BEST Recipe for French Onion Soup

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This French Onion Soup is all about technique, with deeply caramelized onions, a well-balanced broth, and that signature bubbling layer of Gruyère. It’s classic bistro comfort food, but is absolutely within reach at home.

On a wet, cold winter day several years ago in Paris, I sat across from a friend in a neighborhood bistro and tucked into a crock of French Onion Soup. It was everything I needed in that moment, and to this day the smell of onion soup conjures the image of that bistro in my mind.

At the time I thought this recipe was too complex to recreate, but after years of cooking as a personal chef, I’ve learned that the key to great onion soup is just patience. Many recipes rush the onions or rely on heavy broths, but this one focuses on building real flavor from the start. Take your time with the onions, and you’ll end up with a soup that tastes like it simmered all day in a Parisian kitchen!

Classic French Onion Soup Recipe Ingredients

• Onions: I prefer to use yellow onions, but sweet onions can be used as a substitute. And, feel free to combine different types of onions. 
• Worcestershire Sauce: This adds a subtle umami boost to the soup, but you can leave it out if you don’t have it on hand. 
• Beef Stock: The quality of your beef stock really shines through in this soup—use the best you can find. Homemade is always preferred, but I will use Better than Bouillon base in a pinch. Chicken broth makes a good substitute. 
• White Wine: Use a dry white wine like a sauvignon blanc. Dry sherry or vermouth make good substitutes. 
• Herbs: Thyme and bay leaves add flavor to this soup. You could use fresh rosemary as an alternative. 
• Gruyère Cheese: This is a classic for French Onion Soup because of its flavor and its melting ability. Possible substitutes include Comté, Raclette, and Emmental.

How to Make Homemade French Onion Soup

1. Peel 5 large onions and slice thinly. Mince 2 garlic cloves. Melt 4 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan. Add sliced onions and garlic and a pinch of salt. 

2. Cook over medium-low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Add ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce after about 30 minutes and stir well. When the onions begin to caramelize, they will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir more frequently at this point, scraping any browned bits into the rest of the onions. At the end of the hour, the onions should be very soft and caramelized golden brown. If not, continue to cook onions, stirring frequently, until they are caramelized. 

3. Stir in ¼ cup white wine, and cook until any extra liquid has evaporated. Pour in 5 cups beef stock, along with 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, a bay leaf, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Turn heat to medium-high to bring to a simmer. Then turn down to medium heat or medium-low heat and simmer soup gently for 15 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Taste soup and add more salt and pepper, as needed. 

4. Divide soup into four broiler-safe bowls. Add a slice of lightly toasted baguette or sourdough bread to the top of each bowl of soup. Divide 1 ¼ cups shredded Gruyère cheese between the bowls, topping both the bread and the soup. 

5. Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, about 3-4 minutes.

6. Garnish with thyme leaves and serve!

Best French Onion Soup Variations

French Onion Soup is a classic dish with a few simple ingredients. However, you can create variations of this recipe to suit your tastes or your specific dietary needs. For example, for a gluten-free version of this dish, choose a gluten-free bread, or leave out the toasts entirely and just top with cheese. To make a vegetarian variation, replace the beef stock with vegetable stock. Choose a gruyère alternative not produced using animal rennet, and a vegan Worcestershire sauce that does not contain anchovies. Other French onion soup variations can be made by using chicken stock or different types of onions (red onions, shallots) or cheeses.

Tips for the Best French Onion Soup

Saucepan will be very full with the raw onion slices. Don’t worry! Though it is a little hard to stir them at first, they will pretty quickly cook down and soon will take up much less room. 

Remember how I said patience was the key? Caramelizing onions takes time, but it’s so worth it! Resist the urge to turn up the heat and rush the process—slow and low cooking develops the best flavor. You want those onions to cook to an even golden brown, but not a super dark brown. If they start to scorch at all, they will turn bitter. If they dry out so much that they are burning rather than caramelizing, add water a little bit at a time to deglaze the pan. 

Want a thicker broth? Whisk in a tablespoon or two of flour after adding the wine and before adding the beef stock. 

I like to place the soup crocks on a rimmed baking sheet, so you can easily transport more than one at a time—and catch any spills. 

Don’t have broiler-safe French onion soup crocks? No worries! You can use a kitchen torch to melt cheese and crisp the edges of your toast. Or, make the cheesy toast using an air fryer or toaster oven, then place it on the soup just before serving.

Note that Serious Eats found that using enameled cast iron pans may take the onions longer to cook and make you frequently deglaze the bottom of the pot. In my testing, I found that this was true, though the enameled pan still worked just fine. If your enameled dutch oven is the only pan that fits all those onions, go for it. 

For the best cheese pull, grate your own gruyere cheese instead of using pre-shredded cheese.

What to Serve with This Classic French Onion Soup Recipe

French Onion soup is so hearty on its own, it is best served with a salad to go with it. In the winter, you might pair this with hearty greens like my Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad or this Kale Salad with Dried Cranberries. If you wanted to make this a classic French lunch, pair with an Endive Blue Cheese Salad or a Frisée Salad. A simple Caesar Salad would also make a good addition. And, don’t forget the crusty bread! Great for dipping after you’ve eaten the toast on top of the soup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Delicious Soup Recipes

This traditional French onion soup is a classic for a reason. If you love soup as much as I do, you might want to some other French classics like this Soupe au Pistou or Butternut Squash Bisque, then one of these:

If you try this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.

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Classic French Onion Soup Recipe

Chef Molly Pisula

This classic French Onion Soup is rich, comforting, and topped with a golden, bubbly layer of Gruyère cheese. Perfect for a cozy dinner on a chilly evening!

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Soup Recipes

Cuisine French

Servings 4

Calories 432 kcal

Equipment

Broiler-Safe Soup Crocks

Better Than Bouillon Soup Base

Kitchen Torch

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 5 large yellow onions about 3 ½ pounds
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ cup white wine
• 5 cups beef stock
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme plus more for garnish
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 thick slices of baguette or sourdough bread lightly toasted
• 1 ¼ cups shredded gruyère cheese about 3 ¾ ounces

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

1. Peel onions and slice thinly.
2. Mince garlic cloves.
3. Melt butter and olive oil in a large saucepan.
4. Add sliced onions and garlic and a pinch of salt.
5. Cook over medium-low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Add Worcestershire sauce after about 30 minutes and stir well. When the onions begin to caramelize, they will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir more frequently at this point, scraping any browned bits into the rest of the onions. At the end of the hour, the onions should be very soft and caramelized golden brown. If not, continue to cook onions, stirring frequently, until they are caramelized.
6. Stir in wine, and cook until any extra liquid has evaporated.
7. Pour in beef stock, along with 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, a bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
8. Turn heat to medium-high to bring to a simmer. Then turn down the heat a little and simmer soup gently for 15 minutes.
9. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
10. Taste soup and add more salt and pepper, as needed.
11. Divide soup into four broiler-safe bowls. Add a slice of lightly toasted bread to the top of each bowl. Divide the shredded cheese between the bowls, topping both the bread and the soup.
12. Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, about 3-4 minutes.
13. Garnish with thyme leaves and serve!

Notes

Saucepan will be very full with the raw onion slices. Don’t worry! Though it is a little hard to stir them at first, they will pretty quickly cook down and soon will take up much less room. 

Caramelizing onions takes time, but it’s so worth it! Resist the urge to turn up the heat and rush the process—slow and low cooking develops the best flavor. You want those onions to cook to an even golden brown, but not a super dark brown. If they start to scorch at all, they will turn bitter. If they dry out so much that they are burning rather than caramelizing, add water a little bit at a time to deglaze the pan. 

If you’d like a thicker broth, you can whisk in a tablespoon or two of flour after adding the wine and before adding the beef stock. 

I like to place the soup crocks on a rimmed baking sheet, so you can easily transport more than one at a time—and catch any spills. 

Don’t have broiler-safe French onion soup crocks? No worries! You can use a kitchen torch to melt cheese and crisp the edges of your toast. Or, make the cheesy toast using an air fryer or toaster oven, then place it on the soup just before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 432kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 21gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 1334mgPotassium: 830mgFiber: 3gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 770IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 492mgIron: 2mg

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More About Molly

Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!

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