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.
Why This Recipe Works
- This French Onion Soup is absolutely delicious and so easy to make.
- It's made with one small onion which cooks low and slow and beautifully caramelizes giving the soup a wonderful flavor.
- This small batch soup recipe yields one large bowl of soup.
Ingredient Notes
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Butter: I recommend using salted butter.
- Onion: Use 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced.
- Garlic: 1 clove of garlic adds great flavor.
- Seasonings: Dried thyme, salt, and black pepper.
- Red wine: This helps to deglaze the pan after the onions have cooked.
- Flour: To thicken the soup. I typically use all-purpose flour but you can you a gluten-free blend instead.
- Chicken 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.
- French bread and cheese: For the toasty cheesy bread on top. I like using a crunchy bread and Gruyeré cheese but you can use any type of bread and cheese you prefer.
RELATED: Single Serving Comfort Food Recipes
How To Caramelize Onions
The first step to making classic french onion soup is to caramelize the onions. Essentially, you're taking the sliced raw onions and transforming them into sweet, decadent and completely irresistible onions that serve as the base of this dish.
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.
How To Make This Recipe
- 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 necessity in French onion soup.
Expert 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
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use white, yellow or red onions for French onion soup. But to make it the classic way, you will need 1 small to medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced for this small batch recipe.
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.
For this 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.
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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
- Clam Chowder
- Zuppa Toscana
Serving Suggestions
If you’ve tried this french onion soup or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see!
French Onion Soup For One
Equipment
- 2 quart saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 small yellow onion , halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic , chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- ¼ cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 thick slice French bread
- ¼ 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.
Video
Notes
- 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.
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.
Flynn says
This is fabulous! The recipe takes right steps and time to develop flavors and it really shows in the final dish. I subbed mushroom broth for the chicken broth for a vegetarian version and cut back on salt elsewhere, since it was not a reduced sodium broth. Super delicious!
Barbara K says
This recipe is very similar to a regular-serving sized recipe I've been using and love. I substituted beef broth and thought it was delicious. It made enough for 2 servings: one for lunch today and the rest tomorrow. It's the perfect size. Thank you!
Joanie Zisk says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the soup recipe, Barbara. Thank you.
Cherie Kennedy says
Had some delicious beef broth left over from a family Sunday roast beef dinner and made your recipe. SO SO satisfying and delicious with just a simple salad. Leftovers made gourmet. Thanks again Joanie
Joanie Zisk says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you, Cherie.
Cindy Lee says
I don't drink any alcohol, is it ok to leave out the red wine or is there something I use in its place?
Joanie Zisk says
Use 1/4 cup of broth instead of the wine.
Beth says
Another win! I made this as part of my Christmas dinner and was so happy with the result. I actually sauteed my onions for about 1.5 hours, but mostly because I was using a stainless steel pan for the first time and was afraid of burning them! (I didn't!!!) And I use a beef broth concentrate made by Savory Choice that comes in little packets that make 1 cup per packet. So handy and (I think) very tasty. Thanks again Joanie for sizing all these meals for singles. This was delicious!!
Joanie Zisk says
I'm so happy you enjoyed the soup, Beth. Thank you so much for your feedback.
Mary Z says
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!
Joanie Zisk says
I'm so happy you enjoyed the soup, Mary. Thank you so much for your feedback.
May Michelle says
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!!
Joanie Zisk says
I'm so glad you both enjoyed the soup. Thank you for your feedback.
Kassie says
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!!
Joanie Zisk says
Thank you, Kassie. I'm so happy you are enjoying the recipes!
Jean says
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.
Joanie Zisk says
Hi Jean,
Most of the recipes on our site can be doubled with great success.
Joanie