Our Most Requested Soup Recipe Of All Time? This To Die For French Onion Soup! (2024)

FAQs

What is French onion soup made of? ›

What Is French Onion Soup? French onion soup, or soupe à l'oignon gratinée, is a classic French dish made with caramelized onions and beef stock or broth. The soup is topped with bread and cheese, then gratinéed to rich, gooey perfection. It's traditionally served in a ramekin or a ceramic crock with a handle.

During ancient times (and still today), onions were cheap and easy to grow, and hence, readily available. For the poor, the onion was a savior, with onion soups being popular during the Roman times. In fact, a version of the recipe first appeared in Taillevent's 14th-century cookbook, Viandier.

Bouillabaisse – a stew of mixed herbs, fish, and vegetables. Garbure – a thick French soup or stew of ham with cabbage and other vegetables, usually with cheese and stale bread added. Oille – a French potée or soup believed to be the forerunner of pot-au-feu composed of various meats and vegetables.

The Foundation: Broths and Stocks

The homemade soup recipes that are most memorable are ones that require a long simmer, with carefully browned bones, vegetables, and seasoning added in.

French onion soup is the ultimate comfort food. Onions get slowly cooked until sweet and caramelized, then simmered in rich broth until they're practically falling apart. To finish it off, toasted bread is added to give it that lovable crisp-gone-soggy texture and a generous amount of Gruyère cheese is melted on top.

French onion soup tastes like sweet caramelized onions, with intense savory notes from beef broth, wine, and brandy. The consistency is brothy at first, but as the bread soaks up some of the liquid, it thickens. It's heavenly.

The Onion Soup, a traditional and warming dish

It has even become a trendy dish that tourists are eager to try to experience French gastronomy. However, onion soup is in fact not part of French people's daily meals. It was originally meant to be eaten after a family reunion in the middle of the night to cure hangovers…

A few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf elevate the soup even more, but I take it a step further, adding a splash of fish sauce for complexity and depth—don't worry, it won't taste fishy—and a hit of cider vinegar to balance some of that oniony sweetness.

First, French onion soup calls for a ton of onions. While onions aren't expensive, there's a lot of labor involved in halving, peeling, and slicing 10, 12, 50, or one billion onions (I don't know how much soup you make).

Minestrone Soup - This is a traditional soup from Italy make with a combination of seasonal vegetables and pasta. It makes a complete meal with a slice of bread.

What is the best soup in France? ›

The most famous of all French soups are onion (soupe à l'oignon), leek and potato (potage parmentier) and garlic (soupe à l'ail). Soups in France are generally made with broth or stock. They should first be delicate but then robust enough to make an impression in terms of flavor.

"Soups and stews really need to simmer for long periods to allow the ingredients to meld together. Taking that a step further, most soups and stews are better if you prepare them the day before serving. Allowing them to cool and then reheating them really helps bring out the flavors and textures."

It may sound a bit strange and unusual for some, but vinegar is a common ingredient in some soup recipes, and there is a good reason for it. If you think about it, vinegar is really a flavor-enhancer (umami). That's why it is so often used in cooking, sauces, and salad dressings. The same is true with soups.

So a solution : order 1 full serving of soup served as half to each person (1/2).

French onion soup is always made with beef stock. Other onion soups can be made with chicken, vegetable, or beef stock. Additionally, French onion soup typically contains wine or sherry, which isn't typical or necessary in other onion soups.

The Onion Soup, a traditional and warming dish

It has even become a trendy dish that tourists are eager to try to experience French gastronomy. However, onion soup is in fact not part of French people's daily meals. It was originally meant to be eaten after a family reunion in the middle of the night to cure hangovers…

Sweet caramelized onions in a savory broth with a sherry wine vinegar gastrique, sea salt, topped with cheese and black pepper and sea salt croutons.

It is made with wine and sherry to bring out the beef flavor of the broth and topped with two kinds of cheese to give it that bubbly, browned, stretchy topping. The Allrecipes Test Kitchen staff are a team of culinary pros who make and vet recipes using only equipment you'd find in a home kitchen.