One Pot French Onion Soup

When warm afternoons give way to chilly evenings, the soup pot beckons. Paired with a fresh green salad and a glass of red wine, this One Pot French Onion Soup is a delicious family meal.

Is French Onion Soup Really French?

Yes, indeed. French onion soup is really French. It’s a bit of la Belle France in a bowl! Onions were inexpensive and plentiful, and this soup emerged as a staple of French households everywhere. The much-loved version we know today comes about in the 19th century, but its roots are older.

Its story stretches back to the 17th century, when onions were plentiful and inexpensive, sustaining both peasants and city dwellers. Early recipes were simple broths, but by the 19th century, the dish took on the form we know today: slow-caramelized onions simmered in rich beef stock, crowned with toasted bread and melted cheese.

This gratinéed presentation became a hallmark of Parisian bistros, especially around the bustling Les Halles market, where the soup was celebrated as both fortifying breakfast for workers and a legendary cure for long nights of wine. Its balance of sweetness from onions, savoriness from stock, and indulgence from bubbling Gruyère is uniquely French.

Though onion soups exist worldwide, the French transformed it into culinary heritage. Each steaming bowl still carries the essence of Paris—rustic, soulful, and timeless.

French Onion Soup

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• Author: Justin Matase

Print Recipe

Description

A rich and comforting French onion soup made with caramelized onions, beef broth, and wine, topped with sourdough bread and melted Swiss cheese.

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Ingredients

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• 4 onions, large, sliced into 1-inch matchsticks
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8 sprigs of fresh thyme, divided
• 3/4 cup Madeira wine
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 8 cup beef broth
• 1/4 lb Swiss cheese, thickly sliced
• 1 loaf of sourdough bread
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• Additional salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. In a thick-bottomed pot over medium heat, cook onions, six sprigs of thyme with leaves removed from the stems, garlic, salt, pepper and butter to your pot for approximately 30 minutes, until the onions are caramelized.
2. Add red wine and madeira wine and simmer for 3 minutes. When you can no longer smell the alcohol evaporating, add beef stock and remaining 2 whole sprigs of thyme and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the thyme sprigs before serving.
3. Ladle onion soup into an oven-proof bowl,  and top with a piece of sourdough bread and swiss cheese. Place under broiler set to low for three to five minutes. Watch carefully and remove when the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned. Serve immediately with a glass of hearty red wine.

Recipe by Justin Matase

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