Name: Soup: French Onion
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; 3 pounds onions (sliced (I use a mixture of red and yellow onions)); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 2 sprigs fresh thyme; 2 bay leaves; 1/2 cup dry red wine (like merlot, malbec or cabernet); 4 cups beef broth; 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth; 12 ounces French baguette (sliced (about 12 slices)); 3 cups grated gruyere cheese; kosher salt; freshly ground black pepper

One of my all time regular soups, right here.

Onions so tender they melt in your mouth, a rich broth and let’s not forget- the crouton floating on top that’s covered in copious amounts of melty cheese.

Back when I worked at the hospital, once in a while my good friend Ann and I would go to a restaurant on our lunch break, she’d order the French onion soup and me the clam chowder and we’d split an order of their beer battered onion rings. I was always a little leery of French onion soup because, hello all those onions- but Ann would go on and on about how it’s her regular and one day when I decided to give it a try, I’d fall in love with it too.

Ann was right. One afternoon while out having lunch with my mom, I decided to order it and years later, I have no regrets. None.

Nowadays when I make French onion soup at home, I like to use both red and yellow onions. You could do all yellow if you’d like but I think they both offer something good. Either way, you’ll need 3 pounds total.

Trim and slice all the onions in to thin strips.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy bottomed pot on medium heat.

Add in the onions…

Two sprigs of fresh thyme and 2 bay leaves.

Lastly, add in the minced fresh garlic and a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss in the melted butter and cook, covered for 30 minutes- stirring half way through.

This is what the onions should look like at the 30 minute mark. Now you can leave the pot uncovered and stir every 15 minutes for another hour.

Once it’s been an hour and a half, I usually crank up the heat to medium-high to finish caramelizing the onions for 15 minutes.

^Like this!

Next pour in the wine, and cook (stirring as you go) until the wine has reduce by half. Then pour in 4 cups of both beef broth and chicken broth.

Stir and bring the soup to a bubble, reduce to low and simmer the soup for 30 minutes.

Mean while slice a loaf of French bread…

…grate up the Gruyere…

…and place 4 to 6 oven-safe soup bowls/ramekins onto a rimmed, metal sheet pan.

Once the soup is finished, taste and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. For me it was 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, but you can season to your liking.

Ladle about a half cup of the soup into each of the bowls.

YUM!

Then top the soup with a slice of the French bread.

Top with a little cheese…

More soup…

Another slice of French bread…

Then divide the remaining cheese among the bowl and puhlease simply eyeball it.

Slide the pan underneath a preheated broiler and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until the cheese is melty and golden in spots. Watch carefully and rotate the pan to ensure even cheese meltage.

I top ours with fresh snipped chives, if I have them and more black pepper once I break through the cheesy bread barrier.

There’s nothing like a bowl of French onion soup to warm you up on a cold and snowy winter’s day.

Or any day for that matter.

Plus there’s cheese strings for days!!!

What’s your regular soup??

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

My cookbook : 120 Wholesome From-scratch Recipes Made Unfussy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance!

Note: This post has been sponsored by All-Clad Metalcrafters. I was given a All-Clad NS1 Nonstick Induction Pot in return for my honest review. As always my thoughts are my own and A regular here this pot!