Last Updated on April 7, 2025
French onion soup is easy to prepare and tastes amazing. Serve it for a perfect first course to any meal.
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Making French Onion Soup
French onion soup is a classic starter dish that’s easy to make.
Ingredients
- Thinly sliced onions, I used sweet onions, but yellow onions would be okay.
- Good beef broth
- Fresh thyme leaves
- Worcestershire sauce…just because it’s so good and adds umami
- Toasted bread cubes
- Good melty cheese like Gruyere or Fontina
From start to finish, it takes 35 to 40 minutes to make.
Preparation Steps
To speed up the preparation of the onions, I recommend using a mandoline. Use an insert to get about 1/8 inch slices. I then used a knife to chop the onion rounds into quarters so the onion pieces weren’t too long and hard to eat.
I used ciabatta rolls to make the croutons for the French onion soup. I just cut them in half (using my Wusthof Santoku knife which is very sharp). The crust is easy to remove with the knife since the ciabatta bun is quite firm. Just slice off the crust, but don’t get too picky about it.
Two buns made more than enough croutons for 4 ramekins. Start your broiler with the rack 3 or 4 inches away from the elements, put the bread cubes into a small baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil. Mix the pieces around a bit and place them under the broiler.
Keep a close eye on it and lightly brown. Take the pan out and turn the pieces to a second side with a spatula or carefully by hand. Place back under the broiler for 20 or 30 seconds until browned.
For the broth, I used Better than Bouillon, roasted beef base, 1 tablespoon to 4 cups of hot water. Canned or boxed beef broth would also be fine to use.
Finishing the French Onion Soup
Once the soup has simmered for about 15 minutes, use a ladle to scoop it into ramekins. Add a handful of toasted croutons, then cover with sliced or grated cheese. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and place them under the broiler, 3 or 4 inches from the element, until the cheese melts and begins to brown.
Serve the French onion soup hot from the oven. Give it a try.
The printable recipe card is below.
Here Are Some More Tasty Soup Recipes To Try:
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp EV Olive Oil
- 1 large sweet onion, (or yellow onions) , (Vidalia), thinly sliced and chopped. About 2 cups.
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 4 cups Beef broth, (Better than Bouillon, roasted beef base)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 ounces sliced Gruyere cheese or other soft, melting cheese like Fontina
- 2 Ciabatta buns, Crust removed, cubed and toasted
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium heat and add the onion, salt and pepper. Sautee for about 10 minutes to soften the onion, but keep from browning.
- Add the beef broth, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce, and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
- While the broth is simmering, place the bread cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil and place under the broiler until lightly browned, turn and brown the reverse side of the cubes, 1 to 3 minutes.
- Spoon the soup into oven proof ramekins.
- Float ciabatta cubes on the soup and place sliced Gruyere cheese on top.
- Place under broiler on high heat until the cheese is melted and just starts to brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis.
MaryJo
I couldn’t believe how wonderful this was. One thing I really liked was that because Joe cut the bread into cubes, it was so much easier to eat than when there’s one large slice of bread that you’re trying (unsucessfully) to cut up with a spoon.