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.
French Onion Soup
French onion soup 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
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How To Make French Onion Soup
This soup begins with onions.
Since this french onion soup is 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.
Step 1
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.
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Step 2
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.
Pro Tip: 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.
Step 3
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.
Traditional french onion soup calls for Gruyere cheese and I highly recommend it. Gruyere is rich, it’s smooth and it melts easily.
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.
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What To Serve With French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutesCook Time: 50 minutesTotal Time: 1 hourServings: 1 personCalories: 628kcalIngredients
- 3 tablespoons 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 freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 thick slice French bread
- 1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
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
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 628kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 1145mg | Potassium: 584mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1365IU | Vitamin C: 6.1mg | Calcium: 379mg | Iron: 2.2mg Tried this recipe?Mention @OneDishKitchen or tag #onedishkitchen!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons 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 freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 thick slice French bread
- 1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
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.
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I’m so glad I found your site. I have been a widow for many years but can never seem to be able to make dishes for just one or two. As a result, like several others, I end up eating the same thing for 3 or more days. This is just what I’ve been looking for. I love it !!! Thanks so much.
Thank you so much for your kind note, Elaine. I’m so happy you found our site and hope you find many new recipes to try.
I make this every cold winter evening. So delicious!
I’m so happy you like the recipe, Linda. Thank you for letting me know.
Seriously love this recipe!
Our whole family loved this soup!
I am a senior citizen who lives alone. I am hungry for chicken paprikash and cabbage rolls, how do I cut these recipes down so I am not eating them for 3 days? I have been alone for 13 years and at times, to get the flavor I want, I end up cooking like I was back with my family when I was growing up, cooking for a family of 7 that all ate at least seconds. In all these years I have only made one decent pot of chili and ate it for days. I know you can freeze it, but, it never tastes the same to me. If you have a formula to cut down recipes, I hope you will share it.
Hi Jackie, I’m so happy you found our site and I hope you find many new recipes to try. I love cabbage rolls too and would love to work on creating a small batch cabbage roll recipe. Hopefully we will have one on the site for you soon.
I made this but doubled it for two and this recipe is a definite winner hands down !!! Thank you so much !!!
Awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know that you enjoyed the recipe, Marci.
French onion soup is a family favorite here, but I’d never think to make it just for myself. I’m anxious to try your recipe and make it one day just for me!
I’ve been dying to try french onion soup and this has convinced to make it!
Lauren
This is one of my favorites, and I NEVER make it at home! I need to change that and your single-serve recipe is perfect for that! This looks so good, and I can’t wait to try it!
What a gorgeous, tasty looking soup! So perfect for cozy fall and winter evenings. This recipe’s a keeper!
This looks absolutely amazing! I really need to give this a try and it’s perfect because I’m really the only one in my house that likes soup!
Wow, I am SO DANG HAPPY I stopped by tonight! This looks absolutely incredible, and I love that I finally have a soup recipe I can make without having 3 weeks worth of leftovers.
French Onion soup is one of my favorite! I’m the only one in my house who likes it so I only get it when I go to a restaurant. Thanks to you now I can make it at home just for me.
French onion soup is one of my absolute favorites! And this recipe looks AMAZING! xx
Beautiful recipe! Isn’t it funny? I don’t like onions at all, but I love french onion soup!! haha I think its the raw onions that mostly turn me off. Love your post!
This soup looks amazing and I love your pictures…so amazing!
Valerie
This is my husband’s favorite soup. He always orders it when we go out and I have never attempted to make it at home…..until now. Thank you so much for breaking it down for me. I can’t wait to try it!!
I love french onion soup so much!
French onion soup is a fantastic Fall meal… going to make this soon!
One of my most favorite soups EVER!