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If you like onions and soup, then you have to be a French Onion Soup fan. A rich, sweet, flavorful onion laden soup with mini floating croutons and lots of melted cheese.  You can’t beat a good French onion soup recipe and I have a good one for you.

A crock-style soup bowl filled with French onion soup, topped with croutons and melted cheese

What turns good French onion soup into really good French onion soup is the caramelization of the onions, cooking the onions until they are golden and sweet. There is no need to add sugar if you let the onions develop their natural sweetness and this takes time, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Crunchy slices of bread topped with melted cheese and a bowl of French onion soup viewed from overhead

There are many famous French onion soup recipes out there, Julia Child’s being the most famous and a variety of different alcohols are used, from Cognac to white wine. My choice is dry sherry.

The sherry pairs so well with the sweetness of the onion  and you don’t taste the alcohol at all because there is not a strong presence to begin with like there is with Cognac and wine. Also, please use good beef stock. I make my own, recipe, but a good, low sodium store bought will work perfectly.

Melted cheese and a sage leave over crispy croutons on French onion soup

Mini Croutons

For me, there’s nothing more frustrating when eating French onion soup,  is chasing the 1 large crouton floating in the soup. I finally give up and use my fingers (while trying not to burn them). 

My solution to this culinary dilemma is top the soup with mini croutons and lots of gruyère cheese). That way, there’s a crouton in every bite (see picture below). Then you don’t have the  unfortunate situation of being left with soup and no croutons, no problem.

A spoonful of French onion soup with a cheesy crouton

In keeping with the French theme, I also have a delicious potato and leek based soup with beer that is so good. Soupe à la Bière (Beer Soup) is an Alsatian recipe from Northern France (see below).

A white soup bowl with handles filled with beer soup and croutons with crusty bread and a bottle of beer in the background

If you’ve made this French Onion Soup with Mini Croutons or any other recipe leave a comment below. I love to hear from my readers!

Yield: 4

French Onion Soup with Mini Croutons

French onion soup in a white bowl with a side of cheese toast

 A rich, sweet, flavorful onion laden soup with mini croutons and lots of melted cheese. You can't beat a good French onion soup and I have a good one for you.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 large sweet yellow onions, sliced thin
  • 1 loaf of crusty bread of your choice, baguette or ciabatta
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 cup (236 ml) dry sherry
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 6 cups (3 pints) good beef stock (low sodium if possible) * see note
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cups/8 ounces (200 grams) gruyere cheese, grated

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F/176°C.
  2. To a large soup pan or dutch oven, melt the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the onions and stir to mix into the butter and oil. Cook the onions until softened and are browned, stirring every 10 minutes for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  3. Cut the bread loaf into cubes. Spread onto a baking sheet and drizzle with vegetable oil, mix with your hands to coat well. Toast the croutons in the oven for 10 until golden brown, remove and allow to cool.
  4. Stir the salt, pepper and sage into the onions. Add the sherry and scrape the pan to deglaze and get all the brown bits off the bottom. Cook until the sherry is almost evaporated, for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour. Cook for a minute to remove the raw flour taste.
  5. Add the beef stock, bay leaf and and stir until there are no lumps. Bring to a simmer and cover for 25 minutes.
  6. Preheat broiler.
  7. Spoon the soup into oven proof bowls, top with croutons and grated gruyere. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Notes

Taste your stock, if it is salty, you may need to adjust the amount of salt in the dish

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 646Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 46mgSodium 1535mgCarbohydrates 82gFiber 5gSugar 12gProtein 26g
© Janette
Cuisine: French / Category: Soup