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!
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 it must be a complex recipe that could not be produced outside of a Parisian café, but that is actually not true at all. My recipe walks you through all the essential steps, and really they are not difficult! Patience is the key—read on to find out why.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Classic French Onion Soup Recipe
- Ingredients For Traditional French Onion Soup
- How to Make French Onion Soup With Gruyere Cheese
- Tips For Making This Traditional French Onion Soup
- What to Serve with Classic French Onion Soup
- How to Store Classic French Onion Soup
- Classic French Onion Soup FAQs
- Other Delicious Soup Recipes
- More Recipes To Try
- 📖 Recipe
- More About Molly
Why You'll Love This Classic French Onion Soup Recipe
French Onion Soup is a timeless dish that transforms simple (and inexpensive!) ingredients into something truly special. Here’s what I love about this recipe:
- Classic French bistro comfort food that you can make at home
- So much flavor from slow-cooked, caramelized onions
- Tastes even better the day after you make it
- Fancy enough for an elegant dinner party, but equally good for a cozy night in
If you love classic French bistro cooking, you might also want to check out my Mushroom Quiche or my Coq Au Vin Blanc recipes.
Ingredients For Traditional French Onion Soup
- 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 French Onion Soup With Gruyere Cheese
- 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.
Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, about 3-4 minutes.
Garnish with thyme leaves and serve!
Tips For Making This Traditional 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 Classic French Onion Soup
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.
How to Store Classic French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup (minus the baguette slices/sourdough toasts) can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave. Then add your toast and shredded cheese and pop it under the broiler to serve. If you want to freeze the soup, do so before adding the bread and cheese. Defrost and reheat as above.
Classic French Onion Soup FAQs
Yes! Swap the beef stock for a high-quality vegetable broth and add a little more Worcestershire sauce for extra umami. (Or try a splash of soy sauce or tamari.)
Yes. The soup itself is gluten-free, so you just need to top the soup with gluten-free bread to make it entirely gluten-free. Or go without the bread and just top with a layer of melty cheese.
Make sure your broiler is fully preheated before adding the soup bowls. And make sure they are near the heating agent at the top—move up the rack to move them closer to the heat source for better browning, if necessary.
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:
More Recipes To Try
- Lavender Simple Syrup
- Cranberry Mimosa
- Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms
- Cranberry Brie Bites
- Broccoli Rabe
- Nutella Crepes
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
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- Peel onions and slice thinly.
- Mince garlic cloves.
- Melt butter and olive oil in a large saucepan.
- Add sliced onions and garlic and a pinch of salt.
- 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.
- Stir in wine, and cook until any extra liquid has evaporated.
- Pour in beef stock, along with 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, a bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
- Turn heat to medium-high to bring to a simmer. Then turn down the heat a little and simmer soup gently for 15 minutes.
- Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
- Taste soup and add more salt and pepper, as needed.
- 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.
- Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, about 3-4 minutes.
- Garnish with thyme leaves and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I’d love to see your results!
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!
Kevyn says
This might’ve been the best French onion soup I’ve ever had!!! I’ve never even attempted caramelized onions before, let alone this soup. The guidance was spot on. I did make some changes based on what I had. Omitted Worcestershire sauce, substituted homemade veggie stock and diluted white wine vinegar, and used salt, pepper, basil, parsley, Italian seasoning, and msg for my seasonings. Absolutely incredible.
Molly Pisula says
Great substitutions--thanks so much for sharing! And really glad you loved this soup!
Lionel Sanchez says
a touch salty but it was so good even my grandma liked it and she doesn't like onion soup!
Molly Pisula says
lol, so glad to hear that! good note on the salt--I know I like a good amount of salt, and I appreciate knowing when others think something is overly salty!
Molly Pisula says
Loved developing this recipe that brought me back to a rainy day in Paris several years ago! It's so good!