French Onion Soup
This French side builds dry white wine, bread and gruyère into an easy meal you can have ready in about 90 minutes. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 13 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for grill / broiler and frying pan / skillet. At medium difficulty across 13 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (3)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Melt the butter with the oil in a large heavy-based pan.
- Add the onions and fry with the lid on for 10 mins until soft.
- Sprinkle in the sugar and cook for 20 mins more, stirring frequently, until caramelised.
- The onions should be really golden, full of flavour and soft when pinched between your fingers.
- Take care towards the end to ensure that they don’t burn.
- Add the garlic for the final few mins of the onions’ cooking time, then sprinkle in the flour and stir well.
- Increase the heat and keep stirring as you gradually add the wine, followed by the hot stock.
- Cover and simmer for 15-20 mins.
- To serve, turn on the grill, and toast the bread.
- Ladle the soup into heatproof bowls.
- Put a slice or two of toast on top of the bowls of soup, and pile on the cheese.
- Grill until melted.
- Alternatively, you can complete the toasts under the grill, then serve them on top.
You'll use: Grill / broiler · Frying pan / skillet · Pan · Saucepan
Watch how it's made
Hosted on YouTube — pressing play loads content from YouTube.
Ingredient substitutions
- Butter
- olive oil (¾ the amount) · coconut oil · margarine
- White Wine
- chicken or vegetable stock + 1 tsp vinegar
What to serve with French Onion Soup
- Chocolate Gateau Dessert
- French Lentils With Garlic and Thyme Miscellaneous
- Coq au vin Chicken
- Pork Cassoulet Pork
Tips & common questions
How long does French Onion Soup take to make?
About 90 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 13 steps and 10 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of butter?
Try olive oil (¾ the amount). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Recipe data for French Onion Soup via TheMealDB (open database). ▶ Video. Original source. Consomee adds the scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.