I love French onion soup and have made dozens of varieties over the years. Some have taken hours, some have used expensive ingredients and some have been full of fattening, but delicious ingredients. This particular recipe cooks in less than 30 minutes but has the rich flavor of one that takes a lot longer. There’s about 410 calories per serving, and cost approximately $7.71 for 4 servings. Not bad! I originally found this recipe in one of my Rachael Ray cookbooks (can’t remember which one) and over time, have changed it up just a bit. I use Swiss cheese instead of Gruyère, because I can usually find it on sale. You can use homemade beef stock or broth but I always pick it up on sale and have it on hand, which is what I use in this recipe. You can usually save money by buying onions in the premade bags. I paid $1.99 for a 3 pound bag at Safeway.
Delicious, easy and quick, less than $10…this is my kind of recipe! And it’s filling….you can add a salad or some fruit to the meal, but this will definitely satisfy a hungry stomach.
FRENCH ONION SOUP –
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Serves: 4 for approx. $7.71
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 medium onions, thinly sliced (I like using sweet yellow onions but have used white, red, and a combination of all 3)
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup dry sherry or vermouth
- 6 cups beef broth or stock
- 4 slices crusty bread, toasted (like French bread)
- 4 slices Swiss cheese (or 2 cups shredded Swiss or Gruyère)
Directions:
Heat a deep pot over medium to medium high heat. Add oil and butter. Add sliced onions and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Your onions will turn a caramel color but don’t let them burn or get black. Add bay leaf and sherry to the pot and scrape up all the bits on the bottom, which is full of flavor. Add beef broth/stock and cover pot to bring to a quick boil.
Place 4 small, deep (oven-proof) bowls or crocks on a cookie sheet. Once soup comes to a boil, ladle into bowls. Top with sliced, toasted bread and then cheese. Pop under the broiler until cheese melts and is bubbly.