French Onion Soup

By Sara Bonisteel

Updated Jan. 6, 2025

French Onion Soup
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Rating
5(8,511)
Comments
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In 1954, what was then called the Food News Department of The New York Times released a pamphlet, simply called “Soups,” which had 20 recipes for soups “thick and thin, hot and cold,” including those for minestrone, shrimp bisque and this French onion soup. We’ve updated the recipe adding sherry and wine to layer in more flavors. The bulk of the time is spent on caramelizing the onions, a process that always takes longer than it seems it should. But it’s worth the wait.

Why You Should Trust This Recipe

Sara Bonisteel caramelized nearly 10 pounds of onions to achieve this, the ideal soup. Discover more ideas for warming dishes in our collection of cozy soups our readers love.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 3tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 to 4large red or yellow onions (about 3 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced
  • ¾teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 2quarts beef stock (8 cups)
  • 1cup dry white wine
  • 1tablespoon dry sherry
  • 1tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • ½teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 8 to 12(½-inch) slices French bread (from 1 loaf)
  • 1½cups grated Gruyère cheese
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

397 calories; 17 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 20 grams protein; 1216 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Melt butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and ½ teaspoon salt, stir and cover, letting onions soften for 5 minutes. Remove lid and let onions caramelize until golden brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Adjust heat if onions are browning too quickly. The caramelization process may take 45 to 60 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, warm broth in a saucepan over low heat.

  3. Step 3

    Once onions are caramelized, add wine and sherry to the pot and allow mixture to come to boil. Stir in flour and let thicken for a minute or two.

  4. Step 4

    Slowly add warm broth, ¼ teaspoon salt and the pepper to the onion mixture and boil uncovered for 10 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

  5. Step 5

    Heat the broiler, and arrange individual ovenproof casseroles on a baking sheet. Ladle soup into casseroles, and cover top with bread slices. Sprinkle each casserole generously with Gruyère.

  6. Step 6

    Broil for a minute or two, watching carefully, until cheese melts and browns. Serve immediately.

Tip
  • You can prepare the soup through step 4 up to 2 months in advance. Thaw and reheat, then top with the bread and cheese and broil to serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
8,511 user ratings
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Comments

diane

Simplify by making overnight caramelized onions. Fill slow cooker with 4-5 lbs sliced onions, pour 1/3 cup olive over the onions & mix well. Cover with lid and cook on HIGH for 7-9 hours. Yes it does indeed needs to be High. I had my doubts at first, but I've done this probably at least 20 times and the onions cook way down & caramelize beautifully. I haven't tried this yet with my new multi-cooker but plan to try that next using slow cooker function.

lotsadogs

When I make French Onion Soup, I cut the bread into crouton sized pieces and then brown them in butter in a large skillet on the stove. I use them in place of the toasted bread. It makes the soup easier to eat--no cutting through hard French bread crusts with a spoon--and I really like the extra flavor imparted by the croutons. And, I save some croutons for the leftover soup.

Gonzalo

1 Tbsp of Sherry is a very small amount, it won't add any significant flavour. Also, if Sherry boils for a long time, it completely loses its aroma. I suggest adding 2 tbsp on each individual soup dish just before broiling (that's the way people have fancy consomme in Madrid).

jhtvermont

Vermouth is excellent in this recipe. You can substitute Maasdam, Emmental (more pedestrian to be sure) or Racelette (not pedestrian at all!) for the Gruyere.

Erin

If anyone loves Outback’s French onion like I do, they use Lawry’s seasoning salt. It gives it a really interesting and distinct flavor. Also I prefer the way they chop their onions so they fit easily on a spoon. Five cuts length wise and 5 cuts width wise! This soup was perfection.

Stevenlgoldblatt

Thank you, thank you. One less chore for my 15” cast iron and me. I don’t miss constant managing the onions, then cleaning and re-seasoning the beast. The last time I added a couple of bay leaves. I felt it added depth. I’m gonna experiment with other stuff like garlic. I’m sure others have already posted on this.

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