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Gratinated French Onion Soup

📍 France
⏱️Prep: 15 min
🔥Cook: 60 min
Total: 75 min
🍽️4 servings
Difficulty: Medium

Gratinéed French onion soup is the absolute classic of the Parisian brasserie. A kilo of onions is caramelized slowly in butter for nearly an hour until golden and sweet, deglazed with white wine and beef stock, then served beneath a crust of melted gruyère on toasted baguette slices. The process demands patience; the result is pure winter comfort.

🛒 Ingredients

4 servings
  • 1kg yellow onions
  • 60g butter
  • 200ml white wine
  • 1L beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • thyme, bay leaf
  • 8 slices toasted baguette
  • 200g grated Gruyère cheese
  • salt and pepper

👨‍🍳 Step-by-step instructions

  1. Caramelize the onions in butter over very low heat for 40–45 minutes until golden brown.

  2. Add the flour and sauté for 2 minutes.

  3. Pour in the white wine and hot broth. Add the herbs.

  4. Simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt.

  5. Transfer to individual oven-safe bowls, top with toasted baguette slices and grated Gruyère cheese. Broil until melted and golden.

💡 Chef's tip

Patience during caramelization is everything. The onions should turn a deep brown, not burnt.

📝 Our take

French onion soup is a lesson in patience. Real caramelization of the onions takes between 45 minutes and an hour over low heat, stirring every few minutes. There is no shortcut. That deep brown color is where all the flavor lives. The gratinéed Gruyère at the end is not decorative: its melting point creates a crust you must break with the spoon.

🍷 Wine & food pairing

Beaujolais Villages or a Côtes du Rhône. Bistro wine with enough structure for the Gruyère but without tannins that would flatten the sweetness of the onion.

Suggested wine: Beaujolais Villages or Côtes du Rhône red

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