We may earn a commission when you click on the affiliate links in this post.
This Easy French Onion Soup Recipe has sweet caramelized onions, a rich beef broth, toasted French bread, and a blanket of melted Gruyère cheese. The secret is beef consommé, which makes the broth richer and more savory without requiring you to make stock from scratch.
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“So delicious! And deceptively easy!” – Betsy
“He absolutely loved it, thank you!” – Jessica
“Excellent recipe.” – Brenda
Why I Love This French Onion Soup
I’ve had French onion soup at restaurants, and this homemade version is better than most I’ve tried. I especially love making it in the fall. A bowl of warm soup with that golden, bubbly cheese on top is hard to beat.
It has everything I want in a classic French onion soup: onions cooked until brown and sweet, a flavorful beef base, and toasted bread covered in melted cheese. And while the onions take some patience, the actual steps are easy. You don’t need wine or homemade beef stock to get a really good bowl of soup.
🩷 Erica
Table of Contents
- 5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Why I Love This French Onion Soup
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- How to Make Easy French Onion Soup
- Why Beef Consommé Makes the Broth Richer
- Recipe Tips
- Make Ahead and Storage
- What to Serve with French Onion Soup
- More Cozy Soup Recipes
- Easy French Onion Soup Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sweet onions and butter: Slice the onions thinly so they soften and brown evenly. Yellow onions work, too.
- Garlic, thyme, and bay leaf: Fresh thyme sprigs and a bay leaf simmer with the onions and broth. Remove the stems and leaf before serving.
- Beef consommé: Use canned beef consommé, undiluted. This is the ingredient that makes the broth especially rich.
- Beef broth: Regular beef broth rounds out the soup; choose a reduced-sodium version if you prefer more control over the salt.
- Red wine vinegar: A small amount balances the sweetness of the cooked onions.
- French baguette or Parmesan croutons: Toast the baguette before adding it to the soup so it holds up under the cheese.
- Gruyère, Parmesan, and paprika: Gruyère melts into the classic bubbly topping. Parmesan and a little paprika finish each bowl.
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- Different onions: Yellow or white onions can stand in for sweet onions. The flavor will vary slightly, but they will caramelize in the same way.
- Different cheese: Gruyère is the traditional choice, but Swiss cheese or a combination of Swiss and provolone works well if you need a substitute.
- Red Wine Vinegar: If you prefer a milder flavor, reduce the vinegar or leave it out. One reader suggested using a little Worcestershire sauce instead. Start with a small amount and adjust to taste.
- Vegetarian or vegan version: Replacing both beef liquids with vegetable broth makes a different, lighter-tasting soup. For a vegan bowl, also use plant-based butter and cheese and check the bread ingredients. This option won’t have the same beef consommé flavor as the original.
- Gluten-Free Option: Replace the French bread with a toasted gluten-free baguette, gluten-free bread, or certified gluten-free croutons. Instead of the beef consommé and beef broth, use 42 ounces of gluten-free beef bone broth or stock. For a richer flavor similar to the consommé, add a little gluten-free concentrated beef base, starting with about 1 teaspoon and adjusting to taste. Check all labels carefully and taste before adding extra salt.
How to Make Easy French Onion Soup
- Slice the onions. Peel and thinly slice the onions. Melt the butter in a stockpot and add the onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
- Caramelize the onions and spices. Stir often over medium heat for about 30 minutes, until the onions are soft and a deep brown color rather than just translucent.
- Add the broth and simmer. Pour in the undiluted beef consommé, beef broth, and red wine vinegar. Simmer for another 30 minutes. You can also transfer the soup to a slow cooker on low for several hours after cooking the onions on the stove.
- Toast the baguette. Broil the bread for about 2 minutes, turning once, until lightly toasted on both sides. Remove it from the oven and leave the broiler on. Take the thyme stems and bay leaf out of the soup.
- Prepare the bowls. Ladle the soup into four broiler-safe bowls set on a baking sheet. Add the toasted baguette slices or croutons to each bowl.
- Add the cheese and broil. Sprinkle bowls with Gruyère, Parmesan, and paprika. Broil for about 5 minutes, watching closely, until the cheese is golden and bubbly. The bowls will be very hot.
Why Beef Consommé Makes the Broth Richer
Beef consommé is a clarified, intensely flavored beef broth. It has a deeper beef flavor than regular canned broth, so it’s an easy way to give this soup a richer base. This recipe uses three cans of beef consommé and one can of beef broth. Look for the consommé next to the canned soups at the grocery store.
Use the consommé straight from the can, without adding water. That is how this recipe was developed. The regular beef broth provides the remaining liquid, and the sweetness from the onions balances the savory soup. Because canned consommé can be salty, taste before adding extra salt at the end.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t rush the onions. They need to turn brown and soften considerably for the soup to develop its sweet, savory flavor. Lower the heat if they start scorching before they soften.
- Check the salt before serving. Beef consommé, broth, and cheese all contain salt, and different brands taste different. The soup may not need any additional salt.
- No broiler-safe bowls? Broil the toasted baguette slices with cheese on a baking sheet, then place the cheesy toasts on bowls of hot soup. You won’t get quite the same melted-cheese rim, but you’ll still get the best part.
- Keep an eye on the broiler. The bread and cheese can go from golden to burned quickly. Set the bowls on a baking sheet so they are easier to move.
- Plan for four generous servings. Each bowl is approximately 1 ½ cups, based on a previous recipe reply. If French onion soup is your entire dinner and you want seconds, consider doubling the recipe.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make ahead: Cook the onion soup a day ahead and refrigerate it without the bread or cheese. Reheat the soup, then add the freshly toasted bread and cheese just before serving.
Storing: Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow airtight containers for up to 3 to 4 days. Store the bread and cheese separately so they do not become soggy.
Freezing: Freeze the soup base without bread or cheese for best quality for 2 to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The onions may be softer after thawing, but the soup reheats well.
Reheating: Heat the soup on the stovetop or in the microwave until thoroughly hot (165°F for leftovers). Add freshly toasted bread and cheese and broil just before serving.
What to Serve with French Onion Soup
For a light dinner, serve the soup with a simple green salad or Roasted Beet Salad. If you want something more filling, add Homemade Dinner Rolls or Breadtwists on the side. The cheesy bread on top of the soup is already pretty substantial, so you don’t need much else.
More Cozy Soup Recipes
If you love French onion soup, you’ll want to try these, too.
If you make this French onion soup, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating below. 💛
Easy French Onion Soup Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, 1 stick
- 4 medium sweet onions
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 31.5 ounces Beef Consomme , 3, 10.5 oz cans (found with the canned soups at the store)
- 10.5 ounces Beef Broth
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 4 slices French baguette, (or 2 c. Parmesan croutons)
- 8 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded
- Parmesan cheese, to taste
- paprika, to taste
Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice the onions.
- Melt the butter in a stockpot. Add the onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onions are soft and brown, about 30 minutes.
- Add the undiluted beef consommé, beef broth, and red wine vinegar. Simmer for 30 minutes. Slow Cooker Option: after cooking the onions, transfer the soup to a slow cooker and cook on low for several hours.
- When ready to serve, broil the baguette slices for about 2 minutes, turning once, until lightly toasted on both sides. Keep the broiler on.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme stems. Ladle the soup into four broiler-safe serving bowls and place a slice of toast (or Parmesan croutons) on each serving.
- Sprinkle the shredded Gruyère, Parmesan, and paprika over the bread.
- Broil for about 5 minutes, watching carefully, until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Serve carefully, as the bowls will be hot.
Notes
- Use the beef consommé undiluted; do not follow any add-water directions on the cans.
- Gluten-Free Option: Use gluten-free bread or croutons. Replace the beef consommé and broth with 42 ounces of gluten-free beef bone broth or stock. Add gluten-free concentrated beef base, starting with 1 teaspoon, for a richer flavor. Adjust to taste and check all ingredient labels.
- Adjust additional salt only after tasting the soup, since canned consommé and broth vary in sodium.
- Freeze the soup without the bread and cheese, and add freshly toasted bread and cheese when serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this recipe?
We want to hear from you! Please leave a review.
I’m making this soup tomorrow! What is a serving size?
About 1 1/2 cups
Excellent recipe. Thank you! I made as written using two large white onions and two large sweet onions. I used about a tsp and a half better than bouillion put in one of the empty bouillion cans and used my keurig to brew hot water to make 10.5 ox beef bouillion. Last minute decision to make, tried to find ramekins but no one had any so I topped entire pot with the baguette toasts and then the cheese and put entire Dutch oven in oven to broil. It was perfectly delicious and everyone could take however many toasts they wanted. Yum!!!
It’s my very favorite soup ever! Pure comfort food! The cheesy bread always gets me.
My husband absolutely LOVES french onion soup but I had never made it. So I was on the hunt for a recipe and was hoping this was it. It WAS! He absolutely loved it, thank you!
My favorite! I absolutely adore soup of all kinds and I especially LOVE this soup! I never have it enough! So delicious! And deceptively easy! The caramelized onions, the rich broth… the perfectly broiled cheese on top? Yum!
I love french onion soup! I made this last weekend when it was it was dreary, it was a perfect way to warm up. My family loved it too, which is always a plus!
This french onion soup is the perfect fall comfort food!
Yummy! This looks great. My mother in law loves this soup.
Oh my goodness! I absolutely LOVE French Onion soup and always order it. I had no idea it was so simple to make, and it tasted just as good if not better! Thanks for sharing.
Right?? It’s SO easy to make! Let us know how you like it!
This is my favorite kind of soup! I agree that making it with the consomme makes all the difference. Thanks for such a great recipe!!
Can it just be made in the crock pot , or do you have a recipe for the crock pot?
Yes, this can easily be made in the crock pot, after caramelizing the onions put everything in the crackpot and cook on low for a couple of hours.
Do you have any suggestions on how to make a vegetarian version of this soup?
Hmm good question. You could try using vegetable broth but it probably won’t taste quite as good ;/ let us know if you try it and how it turns out!
How many people does this serve? I have a family of four (the men usually go in for seconds) and I’m trying to decide if I need to double up on this recipe.
It makes 4 good-sized bowls… if it is your main course doubling-up might not be a bad idea.
My daughter made this and it was sooo good…..now I’m craving more….
If you can get broth from cooking a roast it is extra fantastic. And as crazy as it may sound, adding a few dashes of balsalmic vinegar before dishing it out, the flavors are intensified!
Great idea! Thank you for sharing! Will definitely try that next time I make a roast. YUM!
I don’t have that information but you can plug this information into a source like livestrong.com if you needed to find out!
This recipe looks amazing. I live in an apartment with a low end stove. A lot of recepies I have wanted to make lately say to use broiler but we haven’t had much luck with it and it usually ends with the smoke detector going off. Any ideas on getting around this and would this recipe suffer without that step?
My advice would be just to bake it in the oven instead until the cheese melts, or use a kitchen blow torch instead.
I love French onion soup and home made would be excellent. I have a question, what consommé do you use? Is it 3 cans of undiluted concentrate or do you dilute as per the directions on the cans?
UNdiluted for sure– don’t follow the directions on the can. We use beef consomme. Hope this helps!
Great recipe easy to follow, turned out perfect thanks
Can I double the recipe
Sure!
I typically just skim the broiled cheese off the top but this I devoured the whole thing! 🙂