Vegetarian French Onion Soup

One of the most comforting bowls of soups out there, this vegetarian version of French Onion Soup gets its robust flavor from caramelized onions, white wine and vegetable broth. Simple ingredients slowly cooked to perfection. Make this on a day that the kitchen is calling your name as caramelizing onions takes some time and attention. I promise you, this soup is worth the effort.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time55 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Soup

Cuisine: French

Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the caramelized onions

6 or more medium to large yellow or white onions, peeled and halved
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
salt to taste
pinch of sugar (optional: will help bring out the sweetness of the onions)

For the soup

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ cups of dry white wine
4 cups 1 32 oz box broth (I use vegetable, but you could use beef or chicken if not vegetarian)
½ tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
4 slices of crusty bread or baguette
½ cup shredded Gruyere or mozzarella cheese

Instructions

To make the caramelized onions

Place the onions face down on a cutting board and slice lengthwise as thinly as possible, creating half-moons. Alternatively, use a food processor with the slicing disc fitted (I use my 3 mm disc) to slice the onions.
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven (choose a wide cooking vessel so that the onions caramelize and don’t steam) heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add onions and season with salt and optional sugar. For the first few minutes stir and flip often with a wooden spatula make sure that the same batch of onions isn’t always on the bottom.
After about five minutes, once the onions have started to sweat and soften, turn down the heat to medium low (you might even have to cook on low depending on the strengthen of your flame). Stir every 2-3 minutes to prevent onions from sticking and ensure that they cook evenly. As the onions starts to caramelize, be mindful of the heat, lowering if you feel that they are browning too quickly (you want them to brown slowly and not burn). If the bottom of your skillet starts to brown in spots, use the wooden spatula to scrape it clean (you also might rotate the skillet since the heat might not be distributing evenly). Keep cooking and stirring onions until they turn a blondish brown, about 15-20 more minutes.

To make the soup

Once your onions are nice and caramelized, add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Pour wine into the pot and deglaze by scrapping the bottom clean. Add broth, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
When you’re ready to eat, set the broiler to high. Trim the slices of bread if needed (you want them to float on top of the soup so shape correctly for your serving bowl). Arrange them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slice with cheese and broil until bubbly and browned (about 3-5 minutes). You could also do this in a toaster over.
Ladle soup into bowls. I like to sprinkle a little extra cheese directly in the soup for good measure! Float the cheese toast on top and serve.

Notes

The goal of this soup is to make it as easy as possible, thus I’ve offered mozzarella cheese as an option, along with traditions Gruyere cheese. Also, I find it much easier to make the cheesy toasts and then float them in the soup, but you could also ladle the soup into the bowls, float the bread on top, sprinkle with cheese and then broil.