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My flexible French onion soup

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 large yellow onions, peeled and (very!) thinly sliced
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 garlic clove crushed
  • 5 cups vegetable stock
  • 3/4 dry white wine
  • 1 tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 4 thyme sprigs
  • French bread cut into 8 to 12 1/2-inch slices 
  • 1.5 cups grated Gruyère, cheddar, or mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  1. First, and you guessed it, you’re going to need a whole lot of onions. And you must slice them super thin.

  2. Next, you need a whole lot of butter and around 40 minutes to sauté the onions in the butter until they look magical and golden. That’s the hardest part – waiting for your onions. Patience is key!

  3. Then, all you do is thicken your buttery onions with a touch of flour and add your liquid of choice and boil. Then comes the signature bread and cheesy top. And don’t worry, I’ve given you several flexible ways below to get that particularly cheesy top depending on how much time and effort you want to spend. It’s so worth the effort and while it requires some more TLC than a traditional soup, I know the reward will pay off!

Recipe Notes

Nail it

Melt butter and oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, salt, and pepper. Cover lid for 5 minutes to let the onions soften. 

Remove the lid, lower heat, add the garlic, and continue cooking for about 30-45 minutes. 

Once your onions turn a deep caramelized golden brown, add flour, stock, and wine and bring to a boil. Traditional French onion soup calls for beef broth, but I use veggie broth. Use whichever you prefer!

Continue cooking for another 20 or so minutes to allow all the flavors to come together. Re-season with salt and pepper to taste.

Flip it

At this point you have a few options for the cheesy topping, so choose yours, flexibly:

The first, simpler option, is to arrange your bread slices on top of the soup pot, top them with cheese and place in the oven under the broiler to melt and brown. This option is great if you don’t have a lot of time and plan to serve a crowd, messy family style!

However, if you’re feeling fancy, you could ladle the soup into individual oven-proof bowls or ramekins (if you have them), and top each with their own individual bread slice and cheese and broil similarly. This option makes for a really fun presentation – just make sure you have a plate or soup dish to place your hot bowl on when you remove it from the oven.

If you’re hoping to cut the bread out altogether, simply sprinkle cheese directly on top of the soup and let it melt. You won’t get a super cheesy top but it still tastes just as delicious!