French Onion Soup

Name: French Onion Soup
Total time: 70 min
Yield: For Two
Ingredients: 6 large onions; 50 g butter; 1 L beef or vegetable broth; 4 slices baguette; 150 g gruyere cheese

French onion soup transforms a pile of humble onions into a deeply savory, sweet broth crowned with toasted bread and bubbling melted cheese. It takes patience but almost no skill, and the payoff is extraordinary. Few soups feel this luxurious.

Vegetarian Stovetop Lunch Dinner Cheese

⏱ 70 min
📊 medium
🍽 For Two

Ingredients

6 large onions
50 g butter
1 L beef or vegetable broth
4 slices baguette
150 g gruyere cheese

Instructions

Thinly slice the onions.
Cook them slowly in butter over medium-low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring often, until deeply golden and jammy.
Deglaze with a splash of wine, scraping up the browned bits.

Add the broth and a sprig of thyme and simmer 20 minutes.
Ladle into ovenproof bowls and top each with a toasted baguette slice.
Pile grated gruyere on top and broil until bubbling and golden.
Serve immediately while the cheese is molten.

💡 Chef's tip

Deglaze the pan with a splash of wine and scrape up the browned bits, since that fond holds enormous flavor.

The single most important step is caramelizing the onions slowly for a full forty minutes, as rushing them with high heat gives a thin, harsh soup instead of a deep, sweet one.