each slice, and broil again for 1-2 minutes until just melted.
- Remove thyme sprigs before serving. Ladle soup into bowls or ramekins, sprinkle with cheese, and place a piece or two of cheesy baguette on top of each. Enjoy right away!
Video
Notes
- You can absolutely use beef broth instead of chicken broth, but I find that beef broth overpowers the delicate flavor of the caramelized onions.
- Spanish onions are a type of yellow onion. They’re larger, sweeter, and less pungent than the classic yellow onion. In the grocery store, they may be labeled as “jumbo yellow onions”.
- Gruyère is the classic cheese used on top of onion soup, but you can also use Jarlsberg or Emmental, which are great, less expensive substitutes.
- French onion soup is better the next day! Make it up to 4 days in advance or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (with baguette and cheese) | Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 623mg | Potassium: 383mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 714IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 619mg | Iron: 1mg