This cozy soup is the perfect meal for the coldest day in 40+ years! It’s currently -11 degrees, so soup for dinner was imminent. But this soup knocks it out of the park in all senses! Clocking in at number 8 out of 42, My easy crockpot French onion soup recipe marries the classic and deep French onion flavor we all know and love with the convenient ease of the crockpot!
Easy Crockpot French Onion Soup – A Simplified Spin on a Classic!
I’ve always loved a good french onion soup, but it really became a favorite when I met Matt. He loves it and I’ve loved making it for him through the years! His favorite part of the soup would have to be the baked cheesy bread that soaks up the savory broth with each spoonful. Mine on the other hand is most definitely the carmelized onions. That’s the genius of this meal – it has many faces! Whether you’re a lover of onions, partial to a good savory beef broth, or love anything topped with a healthy dose of bread and cheese, this soup is an easy MVP!
Caramelizing the Onions
The magic of the soup is found in the perfectly caramelized onions. If you’ve never made caramelized onions before, I’m here to tell you that it’s easy! And once you learn how to do it, you open a plethora doors to a variety of new meal options! The process is made up of two simple parts:
- Lightly browning the onions – slice the onions into strips and toss in a skillet with butter and cook over medium-high heat. Toss every few minutes until the onions have become translucent, tender, and somewhat charred. This process can take up to 15 minutes.
- Caramelizing the onions – the fun part! Stir in your brown sugar and toss to coat/dissolve. Do this for about 5 minutes, and then add a splash of white wine. Toss as you continue to simmer and reduce the sauce until the wine nearly evaporates and the mixture becomes syrupy.
This whole process can take about 25 minutes, but this varies depending on your heat, amount of onions, and the size of your pan. You’ll want to make certain to do this well, because the soup is nothing without properly caramelized onions! Once you’ve caramelized your onions, this easy crockpot french onion soup recipe is as simple as can be and yields the perfect cozy family dinner for a chilly night in!
Why the Crockpot?
In true “kelsie brown blog” fashion, I had to convert this recipe to a crockpot meal. It can easily be converted back to a simple stovetop recipe, with a few adjustments I’ll explain in a bit! But the crockpot is particularly helpful with this recipe for a few reasons. the first and most obvious reason is the convenience. As a busy mom, I’m always looking for ways to have dinner “ready to go” for whenever my crazy family is prepared to sit down! And I sure as heck don’t have a lot of free time in the evening to stand over the stove.
The second reason – and one unique to this french onion soup recipe in particular – there’s no time restriction! Typically, you would prepare this soup on the stove. Once it was ready, you would throw it right into the oven to broil the bread and cheese on top. This requires that you prep the cheese bread while the soup is on the stove and simultaneously prepare the oven-safe-bowls/oven for broiling. In an effort not to confine myself to a restrictive timeline for serving this dinner, I figured it would be easiest to allow this soup to sit on the crockpot until I was ready to serve it.
I simply allow the soup to slowly simmer in the crockpot throughout the evening. Whenever we are ready to pour ourselves a bowl, we ladle the soup into the bowls, top with the cheese bread and a slice of swiss, and throw them in the oven to broil for a few minutes! Easy, quick, and ready when we are! Just the way I like them.
Prepping the Cheese Bread
The MVP in my husbands opinion – these “croutons” of sorts are the perfect flavor and texture to compliment the savory and bold french onion flavor! There are many ways you can prepare these “croutons”, but here’s how I do it:
- Slice a baguette into 3/4 inch slices.
- Lightly spread butter over the top of each slice.
- Sprinkle with mixed italian cheese.
- Bake at 450 for 6-8 minutes (until cheese bubbles)! To make them “extra crispy”, bake on a wire rack!
You can store these in a sealed baggie for a couple of days. Matt likes to tear his up and stir them right into his soup, allowing them to become soggy and full of flavor. I prefer to use them as a “dipping agent” (not so much a fan of soggy bread)! Either way, it’s my opinion that the cheese bread “croutons” are a must with this soup!
Enough small talk, let’s get to the good stuff! Find my easy crockpot french onion soup recipe below (and use the “pin” button to share it with a friend)!
Easy Crockpot French Onion Soup
Easy Crockpot French Onion Soup
Equipment
- Crockpot
Ingredients
- 2 yellow onions
- 2 cartons beef broth (~ 8 Cups)
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 C white wine
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 sprigs thyme
- to taste salt and pepper
Cheesy "Croutons"
- 1 baguette
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 c mixed italian cheese
- garnish sliced swiss cheese
Instructions
- Chop yellow onions into "strip" slices and throw into a pan with butter. Cook over Medium-high heat, tossing frequently until tender, translucent, and lightly charred (about 15 minutes).
- Once the onions are lightly browned, add brown sugar and toss to coat. Continue to cook for a few more minutes, then add wine. Simmer and stir to reduce and evaporate wine (5-10 minutes). Once the wine has mostly evaporated and the sauce has become more of a syrup, turn off heat. Lightly salt to taste.
- In a crockpot, add caramelized onions, beef broth, herbs, Worcestershire, and salt/pepper. Set to high heat and allow to cook for 4+ hours. (If serving after 6 hours, turn to low heat or warm until you are prepared to eat).
- Once you're ready to serve the soup, spoon it into oven safe bowls (optional). Top with cheese bread "croutons" (directions below) and a slice of swiss cheese on top of them. Broil for about 5 minutes or until cheese bubbles! Serve hot and enjoy!
Cheese "Croutons"
- Slice baguette into 3/4" thick slices.
- Lightly spread with butter and sprinkle with mixed cheese.
- Bake at 450 for 6-8 minutes (until cheese bubbles).
- Serve on top of soup. Take it a step further by placing a slice of swiss cheese over the croutons and broiling the (oven safe) bowl of soup for 5 minutes (until cheese bubbles). You can also serve the sliced bread "croutons" as a side to dip into the soup and/or sprinkle some mixed cheese/swiss into your soup to melt!
Nutrition
To forego the crockpot and make this recipe on the stove, simply substitute the 4 hour crockpot cook time to 30 ish minutes on the stovetop over Medium heat! Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes and serve in your preferred manner! Pro tip for this route – prepare your onions in the same stockpot you plan to simmer the soup in. This will minimize cleanup and cut out a few steps!
I hope you’ll give this cozy and savory soup a try this week! If you do, I would love to see your creation! Tag me on instagram (@kelsiebrownblog) and follow along for a new family friendly recipe each week! A few of my favorite as of late have been my Crockpot Mac & Cheese, my creamy ranch crockpot chicken, honey sriracha chicken lettuce wraps (pictured below), and my skillet “lazy” shepherd’s pie!
With Love,
Kelsie
