French Onion Soup
French Onion soup just hits the spot at any time but especially when it’s chilly out! This recipe not only tastes delicious exactly like you want it, yet makes it so simple to make and somewhat healthy!
This one was so fun to create and play around with flavors to see how I can make this recipe easy enough yet not lacking in the flavor that you want from french onion. I really hope you enjoy and please let me know your thoughts!
Specifics
The type of broth you use matters so much! I have tasted a wide variety and came to the conclusion that this soup works well with the Swanson 50% reduced beef broth and members mark chicken broth. Broths vary in taste, so make sure you know the taste or else you may need to adjust salt levels if you choose to use different brands. Stock and broth are also different so that is important to pay attention to! This recipe calls for broth.
Red onion makes all the difference in this soup! I have tried all types of onions for this recipe and have found that red is the way to go. The red onions give the depth that you want in this soup!
Caramelizing the onions before adding the broth is very important and sets up the tone of flavor for the soup. Definitely do not skip this step!
I used sugar to bring forth that sweet subtle taste that we barely notice but notice when its not there. Generally some kind of wine is used but I wanted something more simple and easy with staple products in the household. It works and you cannot even tell that the latter wasn’t used!
Do not use olive oil instead of butter. The butter is what also helps set up the flavor during caramelizing the onions. I only used a small amount so that it didn’t make it super fattening but was able to bring out the flavor necessary.
I am not a fan of thyme or bay leaf and those are typically used in a french onion soup. I know these are also not typical things some may have in the household, so I went with Parsley and Paprika to try to create a similar flavor (it is SO close!) and make it easier with staple pantry items!
Gruyere cheese is usually used but I choose to go with just the simple mozzarella and not much of it to keep it a little lighter than normal! You can absolutely choose to use whatever cheese you would like!
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Salted Butter
- 4 Red Onions
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 4 tsp Minced Garlic
- 14.5 oz Swanson 50% less sodium Beef Broth
- 3 cups Chicken Broth
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 Tbsp Parsley
- 6 Tbsp Shredded Mozzarella
- French Bread Baguettes
Instructions
- Peel and slice your onions 1/4" thick (from stem to root). Then cut them in half.
- Place onions and butter into large cooking pan, stir and bring to a medium/low heat. Cover. Let cook for 15 mins.
- Add sugar, stir and cover for another 15 mins.
- Add in the minced garlic, stir for about a minute,
- Pour in the beef broth, chicken broth, pepper, parsley, and paprika.
- Stir and scrape anything off of the bottom of the pan. Cover. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 mins.
- Slice baguette into portioned pieces.
- Pour 1 cup of soup into a ramekin/bowl/ect
- Place 1 or 2 pieces of the baguette on top of the soup and cover each bowl with 1 Tbsp of Mozzarella. (You can microwave to melt cheese or just allow the hot soup to melt the cheese on top) Serve!
