Rich French Onion Soup

Name: Rich French Onion Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 h
Total time: 5 h 20 min
Yield: 10 servings.
Ingredients: 6 large onions, chopped; 1/2 cup butter; 6 cans (10-1/2 ounces each) condensed beef broth, undiluted; 1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce; 3 bay leaves; 10 slices French bread, toasted; Shredded Parmesan and shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

When entertaining guests, I bring out this savory soup while we're waiting for the main course. It's simple to make—just saute the onions early in the day and let the soup simmer until dinner-time. In winter, big bowls of it make a warming supper with a salad and biscuits. —Linda Adolph, Edmonton, Alberta

Ingredients

6 large onions, chopped
1/2 cup butter
6 cans (10-1/2 ounces each) condensed beef broth, undiluted
1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 bay leaves
10 slices French bread, toasted
Shredded Parmesan and shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

In a large skillet, saute onions in butter until crisp-tender. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves.
Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours or until the onions are tender. Discard bay leaves.
Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls. Top each with a slice of toast; sprinkle with desired amount of cheese. Place bowls on a baking sheet. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is lightly golden.

Test Kitchen Tips

To give this dish a fragrant, unexpected quality, toss a couple of fresh thyme stems (or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme) into your slow cooker. Discard stems before serving.

No time for chopping onions? Sliced onions work as well.

Soups can be brightened up before serving by adding a little citrus juce or vinegar. A teaspoon or two of cider vinegar tastes great in this soup.

Nutrition Facts

1 serving (calculated without cheese): 188 calories, 10g fat (6g saturated fat), 24mg cholesterol, 1431mg sodium, 19g carbohydrate (5g sugars, 2g fiber), 7g protein.

Originally published as Rich French Onion Soup in Quick Cooking January/February 2000

Reviews

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Average Rating:

itsknotsew

Dec 29, 2017

I found this soup to be very tasteless. Maybe if the onion had been super caramelized as another reviewer suggested that would've helped. I even added 3 extra beef boullion cubes to the mix after tasting. It still needed something so I tried a touch of thyme and a couple of tsp of cider vinegar but neither of those did much either. Onions really burn my eyes so this was a double disappointment after the burning eyes from the onions. Will try another recipe as Jason's Deli has removed their onion soup from their line-up and it was so good!
BKinsey

Jan 15, 2017

This is my family's favorite French onion soup recipe!!
4robsgirl

Dec 25, 2016

Boring, bland, flavorless. Used regular beef broth, not reduced sodium but it was still so blah. Won't make this again.
joycerm53

Oct 2, 2016

This is an excellent recipe for French onion soup. I have made it as written and it is great. I have also followed another reviewers advice and carmelized the onions in the crockpot overnight and finished it the next day with a bit of red wine. Delicious! Joyce Moynihan, Volunteer Field Editor
nuheart158

Feb 10, 2016

To the people complaining it's not vegetarian, use Vegetable broth!
cindiak

Jan 18, 2016

I also carmelized the onions. I made the rest of the recipe as stated and it will now be my "go to" recipe.
abashu

Jan 9, 2016

I cut it down because it is just two of us. I didn't chop the onions but sliced them then cut then slices in half. I liked the flavor of the onions. I like the flavor the Parmesan cheese gave to it as well.
AppleDumplingTwo

Dec 27, 2015

I use the slow cooker to caramelize the onions first in the slow cooker, then do the rest of the recipe so it takes me a full day to do this soup. I put the onions on overnight, add the rest in the morning and prepare as above. Sometimes I add thyme also. I want to try the idea mentioned of using cider. I'll use apple juice instead since I always have it on hand and see how it is. Sounds really unique and tasty.
eebiedritz

Dec 27, 2015

While I haven't made this specific recipe, I just wanted to mention that you can also use the "Better Than Bouillon" beef base instead of the canned soup (3 Tbsp. base to 8 cups water). They even make a low salt version although I just use the regular version and to us the salt level is perfect. I too caramelize the onions in butter with a little oil, 4 Tbsp. butter with 2 Tbsp. oil, in a large pot. Once caramelized, I sprinkle with 3 Tbsp. flour;stir, and then add the base/water to the pan. To make the soup on the stove top, after combining all the ingredients, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes before ladling it into the ovenproof bowls. We prefer Mozzarella only and my husband likes it when I put some of the shredded cheese in the bottom of the bowl before ladling in the soup, then the bread with lots of cheese on top and then under the broiler. You can also sprinkle with a little paprika if you wish for a little added color.
econjack

Dec 27, 2015

When I make French Onion soup, I use 2:1 ratio of beef broth to apple cider. It gives it a hint of flavor that people like...but can't figure out. Always fun to serve to guests.