The Best Traditional French Onion Soup Recipe

This post may contain Affiliate Links. Please see my Full Disclosure Policy for more details.

Easy classic French Onion Soup is one of my favorite cold-weather dishes! Made from scratch with perfectly caramelized onions that are simmer in a beefy broth, then topped with toasted baguette and delicious golden-brown, bubbly cheese. This soup is simple to make with big results.

I actually learned about French Onion Soup in culinary school! I never had it until we ate at the school's restaurant (which is ran by students who are close to graduating and supervised by their Chefs) and our class was invited to eat. Was I excited? Heck yeah, because this was like Week 5 and I was dead tired of knife skills and chopping up potatoes and onions, y'all. Tired.

Anyway, I was terrified to try it (I mean, you tell a teenager to eat onion soup and see their reaction) but culinary school never ceased to amaze me. That soup was bomb! We learned how to make it later on, and I was surprised at how simple this frou-frou French soup was to make.

Now I make it from scratch every fall and winter at least a few times. The texture is velvety, the onions are sweet and savory, and then there's crispy bread and cheese...y'all know I'll never say no to a good cheese, especially with bread. And nothing is cozier than a bowl of rich, hearty French onion soup, especially if you jar some up to give to a friend!

Jump to:

• What is French onion soup?
• The difference between French onion soup and other onion soups
• Is it healthy?
• French Onion Soup From Scratch
• Ingredients
• Freezing Instructions
• Recommended Tools
• 📖 Recipe

What is French onion soup?

Onion Soup is an ancient soup. I'm talking Roman emperor times old, like at least 8,000 years old.

Many parts of Europe have had different onion soups around for millennia because onions grow easily and abundantly. In fact, they were considered food for poor people because of it.

The modern version of French onion soup goes back to the 1700s and originates in Paris, France. It was popular in the courts of Versailles as a hangover cure, and still is to this day in France. Then it really became mainstream when cooks in the US took a more widespread interest in French cuisine in the 1960s --thank you, Julia Child.

Weird how poor people food always ends up being en vogue...right, Lobster Rolls?

The difference between French onion soup and other onion soups

Other onion soups aren't picky about their ingredients, but French onion soup is. After all, it was poor food before the French courts picked it up. So instead of strictly beef broth general onion soup will use whatever stock or broth they have, along with whatever stale bread, and throw in whatever onions on hand.

French onion soup specifically requires yellow or red onions, beef broth, and French baguette.

The biggest difference between French Onion Soup and the rest is the type of cheeses that are classically grated onto the bread: Emmental, Gruyere, or Swiss, which are nutty in flavor and melt extremely well. English onion soup calls for Cheddar, while some do not require cheese at all.

Is it healthy?

So French Onion soup, with its beefy broth and cheesy French crouton, is considered health broth. Besides its hearty taste and sobering effects, just like in Chicken Noodle Soup, the beef broth (which is made from beef meat, bones, and many vegetables and herbs) helps with colds and sickness by warming up and clearing the sinuses and being a vessel for great nutrients from the broth like collagen, vitamins, and more.

But if you're looking to watch your calories, this ain't it, chief. This is pure comfort food in a bowl.

The onions are caramelized in plenty of butter, there's bread --glorious bread. I love bread--, and hearty, generous gratings of rich French cheeses. I mean, is it healthy for the soul? Yes! And will it help when you partied too hard on New Year's Eve or got a cold? 100%.

French Onion Soup From Scratch

The best onions to use

The classic onions to use are yellow or red onions in French onion soup. My personal opinion, the best onion to use is the yellow onion.

Red onions are great when using raw in things like salads, because their flavor is bold and sharp.

But yellow onions have a robust flavor that mellows out to a bright and slightly sweet flavor when they cook and their natural sugars help them caramelize beautifully.

Slicing the onions thinly helps them cook down without ending up with easily burnt onion bits like when you dice them, so keep that in mind, too.

What kind of cheese to use

I go classic and buy a small block of Gruyere. If you're looking for something more affordable, Emmental and Swiss are easy to find at your local grocery store. Remember to use the block of cheese, not pre-shredded, as we want to grate the cheese ourselves over the bread and soup bowls before putting them under the broiler.

Ingredients

• Yellow Onions. Adding in sweet onions (like Vidalia) can give you a sweeter onion flavor.
• A little alcohol. This is optional, but I love deglazing the fond from the pan as the onions are cooking down. A splash of brandy, sherry, dry white wine, or sweet vermouth will lift the fond from the pan and ensure you don't burn the onions. Splashing in water or broth is a great non-alcoholic alternative.
• Beef Broth. Let me get all Ina Garten on you and tell you that you need to use the good beef broth. This is a serious flavor player in our soup, so we want to use a beef broth we love and trust (and hopefully low-sodium). Homemade is preferred, but storebought is fine. In fact, I love using those beef bouillon concentrates (not the cubes, those are full of sodium) when I don't have homemade because they are flavor-packed.
• Herbs. Fresh or dried thyme and a bay leaf are all I use because herbs like rosemary or sage have powerful flavors that can overwhelm everything else.
• Garlic. Always gotta have garlic in savory dishes, y'all. The flavor boost garlic gives savory food is always noticeable.
• Flour. I use all-purpose flour to help thicken the soup up. It really gives a velvety mouthfeel when the soup is thickened up slightly.
• French Bread, drizzled with olive oil. We're making these nice and crisp and toasty so the bread can stand up to both the melty cheese and not getting soggy from the soup.
• Cheese. Use a great melting cheese, I would stick with the classics for this soup.

Freezing Instructions

If you want to freeze your French onion soup, first let it cool completely to room temperature. Then spoon the soup into freezer-safe containers, even better if you freeze them in individual-sized potions by putting them into freezer-safe zip-top bags and freezing them flat so they thaw quickly.

Seal the containers and freeze the soup for up to 3 months.

To thaw, leave the containers in the fridge overnight. When you're ready to eat, warm the soup up in a saucepan over medium-low heat, pour into oven-safe French onion soup bowls and top with crisp French bread and healthy gratings of cheese then put under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, golden brown, and bubbly.

Recommended Tools

• Large Dutch Oven
• Wooden Spoon
• Beef Bouillon, if not using homemade broth
• Baking Sheet
• Oven-Safe French Onion Soup Bowls
• Freezer-Safe Food Containers or Zip-Top Bags

More Amazingly Cozy Soup Recipes

• Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
• Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
• Greek Avgolemono Soup
• Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons