The Best Easy Classic French Onion Soup Recipe

Published: Apr 18, 2010 · Modified: Sep 15, 2023 by Faith · This post may contain affiliate links · 44 Comments

This is the best easy classic French Onion Soup recipe of my life: rich, flavorful beef broth infused with buttery caramelized onion and herbs, topped with toasted baguette slices and gooey melted Gruyère cheese. Comfort food doesn't get any better. And this restaurant-quality soup takes just 1 hour to make!

easy homemade french onion soup topped with bread and cheese

You’re probably familiar with the expression April showers bring May flowers. Showers in April typically refer to rain, but this weekend the weather forecast actually called for a chance of snow! (Weather in Upstate New York is just that unpredictable.)

The dreary, cold, damp weather called for something warming from the inside out, so I turned to a comforting classic: French Onion Soup!

I’ve heard that French Onion Soup is one of the most commonly ordered soups in restaurants. This makes sense to me since I almost always order it when I see it on a menu.

spoonful of french onion soup with crouton and cheese

There’s just something about the rich, broth-drenched crouton, sweet caramelized onion, and bubbly, melted cheese that makes it irresistible.

After eating this soup so many times in restaurants, I’ve realized that the homemade version makes even the best restaurant’s soup pale in comparison.

You're going to love that this easy French Onion Soup recipe comes together in just 1 hour! And like most soups, it's budget-friendly, and even better the next day.

In This Article

Easy Classic French Onion Soup Recipe

This soup is always impressive at a restaurant, but you can definitely make it at home. It's a great soup for entertaining.

I'm going to show you how to make a classic French Onion Soup in just 1 hour!

Classic French Onion Soup Ingredients

In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas. For the full recipe (including ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.

easy french onion soup recipe ingredients

Olive oil - instead of using all butter, we use half olive oil and half butter to raise the smoke point a bit
Butter - I usually use unsalted butter, but salted butter will also work fine
Yellow onion - also sometimes called cooking onion, I like to use yellow onion because it's less sweet than other varieties
Dry white wine - my favorite dry white wine to use here is Sauvignon Blanc, but Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay will also work well. However, you can also use a dry red wine, such as Merlot, Pinot Noir, or Cabernet Sauvignon. And if you prefer not to use wine, you can use a mixture of 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice + ½ cup water
Salt and black pepper - to season our soup
Beef stock - go for a really good-quality store-bought beef stock, or use homemade if you have the time to make it or have some stashed in your freezer
Fresh thyme - fresh thyme brightens up the flavor of this French Onion Soup recipe without overpowering it
Bay leaf - use it if you have it, but don't worry about it if you don't
Baguette slices - you can use any good-quality bread you have on hand, and stale is fine because it's getting toasted anyway
Gruyère cheese - a good-quality cheese makes a huge difference, but if Gruyère isn't your thing you can use Emmental, Jarlsberg, or even sharp white cheddar or unsmoked provolone

How to Make French Onion Soup

Step 1: Caramelize the Onion

making caramelized onions for french onion soup

Peel and thinly slice the onion.
Add the oil and butter to a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and stir to coat. Cook the onion until it is deep golden in color, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water when it starts to stick to the pan, or when it starts to get too dark. Adjust the heat down as necessary so the onion doesn’t burn.
Once caramelized, stir in the garlic (if using), and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the wine and cook until it’s mostly evaporated, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Step 2: Make the Soup and Add the Finishing Touches

finishing touches on french onion soup au gratin

Preheat the broiler to toast the bread. Place the baguette slices on a broiler-safe baking tray and broil until both sides are golden, flipping once.
To finish the soup, add the salt, pepper, stock, thyme, and bay leaf to the caramelized onion, and bring up to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer, cover the pot, and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
When the soup is done, remove the bay leaf. Ladle the soup into 4 broiler-safe crocks or ramekins. Place 2 slices of toasted baguette on each, and divide the cheese on top. Put the crocks onto a broiler-safe baking tray and broil to melt the cheese. Serve.

front view of french onion soup au gratin in crock with glass of white wine

Pro Tip: If You Don't Have Broiler-Safe Ramekins or Crocks

Put the baguette slices onto a broiler-safe tray, sprinkle the cheese on top, and broil to melt the cheese. Place the cheesy toasts directly on top of the soup when serving.

Tips for the Best French Onion Soup

Other than the patience it takes to caramelize the onions, this French Onion Soup is really easy to make.

However, there are a few other tips I’ve discovered that turn a good French Onion Soup into a phenomenal one:

Add fresh herbs. Fresh thyme on its own is my favorite in this soup, but a mix of fresh rosemary and thyme is also absolutely delicious (just go a little lighter on the rosemary).
Use good quality beef stock. The flavor of this soup comes largely from the stock (and the onions of course), so the quality of the finished product will only be as good as what you put in. You don’t have to make your own stock though; there are quite a few good quality stocks on the market.
Don’t use sweet onions. Yellow cooking onions cook up super sweet as it is (caramelizing the onion brings out its natural sugars). I find that if you use sweet onions to start, your soup will be overly sweet.
Taste and season your with additional salt and pepper before you add the crouton and cheese. Otherwise it is much harder to adjust the seasoning!
Use good quality bread, but stale is ok. The bread is toasted and then placed in the soup, so it doesn’t have to be out-of-the-oven fresh. But using good quality bread does make a huge difference.
Use good quality cheese. I’ve made the mistake of using lower quality cheeses when making this, and the cheese always gets rubbery after broiling.
Don’t skimp on the onion or the croutons. French Onion Soup is one of those soups that I think is better when it’s thicker, and by thicker I mean chock full of onions and bread. Otherwise, it’s just beef broth topped with cheese, friends.

crock of french onion soup au gratin with spoon

French Onion Soup Recipe FAQs

What Does Au Gratin Mean?

Au gratin is a French term that refers to a dish that's topped with breadcrumbs and/or cheese, and then baked or broiled.

This soup is technically French Onion Soup au Gratin, as it's topped with bread and cheese and then broiled. And if you want to say it in French, it's Soupe à l'Oignon Gratinée.

What's the Best Wine for French Onion Soup?

You can use either a dry white wine or a dry red wine for this soup.

There are two things to keep in mind:

The wine should be dry (not sweet).
You should enjoy drinking it on its own (because its flavor will be concentrated).

My favorite wine for making this is Sauvignon Blanc, a dry white wine I fell in love with in Paris.

overhead view of table with french onion soup pot and crocks

What Do You Eat with French Onion Soup?

If you order this soup at a restaurant in France, it's likely to come as a small portion served as an appetizer. Frequently, the main course would be bistro food, which is typically classic French food along the lines of coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, steak frites, etc.

However, here in the U.S., if you're serving a larger portion of this filling soup, you (or your guests) aren't likely to want a heavy main course. If you're entertaining with French Onion Soup, here are a few lighter side dishes you can serve with it:

Leafy green salad - I like using arugula because its peppery bite cuts through the richness of the soup well; dress it in the French style, with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh herbs
Roasted vegetables - you can go with a classic French side dish like ratatouille, but my personal favorite with this soup is roasted winter squash (such as roasted delicata squash)
Fresh bread - buy 2 baguette loaves because you'll need 1 for topping the soup anyway
Wine - serve this soup along with a bottle of the wine you used to deglaze the pan after caramelizing the onion

More Cozy Soup Recipes to Make

bowl of french onion soup topped with toasted baguette and cheese

Let's Connect

Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below. You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media.

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