Recipes Soup French Onion Recipes That Go Beyond Soup By Food & Wine Editors Updated on February 3, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Greg DuPree French onion soup is about as comforting and comforting as food gets. We love the rich, savory broth packed with caramelized onions and topped with decadent Gruyère cheese and toasty bread. The classic recipe can’t be beat, but we’re also not opposed to switching it up by adding truffled cheese or even outright turning French onion soup into a pot pie or getting those flavors into a pastry-crusted baked Brie. We’ve included all of those recipes and more — you’ll want to bookmark this for any night that needs melty cheese. 01 of 08 French Onion Baked Brie Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Amelia Rampe If that first spoonful of French onion soup — with toasted bread, melted cheese, and savory caramelized onions — is your favorite, then you’ll love this appetizer, which is a decadent mash-up of French onion soup and baked Brie. Get the Recipe 02 of 08 Caramelized Onion and Bread Soup with Brûléed Blue Cheese Greg DuPree In their book Wine Food, sommelier Dana Frank and recipe developer Andrea Slonecker pair funky, bright wines with flavorful, vegetable-forward dishes, including this French onion soup recipe. In this vegetarian version of classic French onion soup, blue cheese and Oloroso sherry bring new layers of flavor and depth that you'll want to make again and again. Notes of toasted nuts and fruit compote in the sherry pair well with caramelized onions, and its briny acidity cuts through the richness of the cheese. Get the Recipe 03 of 08 French Onion Chicken Pot Pie Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christine Keely While it isn't a classic French onion soup recipe, this French onion chicken pot pie is about to be your new favorite comfort dish. Roasted and shredded chicken thighs form the base of the pie, along with the deeply caramelized onions and carrots that lend some sweet notes to the dish. Get the Recipe 04 of 08 French Onion-Style White Bean Soup This soup goes back, as Gwyneth Paltrow writes in My Father's Daughter, to a French restaurant called La Serre in Los Angeles where she used to eat with her father. "I've always loved the idea of French onion soup," Gwyneth says, "without actually liking the soup itself." She cooks the onions slowly with fennel and lots of garlic, makes the soup with vegetable stock and the nontraditional addition white beans, then sets the filled bowls under the broiler topped with a slice of toasted bread and a generous handful of grated cheese. Best part? This soup can be made ahead and enjoyed in the fridge for up to three days. Get the Recipe 05 of 08 French Onion Soup with Roasted Poblanos Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee Montiel At Tzuco, in Chicago, the French onion soup arrives to the table piping hot, topped with a bubbling layer of Gruyère cheese. Hiding under the blanket of cheese, a thick slice of baguette soaks up a soup suffused with flavor from a mountain of jammy onions, balsamic vinegar, and bay leaves. French onion soups can lean quite beefy, but chef Carlos Gaytán uses a gentle base of chicken broth that allows the allium flavors to truly shine. Poblano chiles add a mild, vegetal heat and slight charred flavor. To ensure even caramelization, keep the onions in an even layer while they cook. Get the Recipe 06 of 08 French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches © Yunhee Kim Former F&W food editor Grace Parisi reinvented the classic grilled cheese sandwich with this version, which emulates the gooey, cheese-y top of a bowl of French onion soup. Give yourself time to cook the onions slowly; caramelized onions take almost an hour to achieve their sweet flavor and melty texture, but are worth the wait. Get the Recipe 07 of 08 Caramelized Onion Dip Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen A mix of five different alliums—shallots, scallions, and sweet, yellow, and red onions—upgrades this classic caramelized onion dip with layers of flavor. Yellow and red onions give it bite, while Vidalia onion and shallots lend a pleasant sweetness. Taking the time to cook the onions low and slow concentrates their flavor, while adding scallions halfway through cooking keeps them just fresh enough to serve with chips, toasted bread, or vegetables. Get the Recipe 08 of 08 French (Canadian) Onion Soup Hugue Dufour makes a pork broth for his French onion soup using bacon for smokiness and a pig's foot for richness (yum!). You can omit the pig's foot for a lighter broth; either option yields a rich and delicious soup. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit