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This delicious, comforting and Easy French Onion Soup is the perfect marriage of caramelized onions and flavourful beef broth. The secret is a little bit of patience and high-quality broth. This recipe is a bit lighter than classic versions of the soup, but it still packs a serious flavour punch.
What You Need for Easy French Onion Soup
- Beef Bone Broth: A high-quality beef broth makes all the difference in this Easy French Onion Soup. For best results, I recommend using beef bone broth, though chicken bone broth would work as well. Not only does bone broth have a deeper flavour, it is also high in collagen and nutrients that are great for gut health.
Kettle & Fire makes exceptional bone broths that are delicious and incredibly convenient. They’re made with all-natural ingredients and have no added sugars, preservatives or colourings. They’re high in collagen and protein and I particularly love the fact that they’re shelf stable so they don’t take up valuable freezer space.
You can order Kettle & Fire Broths online and use code PRIMALGOURMET for an extra 20% OFF your order. - Yellow Onions: Because the onions will be cooked down until caramelized and sweet, I recommend saving some money and buying more affordable yellow varieties.
- Fresh Thyme and Bay Leaves: It’s worth grabbing some fresh thyme and bay leaves here because it imparts an aroma that you just don’t get from the dried stuff. However, if you don’t have fresh, you can substitute dry. Just be sure to use around 1/4 the amount.
- Garlic: As always, feel free to use as much or as little garlic as your heart desires. I usually add more than the recipe calls for. Even when it’s my own.
- Grass-Fed Butter or Ghee: For extra flavour, I add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the onions halfway through the sautéing process. Not only does it make the soup more delicious, but it also helps the onions caramelize without the use of sugar. Using ghee is another option for those who want to keep things Paleo or Whole30.
- Crusty Bread: I like to use leftover slices of my No-Knead Bread drizzled with a bit of olive oil and toasted in the oven. Feel free to use any loaf you like, gluten-free or otherwise.
- Gruyère Cheese: Gruyère is great choice for this Easy French Onion Soup. It melts very well and gives you those beautiful, long, cheesy pulls that everyone loves. If you can’t find Gruyère, you can substitute Emmental, Provolone, or Mozzarela, Fontina or Gouda.
Can You Make French Onion Soup Whole30 and Paleo?
To keep things Whole30 and Paleo you can use ghee instead of butter and omit the crouton and cheese garnish. It’s still a deeply flavourful soup that’s hearty and delicious.
Easy French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for croutons
- 3 pounds yellow onions, around 6 large onions, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons grass-fed butter or ghee
- 2 16.9 oz cartons Kettle & Fire Classic Beef Bone Broth, around 4.25 cups
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
- 4 slices of crusty bread, around 1-inch thick
- 1 cup loosely packed grated Gruyère cheese
Instructions
- Preheat a large sauté pan or stock pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onions and season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are soft and translucent and have reduced in volume by half, around 20 minutes. Add the butter and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
- Add the Kettle & Fire Classic Beef Bone Broth, thyme, bay leaves and pepper. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook 10-15 minutes for the flavours to come together.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450F. Place the bread on a sheet pan and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Transfer to oven and toast until golden brown, around 10 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Place oven-safe bowls or ramekins onto a sheet pan to catch any overflow. Ladle in the soup, top with croutons and cheese. Switch the oven to broil, place the soup on the top rack of the oven and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbling, around 2 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving.
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About the Author
Hi, i’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.