Simple French Onion Soup

Winter has made a serious appearance today. “Like a Nor-Easter, but no snow..”, they said. And I just got back from a week in a much warmer climate. It’s too cold for me; it’s time for some serious comfort food.

I’m thinking of home-cooked onion soup, rich stock, caramelized onions, crusty bread, toasty, melty cheese. The real pain is the time it takes to caramelize the onions. But perhaps a bit of technology will help me here. I’ll use my Instapot to caramelize several pounds of onions, then build my soup based on that.

From Wikipeida:

French onion soup (French: soupe à l’oignon [sup a lɔɲɔ̃]) is a soup of onions, gently fried and then cooked in meat stock or water, usually served gratinéed with croutons or a larger piece of bread covered with cheese floating on top. Onion soups were known in France since medieval times, but the version now familiar dates from the mid-19th century.

First of all, the Onions:

InstaPot Onions

Use your instant pot to make homemade caramelized onions in a fraction of the time

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings: 3 cups

Course: Ingredient, Vegetable

Cuisine: American, French

Calories: 454

Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 2 lb Yellow Onions sliced to 1/2"
• 1 lb Sweet Onions Vidalia or other, sliced to 1/2"
• 2 tbsp Butter small chunks
• 2 tsp Salt Kosher
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Coarse grind or smal crack
• 1 cup White Wine Dry. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio

Equipment

• 1 InstaPot

Method

 

1. Add onions, butter, salt, and pepper to the container of an Instant Pot or other multi-use pressure cooker and stir to combine.
2. Cook on the high "Pressure Cook" setting for 2 minutes. Once the cycle is complete, immediately release the pressure. Carefully remove the lid.
3. Drain excess liquid from onions and return them to pot.
4. Cook over a high "Saute" setting, stirring constantly, until the onions are deeply golden and caramelized. Depending on the onions and the amount of liquid they have released, this can take 10-30 minutes.
5. Add white wine and cook down again until wine is evaporated.
6. Remove from heat and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Nutrition

Calories: 454kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 7gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 2458mgPotassium: 1028mgFiber: 10gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 364IUVitamin C: 44mgCalcium: 168mgIron: 2mg

Notes

Caramelized onions are versatile and can be used in many dishes, including:

• Toppings: Use caramelized onions for burgers, pizza, flatbread, tartlets, or crusty bread.
• In sandwiches: Add caramelized onions to a veggie panini with kale and melted fontina cheese.
• In sandwiches: Add caramelized onions to a veggie panini with kale and melted fontina cheese.
• In appetizers: Serve caramelized onions with crispy crostini for an appetizer.
• In quiches and frittatas: Stir caramelized onions into a quiche or frittata for breakfast.
• In omelets: Top an omelet with caramelized onions.
• In meatloaf: Add caramelized onions for a sweeter taste.
• In hummus: Use caramelized onions to make hummus.
• In soups, stews, and braises: Add caramelized onions to soups, stews, and braises for a deep, sweet, umami flavor.

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And then the main event of the soup.

InstaPot French Onion Soup

InstaPot French onion soup is a pressure-cooked version of the cheese-topped classic. 

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

Course: Soup

Cuisine: French

Calories: 81

Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 2-3 cups Caramelized Onions See This Post
• 4 cups Beef Broth Low Sodium (Make your own)
• 1 cup Dry Red Wine
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tbsp Worcestershite Sauce
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Seasned Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Coarse grind or light crack
• 2 ea Bay Leaves
• Croutons  Make your own
• Provolone/Swiss/Gruyere Slices Cooks Choice
• Shaved Asiago A taste Kick

Equipment

• 1 InstaPot

Method

 

1. OPTIONAL – to melt cheese on the final dish – Preheat oven to 350
2. Add the onions, broth, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, garlic powder, salt, pepper and bay leaves to the instapot
3. Give it a stir and secure the lid.
4. Hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” for 8 minutes. Quick release when done.
5. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
6. Taste, season, balance the soup
7. Ladle the soup into the crocks until it’s just below the brim. Layer the croutons on top of the soup so that it serves as a foundation for the cheese.
8. Seal with 1-2 slices of cheese, top with some Asiago if using.
9. Place the crock on a baking tray lined with tin foil and pop into the oven for 5 mins or until the top begins to bubble, turns slightly brown and forms a cheese-like crust.

Nutrition

Calories: 81kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 3gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.04gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gSodium: 636mgPotassium: 234mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 23IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 1mg

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Let us know how it was!