Essential French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup
A classic French onion soup with deeply caramelized onions, savory stock, garlic-rubbed toast, and a bubbling cap of Gruyere cheese.
French onion soup depends on patience more than technique. A heavy pot, a generous pile of onions, and steady heat turn sharp raw slices into a sweet, mahogany base that gives the finished soup its body and depth.
This version keeps the ingredient list focused: butter, yellow onions, a splash of dry sherry or white wine, robust stock, and black pepper. Beef stock gives the most traditional flavor, while dark vegetable or mushroom stock makes a satisfying vegetarian bowl.
The broiled toast is part of the dish, not just a garnish. Rubbing the bread with raw garlic before adding cheese gives each spoonful a little bite, and trimming the toast to fit the bowl helps the melted Gruyere form an even, bubbling lid.
Use oven-safe bowls if you have them, or broil the cheese toasts on a sheet pan and float them on hot soup at the table. The soup also reheats well; add the bread and cheese only to the portions you plan to serve right away.
Nutrition (per serving)
Directions
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1
Melt the butter in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and toss until they are glossy and evenly coated.
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2
Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook the onions for 15 minutes so they soften and release their liquid.
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3
Uncover the pot, stir in the salt, and cook over medium-low to medium heat for 60 to 80 minutes, stirring every 5 to 8 minutes, until the onions are very soft, evenly deep golden brown, and reduced to a thick mound.
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4
Pour in the sherry, vermouth, or wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Simmer until the liquid has almost completely cooked away.
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5
Add the stock, bay leaf, and black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, partially cover, and cook for 20 minutes so the broth takes on the sweetness of the onions.
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6
Taste the soup and adjust with more salt or pepper as needed. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
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7
While the soup simmers, heat the broiler. Toast the bread slices until firm and lightly golden, then rub one side of each slice with the cut garlic clove.
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8
Set oven-safe soup bowls on a rimmed baking sheet. Ladle hot soup into the bowls, top each bowl with a garlic-rubbed toast, and cover the toast with grated Gruyere.
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9
Broil for 2 to 4 minutes, watching closely, until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and browned in spots.
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10
Sprinkle with thyme leaves and let the bowls stand for 3 to 5 minutes before serving, since the soup will be extremely hot.
Ingredients
- Yellow Onions, thinly sliced:3 lb
- Unsalted Butter:3 tbsp
- Fine Sea Salt:1 1/2 tsp
- Dry Sherry, dry vermouth, or dry white wine:1/4 cup
- Beef Stock, chicken stock, or dark vegetable stock:8 cups
- Bay Leaf:1
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper:1 tsp
- Garlic Clove, peeled:1
- Thick Slices Crusty Bread:8
- Gruyere Cheese, grated:2 cups
- Fresh Thyme Leaves:1 tbsp
Tips & Notes
- If the onions brown before they soften, lower the heat and continue cooking; the best flavor comes from slow, even caramelization.
- For a vegetarian version, use a dark mushroom stock or a deeply roasted vegetable stock.
- If your bowls are not broiler-safe, broil the cheese toasts on a baking sheet and place one on each filled bowl just before serving.
- Cook the onion base a day ahead if needed, then simmer with stock and finish with toast and cheese before serving.
