Easy recipe showing how to make the best French Onion Soup. This classic soup is made with plenty of caramelized onions and comes complete with a thick piece of toasted bread loaded with creamy Gruyere cheese. Easy step by step video included in this single serving recipe.
A hot bowl of french onion soup is the perfect meal on a crisp, cool day. I especially love it when there's a thick chunk of French bread topped with glorious melted cheese floating in the middle of the bowl.
French onion soup is a bistro classic and is surprisingly easy to make.
Ingredients In French Onion Soup
This French onion soup recipe is made with only a handful of frugal ingredients and for this french onion soup for one, you will need:
- butter
- onion
- garlic
- thyme
- salt
- pepper
- red wine
- flour
- chicken broth *read on to find out why I use this instead of beef broth
- french bread
- Gruyeré cheese
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
RELATED: Single Serving Comfort Food Recipes
How To Make French Onion Soup
This soup begins with onions - plenty of sliced onions.
Since this french onion soup recipe yields a single serving, I use one small onion. In truth, the size of the onion doesn't completely matter. It could be small or it could be medium - in the case of french onion soup, the more onions the better.
- The onion is sliced into thin strips and added to a small saucepan with melted butter. The onions caramelize which means that as the onions slowly cook, the natural sugars in the onions release and result in a wonderful sweetness that will transform any dish they are added to. The process of caramelizing onions takes a little bit of time, for this soup recipe I recommend cooking the onions for 25 minutes.
- After the onions have caramelized, add in a little red wine and cook it down. Then add in a little flour to thicken the soup, and then pour in the broth.
- Make sure you don't leave out the glorious chunk of cheesy bread which is, in my opinion a complete necessity in French onion soup.
Recipe Tips
- Traditional french onion soup calls for Gruyere cheese and I highly recommend it. Gruyere is rich, it's smooth and it melts easily.
- Another key ingredient to a good french onion soup is the broth. Typically, french onion soup is made with beef broth but good store-bought beef broth is hard to come by. I've found that most packaged beef broth has a slightly "tinny" taste. Instead, I use chicken broth. It makes the soup perfect every single time.
RELATED: The Best Soup Recipes For One
What To Do With Leftover Wine
Leftover wine…is there really such a thing? Sure, you could always pour a glass for yourself and sip on it while cooking or relaxing. But what if you only use wine for recipes?
If that’s the case, you can freeze wine by pouring the wine into plastic ice cube trays and placing the trays in the freezer. When you want to use a little wine in a recipe, pop out one of the frozen wine cubes and add it to your recipe.
What To Do With Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients left over from this soup recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving recipes:
- Onions: Vegetable Casserole, Meat Sauce, Pan Fried Okra
- Garlic: Chicken Cacciatore, Hummus, Baked Beans
- Chicken broth: Chicken and Dumplings, Lentil Stew, Chicken Fricassee
- Bread: French Bread Pizza, Breakfast Bread Pudding, Croutons
- Gruyere cheese: Ham and Cheese Scones, Crustless Quiche Lorraine, Baked Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
Other Single Serving Soup Recipes
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Thai Shrimp Soup
- Curried Carrot Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Potato Soup
What To Serve With French Onion Soup
For this French onions soup recipe I use a 2-quart saucepan. For best results use a pot of similar size.
If you would like additional information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 small yellow onion , halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic , chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 thick slice French bread
- 1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
How To Video
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes.
- Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the flour doesn't burn.
- Stir in the chicken broth and bring the soup back to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes.
- Taste and add additional salt, if necessary.
- Heat the broiler. Place the slice of French bread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the Gruyere cheese over the top and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3-4 minutes.
- Place the bread in a soup bowl and pour the soup over the top.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I was a little skeptical about this recipe, but I love this soup so much I decided to give it a try. Wow! I used to enjoy this soup in a national chain restaurant, but have not been able to go during the pandemic. This soup is perfect for me. I found that using the crust of a regular sandwich bread held up just fine. Thanks Joanie!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the soup, Mary. Thank you so much for your feedback.
It was so good I used a cheap box wine but it still was so delicious. It was for one but there was enough for my husband also which loves it also thank you!!
I’m so glad you both enjoyed the soup. Thank you for your feedback.
I made this today with madeira for the wine (all i had) and better than buillion organic beef stock. omg. it was delicious! I doubled it cause even tho i am one person I knew I would want another serving in the next two days. Thank you so much for your work here, it is changing the way I cook and eat!!
Thank you, Kassie. I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipes!
QCan your one-serving recipes be doubled for two? I need to include my husband. Most of the recipes on Pinterest are for at least four people, and we aren’t that good at eating leftovers. A two-serving meal would be perfect.
Hi Jean,
Most of the recipes on our site can be doubled with great success.
Joanie