Classic French Onion Soup
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Made with perfectly caramelized onions, fresh thyme sprigs, crusty baguette slices and two types of melted cheese!
Guys. It is a cold winter in Los Angeles.
We’ve discussed this. Anything below 60 does not bode well with my LA peeps. Except every time I get in the car, it’s actually been 37 degrees F!
Nope. No bueno, guys.
So Butters and I have been holed up at home, making THE CLASSIC French onion soup.
And when I say classic, I mean classic. No fuss, no frills.
It’s just your classic, traditional French onion soup. With the most perfect caramelized onions in a cozy stock with fresh thyme sprigs, finished off with crusty French baguette slices and two cheeses – Swiss and Gruyere – conveniently melted on top.
See, I told you. It’s a classic.
Classic French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 pounds medium sweet onions, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup dry white wine
- 6 cups beef stock
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 12 French baguette slices
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large stockpot or a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring often, until deep golden brown and caramelized, about 30-40 minutes.*
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the stockpot.
- Stir in beef stock, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 15-20 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
- Stir in white wine vinegar; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Preheat oven to broil.
- Place baguette slices onto a baking sheet. Place into oven and broil until golden brown on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side; set aside.
- Divide soup into ramekins or ovenproof bowls. Place onto a baking sheet. Top with baguette slices to cover the surface of the soup completely; sprinkle with cheeses. Place into oven and broil until golden brown and cheeses have melted; about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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So good!! I’ve never made French Onion Soup before- just ordered it in restaurants… This was delicious and the whole family loved it!!! Super easy too just hung out in the kitchen and cleaned cupboards so I could keep an eye on the caramelizing onions- so bonus! Clean cupboards!!
It always amazes me how much restaurants charge for French onion soup and now we can make it ourselves. This recipe rocks!
Just the thing for a rainy evening in March. I didn’t realize how much I like onion soup until I made this. I made it without the lid, as all that bread and cheese bogs the soup down in my opinion and doesn’t let the soup sing as it can and should. I also made this by adding six cups of water (for someone in my family avoiding salt.) After taking out a portion, I added beef boullion shortly before serving. It worked fine and kept everyone happy.
Very easy and very flavorful. Followed the recipe exactly. Have been making French Onion Soup for many years and this was quite good.
I follow this recipe to a T except for one thing, I added a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. It is better than any French onion soup I’ve ever had from a restaurant.
Made this and my friends are still talking about it! She has another recipe for a one pot onion soup, which seems easier to serve. Love this website!
I really enjoy doing this soup!
I adjusted this recipe just slightly. I used 3/4 cup of dry sherry instead of the wine. I omitted the vinegar . And I added additional bullion/ stock to the 6 cups of beef broth to make a richer broth.
I topped it with garlic croutons and a nice mound of Gruyere cheese. OMG. Amazing. I love French onion soup, and this is as good, if not better than I have had anywhere.
I’ve read ALLLLL the reviews/comments and yours is the one I will try this week. My son was a CIA chef and he also beefed up the broth by adding a slight amount of bullion. Loved the idea of garlic croutons and yes, I am able to find Gruyere —- thanks!!!!!!!!
Wow. This was fantastic. Made it with all of your ingredients. Used Marsala because that was what I had. Served in crocks. Used a stale role that I toasted on both side and a mixture of grated gruyere and Swiss cheese. Broiled until cheeses melted. Yum. Yum.
I made this tonight for my family and it was quite delicious. I was a bit leery about the vinegar but it worked perfectly because it cut through the ultra sweetness of the onions. Such a wonderful, belly warming soup. Thank you so much for cooking and sharing these great recipes. This is my French Onion Soup keeper.
Very easy. Had everything to make it on a whim for a weeknight dinner served with a salad. Quick and satisfying. These two cheeses melt beautifully and used a loaf of rosemary bread. Will make again.
It is very good, the one cheese is hard to find I used the smoked type and Swiss, extremely tasty. I used a home made stock from a roast. I would not use broth as a sub, get beef stock or make your own. I added the sprigs not thinking they were really necessary, however I thing the add a very nice touch I will make this again. I don’t know if it’s possible to create a better French Onion soup.
I used beef bone broth instead of stock. It turned out so well!
Very tasty soup. Love it, well named too.
Can this be frozen?
Is there a way to make this without alcohol but not be “missing” an ingredient?
You can substitute additional beef stock for the wine. 🙂
I did not use vingear because I feared it’ll come out wrong, but maybe you should because the soup without it needed something extra!
Lovely recipe, came out fantastic!
I had a craving last weekend for onion soup while away from home. I decided that this weekend was the perfect time to try making the soupe. My choice is to avoid restaurants with my family due to covid 19. It turned out awsome and was successful. Perfect for this rainy weekend !!! And yes you can tweak to your desired taste!!!
I’ve made some version of French onion soup many, many times over the decades I’ve been cooking. This one was the easiest and turned out the best. My husband said it rivals any he’s had in European restaurants.
Also, couldn’t find plain Gruyere, so we used smoked Gruyere and it was phenomenal! The gentle smokiness worked SO well with the creamy cheese and sweet onions. I may never use plain Gruyere on this again!
Thanks for a great, easy to follow recipe; it’s bookmarked.
Excellent recipe and perfect for a cold winter night. I could only find smoked Guenyre but it tasted delicious.
This French onion soup is just what I was looking for. Have tried many others but none had the depth of flavor. Delicious!!!
didn’t have white wine or white wine vinegar; used french dry hard cider & apple cider vinegar… WOW!
Would I be able to make up the soup a day ahead of time? Then finish the bread and cheese before serving?
Absolutely!