As many of you know, I love soup (any kind of soup) but French onion soup is one of my all-time favorites. It must be the richness of the broth and the chewy cheese. YUM! Thanks, Mitch Nicklas, for this great picture of onions! It was just too perfect not to use!
Onions are also very good for you. They are full of antioxidants, in addition to having anti-allergy, antihistamine, and antiviral properties. To obtain the most nutritional value from your onions, you should eat them raw or lightly steamed, but I can’t imagine that a big bowl of onion soup doesn’t have some of the good stuff left!
French Onion Soup Recipe
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 large sweet onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Bay leaves
2 sprigs of fresh lemon thyme (approx. 1 teaspoon)
3 tablespoons of flour (your choice, it just needs to soak up the butter)
1 cup of red wine
3 quarts of beef broth
1 cup fresh chopped parsley (optional, but I think it enhances the flavor)
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
In a large soup pot combine the butter and onions. Turn the heat on medium-low and cover with a lid. You want the onions to start sweating and caramelizing (turning a nice golden brown). Stir the onions occasionally to keep them from burning. This usually takes about 15-20 minutes.
Once the onions have caramelized, add the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper. Stir ingredients together and let it cook for about 5 minutes or so. Add flour. The flour will absorb the oil and help thicken the soup. Let this mixture cook for about 5 more minutes. This gives the flour some time to cook and lose that “raw” flavor.
Now, add the red wine and stir all together. Simmer for about 10 minutes to cook the alcohol out. You’ll need to stir it during this process to help break up the globs of flour that may form. The flour will disburse as the soup simmers. Now, you can add the broth.
Cover, reduce heat to low and let the soup simmer for about 45 minutes – make sure to taste for salt and adjust to suit your preference. You’ll also want to remove the bay leaves and the thyme springs.
I love to serve this soup in a big bowl with a slice of toasted bread and melted cheese, but it tastes wonderful on its own as well.
This post is part of Totally Tasty Tuesdays | Sunday Night Soup Night
Delicious Obsessions was founded by Jessica Espinoza in 2010. Jessica is passionate about real food, natural living, and more. She helps people see how to eat nourishing food, without breaking the bank. Her motto is "baby steps" -- making small, lasting changes, one at a time, is the best way to ensure long-term success. This website contains "affiliate links" where appropriate, on which, I may earn a small commission or referral fee on your purchase. This has no effect on your price. The monies earned help maintain and support this website's hosting, maintenance, and the development of free content. The content shared on this site is for informational and educational purposes only. Statements/products discussed have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or illness. Please consult your own health care practitioner before making changes to your current diet or before beginning any herbal or vitamin supplement regimen or exercise program.
Gosh this sounds good! I really need to get a good supply of beef stock happening. I just never seem to get beef with bone in.
I just recently got some beef bones, so I’m excited to make my own beef stock. I have a hard time finding beef bones too, so I regret to inform you that I usually have to use organic, store bough stock for my beef soups
But! Now, I have a bunch of bones and plan on making stock this next weekend!
I’ve never made French Onion soup but it sounds so easy and tasty! I must try this recipe!Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with Sunday Night Soup Night. I’ll be hosting weekly through fall and winter, so I’d love to see you again with your next soup/stock/chowder recipe!
This looks yummy Haves question though -4 quarts of beef stock? That is a lot of broth for just four onions, at least seems that way to me. I am going to try it
Hi PR – Thank you so much for pointing that out. That was a typo. I went back and looked at my original recipe and realized that I mixed up some of my proportions. I have updated it!