Classic French Onion Soup

Classic french onion soup is basically a caramelised onion soup gratinated with cheesy bread on the top. If there is one thing I know from the time I lived in France is that the french loooove their baguettes and cheese.

There is nothing better than a homemade french onion soup. The french onion soup mix that you buy from supermarkets does not even come close to the real deal made at home. If the french know that we have a cheaper version of a powdered mix in Australia they will shout ‘oh mon Dieu which translates to ‘Oh my god’.

What does french onion soup taste like?

It has a slight sweetness from the caramelised onion mixed with herbs and a savoury broth topped with rich and cheesy bread.

Cutting onions for french onion soup

Well, it has a lot of onions, when I say a lot, be ready to cry your eyeballs out chopping the onions. since I was an ex-chef slicing onion thinly is easy for me, but if slicing onions are hard for you, then you can use the vegetable chopper to do it, if not just slice thin slices of onion. one trick I see many people do when chopping onions, they wear a pair of goggles, not sure if that will help!! Also, slice the onion, do not dice the onion.

Classic french onion soup ingredients

French onion soup is one of the basic soups, all you need is onion, herbs, white wine and stock to make the base, but what makes it extra special is the cheesy toast that is served on the top.

Best onions for french onion soup

Brown onions are the best for french onion soup. Every onion in all countries are different, but the natural sweetness of the onion is what will make the soup flavourful and brown onions are ideal for this soup

Best cheese for french onion soup

The french use comte and gruyere, because they are amazing stretchy cheeses and also have a very strong flavour but I have tried it with normal cheese blends and mozzarella and they work fine too.

What makes this an authentic french onion soup is the fact that the french will usually use sherry wine and cognac to deglaze the caramelised onion and gratinated the bread on the soup, but I will be showing you an easier way to do it and I have not used cognac and sherry, just white wine, but if you wish to use them, buy all means go ahead and use them.

What wine to use for a traditional french onion soup recipe

Usually, dry white wine is used. Make sure not to use a sweet wine, because the caramelised onions will have enough sweetness and using a sweet wine will only make the soup sweeter and will not balance the flavours together. French onion soup recipe must be made with white wine. Any cheap chardonnay, sauvignon blanc will be good for this recipe.

Classic french onion soup recipe without wine

French Onion soup also can be made without wine, But it always tastes better with wine, well anything tastes better with wine.But if you don’t want to add it, definitely omit it.

How do I thicken French onion soup?

French onion soup will be thickened by reducing the soup down and also with the onions. But we do add a little bit of flour, so the soup will thicken and not be too watery

This recipe will be a big batch enough for 6-8 people but when gratinating and serving this will become a french onion soup for one. Traditionally this caramelized onion soup is served into small crockpots for one, topped with cheesy bread and gratinated.

What do you eat with onion soup?

Baguette or any breadSalad

Why is my French onion soup not Brown?

It is very important to caramelise the onion properly, if it is not caramelised and cooked well before adding the broth, then it will be pale in colour. The secret is in the caramelisation and the broth used, I have used beef stock here, for extra flavour, but If you want to use vegetable stock or chicken stock, you can do that too.