Home Kitchen French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Friday was the kind of day that calls for a comforting fire in the fireplace, a hot bowl of soup, grilled cheese sandwiches.

French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich to be exact.

I’m pretty sure after the first bite we collectively died and got a sneak peak at what heaven is like. And since that first glorious bite I’ve now decided that in my heaven, grilled cheese is served all the time. Like we’re talking breakfast, lunch and dinner here. With salt and vinegar chips. And pickles. And cake.

Onions are caramelized in butter with garlic, fresh thyme and combined with white wine before topping sourdough bread, gruyere cheese and griddled to golden perfection.

To cook this French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich Gather:

• unsalted butter – Adds flavor and aids in caramelizing the onions.
• yellow onions – In my opinion, these are the go-to for caramelizing.
• thyme (fresh) – Lends an earthy, slightly minty and lemony flavor.
• kosher salt – Enhances flavors and will draw out the moisture in the onions.
• freshly ground black pepper – Adds some subtle bite and flavor.
• garlic – Adds distinct punchy flavor.
• white wine – Use a dry wine you like to sip, like chardonnay or sauvignon blanc. If avoiding alcohol, simply use a little beef broth.
• sourdough bread – Or a sturdy bread you prefer.
• gruyere cheese – It isn’t French onion soup inspired without it!
• salted butter – This is for griddling the grilled cheese.

First things first, caramelize the onions.

Melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, slice the top and the bottoms off of your yellow onions and slice them 1/4 of an inch thick. Keeping the onions uniformed in thickness will help them cook evenly.

When the butter has melted, add in the onions, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Toss well to combine and so the onions are coated in butter. Cover and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes, remove the lid and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until the onions are soft and a deep golden in color. Reduce the heat if you notice the onions are browning too soon.

Once the onions are soft and reach a deep golden color pour in 3 tablespoons of dry white wine. I use Sauvignon Blanc, however beer or beef broth can be substituted.

After adding the wine, immediately scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.

The onions will be all jammy like so only pull the pan off of the burner so they don’t burn.

Lay your slices of sourdough down and top with some of the grated gruyere. How much is up to you and the size of your slice of sourdough.

Top with a little of the caramelized onions.

Again, the amount is up to you. These slices are pretty large, however typically, this method should yield 4 maybe even 6 sandwiches.

Top the onions with a little more of the smoked Gruyere.

oh baby.

Preheat your griddle to 300℉ (or 150℃).

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter per sandwich, spreading it around in pools roughly the size of your sandwiches.

Place the sandwiches down gently pressing the sandwich into the butter. You. may need to adjust the heat of the griddle as you cook them.

Gently pressing the sandwich into the butter.

Griddle the sandwiches until the underside is crisp and a deep golden brown.

Before flipping, use a spatula to lift the sandwich, melt another tablespoon of butter the same way you did before, and carefully flip the sandiwch on the second side. Gently pressing the sandwich into the butter.

Continue to cook until the second side deeply golden and crispy.

Cut your French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich in half and serve immediately.

This is a pretty decadent grilled cheese. So fancy. And cheesy. It is exactly what I pictured the go-to French onion soup grilled cheese to be.

Enjoy! And if you give this French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!