Onion soup

Tips: Making the best onion soup

Here are a few tips for making a great onion soup. We will discuss choosing the right ingredients, making the soup ahead, and making it properly.

Choose fresh ingredients

Selecting the best ingredients is crucial for a flavourful balance in the onion soup. The onions are the flavour cornerstone, so use fresh yellow onions for their ideal mix of sweetness and savouriness. Choose premium vegetable or chicken stock for the broth to enrich the flavour of the soup. A dry white wine with sharp acidity, such as Sauvignon Blanc, enhances the sweetness of the caramelised onions just right. For the gratin, opt for well-aged Gruyère for its creamy, complex flavour.

Make the soup ahead

If you have a busy schedule or want to meal-prep, make the onion soup beforehand. You can prepare it up to a day in advance, refrigerate it, and reheat it when ready to serve. It will remain strong and tasty.

Store onion soup properly

Keep your onion soup fresh by storing it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. When ready for another serving, reheat the soup on the stove until it is hot. If you want to save your soup for later, freeze it without the gratin. Put the cooled soup in a freezer-safe container. Make sure not to fill it all the way to the top since it will expand. You can freeze it for up to three months.

Try our recipe for homemade onion soup

Onion soup can make every weekday dinner a bit more special. It is known for its intense flavours, warm aromas, and beautiful presentation. You can have a warm and delicious meal ready in just thirty minutes. Gather the family around the dinner table to enjoy the sweet and savoury flavours bursting from the bowl of soup. Serve the onion soup as a comforting main dish or a hearty starter.

Sweetness from caramelised onions

The key to the perfect onion soup is getting the caramelised onions right. This is where most of the flavour comes from. Sautéing the onions slowly for a long time releases their natural sugars into the pan. Then they caramelise, and the intense sweetness and slight smokiness serve as a flavour base. Alone, the flavour is intense. Combined with stock, soy, and white wine, the soup gets a savoury and acidic boost that matches the sweetness perfectly.

Bread and cheese for the perfect gratin

Top off the onion soup with a rustic gratin. The bread and cheese add a perfect contrast in flavour and texture. You can enjoy a crunchy bite of bread with melted cheese with every spoonful of soup. As it lies on top of the soup, it soaks up some of its goodness. Now soft, you can use your spoon to cut through the bread and get a delicious spoonful of all the wonderful flavours. The onion soup combines the best of both worlds. It has a charming rustic presentation and deep, luxurious flavours.

A French classic

For hundreds of years, onion soups have been a go-to meal across the globe. Workers and peasants used to make the soup using whatever ingredients were available. Onions were generally popular and known to provide lots of flavour. Today, onion soup is considered a more elegant dish with its rich, savoury flavours. The reason could lie with the French king Louis XV, who introduced it to French royalty. Whether royal or rustic, French onion soup is a timeless classic fit for all dinner tables. Serve the bowls on sophisticated trays or homely wood boards to fit your dining setting.

Vegetable-based soups are tasty meal options made from simple ingredients. If you are looking for more recipes like the onion soup, perhaps a leek soup with crunchy bread, a creamy courgette soup, or a delicious potato soup will do the trick.

Make it your own

Get creative with our onion soup. Even if onion soup is a classic, there are plenty of ways to mix and match ingredients without changing the identity of the dish. Try substituting cheeses or onions to start slow.

If Gruyère is unavailable, adding Swiss cheeses such as Emmental or Jarlsberg is an excellent choice. They have a mild, nutty flavour with a slightly sweet and buttery flavour. These cheeses also melt perfectly on top of the bread, giving it a creamy texture. For something different, mozzarella cheese brings a stretchy, gooey texture to the slightly crunchy bread and rich soup. Its mild flavour allows the onion soup to shine. Experiment with different cheeses to discover your preferences.

Though yellow onions are the top choice, other types of onions are also delicious in the soup. Red onions have a slightly milder flavour and can add a subtle sweetness and a slight hint of spiciness. Other onions, such as Walla Walla or Maui onions, have a higher sugar content and can create stronger sweetness in the soup – but with a milder flavour in general. Try a few different ones to find your favourite, or mix more varieties in one soup to create your preferred flavour base.