Easy French Onion Soup

Isn’t it funny that the countries that are most famous for cuisine (France, Italy, Japan) are also the ones with a reputation for making the worst food? Why have I brought this up? Because when it comes to French Onion Soup, I can guarantee you’ve been told that it’s very difficult to make. You know why? Because they’re all saying this because they don’t want to make it themselves.

French Onion Soup is the ultimate comfort food. It’s very rich and satisfying so when the weather gets chilly, you will want to make this soup. The good news is that it’s easy to make. My husband loves French Onion Soup. When I served it for the first time, he said “This is a restaurant quality soup! Please make this again!”. I was so happy that he liked my cooking and that he was so satisfied with a simple soup like onion soup.

Easy French Onion Soup

You will probably want some crusty bread to mop up every last drop of this delicious Easy French Onion Soup. I served mine with baguette slices but whole grain bread would be just as delicious. Leftovers are excellent served chilled the next day.
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Ingredients
  

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large red onions thinly sliced
  • 2 large sweet onions thinly sliced
  • 1 48 fluid ounce can chicken broth
  • 1 14 ounce can beef broth
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 thick slices French or Italian bread
  • 8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices room temperature
  • ½ cup shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese room temperature
  • 4 pinches paprika

Instructions
 

  • Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
  • Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.
  • Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.
  • Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slices Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the Asiago or mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.
  • Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. As it softens, the cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal. Serve immediately!

This soup is so easy to make and it’s a nice change from the traditional beef or chicken noodle soup. The onions turn dark brown which adds to the rich flavor of the soup.