The Best Classic French Onion Soup

two french onion soups in bowls on a tray with fresh herbs

The Best Classic French Onion Soup

Warm, cozy and flavourful, this soup will help get you through the cold nights ahead. Made with tons of caramelized onions, red wine and fresh herbs, topped off with crispy melted gruyere cheese.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1 45

Broil time: 5

Total Time: 2 5

Servings: 6

Calories: 768kcal

Author: Kristen

Equipment

French onion soup bowls

Ingredients

Soup

10-12 small yellow onions about 8 cups, quartered and sliced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups red wine
4 cups of beef stock
2 cups of duck stock
3 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

A few slices of bread I use baguette, but any kind of crusty bread will work
grated gruyere or substitute, parmesan, asiago, pecorino, gran padano or Swiss

Instructions

Add the olive oil and butter to a large pot over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add the onions and a bit of salt. Toss until coated. Turn the heat down a little and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, (about 45 minutes), stirring occasionally.
Once the onions have caramelized (they will be a dark golden brown), add the red wine to the onions, give them a stir and turn the heat up to medium. Let it come to a boil then add the beef stock, duck stock, thyme and rosemary. Give the soup a stir and let come to a boil again. Then turn the heat down to low/medium and let simmer for an hour.
Remove the thyme and the rosemary and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Turn the broiler on. Ladle the onion soup into oven-safe bowls and top with the slices of bread. Put the bowls on a baking sheet and in the oven until the bread is crispy. Then remove from oven and add the cheese. Put back in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Sprinkle with fresh thyme and serve immediately.

Notes

If you are vegetarian or vegan you can alter the recipe to suit your dietary requirements. You can replace the butter with more extra virgin olive oil. You can also use vegetable stock in place of both the beef stock and duck stock.

You can also omit the red wine if you want or need to and simply replace with more stock (and I suggest also 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar).

And lastly, if you like things the way they are but you can't find duck stock, you can replace with chicken stock or more beef stock.

Nutrition

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