The Lowly Onion Becomes Slow Cooker French Onion Soup
This recipe for Slow Cooker French Onion Soup allows the lowly onion, the bridesmaid never the bride of the culinary world, to show off its star quality. How many savory recipes, particularly soup recipes, can you think of that don’t include the onion? Not many! It always seems to be there….the little background note that is sliced and diced into obscurity in thousands of recipes. Poor little onion, a sort of Rodney Dangerfield of ingredients, that get’s it’s chance to be a headliner act in Slow Cooker French Onion Soup.
The Crock Pot or Slow Cooker (whatever you like to call it) is a busy Mom’s best Friend
I have been eating a lot of soup lately. Maybe it’s the dreary, grey stormy days that we’ve been having lately with snowstorms and ice storms and nights as cold as -20F, that makes a big bowl of steaming soup so comforting. Certainly the aroma of a big pot of soup fills the house a fragrance more appetizing than any potpourri. Sometimes I make soup on the kitchen woodstove but when I need the soup to take care of itself on those busy days that I can’t babysit the woodstove, I rely on my slow cooker. The good old crock pot has been my favorite small appliance for years. Without a doubt it made feeding a family that had a construction worker husband and three boys at lot easier. I bought my first one in 1976 and have never been without one since. Over the years I have perfected my slow cooker techniques and have quite a repertoire of recipes. This one for Slow Cooker French Onion Soup is a favorite because it is yummy, economical and so easy to prepare even a beginner can have great success with it.
Which is the best onion variety for French Onion Soup?
Luckily , the best onion to make French Onion Soup is the very easily obtained yellow onion. The yellow onion has lots of bright flavor and is sweet and mellow. The red onion is a little bitter and has less sweetness. Sweet onions like the Vidalia are mellow and sweet but the flavor is easily overpowered by the other ingredients.
Is it best to cook the onions before putting them in the slow cooker?
Note that the starting of this soup can be done in two ways – in the crock pot from the beginning or transferred from the sauté pan. Both come out good and starting it in the crock pot can save you time if you are in a rush. But consider these things. A raw onion can add a lot of moisture to the dish. So if you need to get it together quick, just throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker and turn it on. But taking the slower route of caramelizing the onions in the sauté pan can add a depth of flavor that is truly yummy and improves the final texture! Try both and let us know what you think
What is the best cheese to use for French Onion Soup?
You want a cheese that has a mild nutty flavor and that will melt nicely under a broiler. My personal preference is Gruyere but it isn’t always easy to find and it is more expensive. A reasonably priced substitution is Swiss Cheese. It has a similar nutty flavor and will melt well for you. Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, uses grated parmesan and no bread on top of the soup. I tried it. It was very good but it was different from traditional French Onion Soup. I’ll stay with my toasted baguette and Swiss/Gruyere!
Some other Wilderness Wife Slow Cooker Recipes –
Slow Cooker Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup
Slow Cooker Curried Carrot Soup
Slow Cooker Mushroom Barley Soup
PrintBest Slow Cooker French Onion Soup
Slow Cooker French Onion Soup is so comforting and tasty on a chilly day. Preparing it in the crockpot makes it it easier for the busy mom. With a side salad it can easily be a complete meal.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5-8 hours
- Total Time: 8 1/2 hours
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
6 tablespoons of butter
4 onions, sliced
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup of wine or cooking sherry (I prefer red wine)
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
8 cups of beef broth
1 baguette, sliced
1 cup of grated cheese, Gruyere or Swiss
Instructions
Melt butter in sauté pan.
Add onions, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. cook until caramelized and tender (15-20 minutes).
Add garlic and cook 3 minutes longer.
Pour onion from sauté pan to slow cooker.
Add wine to sauté pan to deglaze it. Be sure to loosen all the crusty bits from the bottom pan and pour the sauté pan contents into the slow cooker. I prefer a dry red wine but The Pioneer Woman uses a white wine. I have tried her recipe but I prefer the red wine as it seems to add more body.
Add the Worcestershire sauce to the slow cooker.
Tie bay leaves and thyme into a bundle with string (makes it easier to retrieve when done). Place herb bundle in crock pot.
Pour in 8 cups of beef broth.
Cook on high 4 – 5 hours 0r low for 7-8 hours.
Remove herb bundle.
Slice baguette into 1 inch thick pieces and place on a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle each slice liberally on each slice.
Put cookie sheet under broiler for 5 minutes or until bread is toasted and cheese has melted and begun to brown. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.
Ladle soup into bowls and float the baguette slices on top to serve.
I had great success with this recipe. It turned out so delicious! Love your website and all your recipes.
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I love having the recipe for the French onion soup, I was afraid to try other recipes, but I will try this one. Thanks Beth
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do you have to use the wine or cooking sherry ? I have bay leaves, but no thyme ! How will it affect the taste without these ingredients ?
Bay leaves add a very pleasant flavor to most soups so go ahead and try them. I would use 2 and tie a string on them. It makes them easier to find because you want to remove them before serving because although they add a great flavor, biting into one is not a very good experience. I use the sherry or wine to deglaze the saute pan when I precook the onions. Deglazing can get all the delicious little brown crusty bits from the bottom of pan that add great flavor to a soup. I do this with all ingredients that I precook/saute for a soup. Broth can also deglaze a pan, not quite as efficiently, and also I like the added flavor of the wine. If you are concerned about the alcohol content, just let the wine simmer in the saute pan for a few minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Then you will be left with just the flavors!
I don’t know why it didn’t cross my mind to make French Onion soup in my crock pot. Thanks for the idea. I did see your link on The Weekend re-Treat BTW.
Soups are great in a crock pot! A soup is always made better by simmering for a long time. I do add milk based products for things like a chowder in the last hour of cooking but other than that low and slow is the way to go!!!!!
Sheryl this looks so delicious! I chose your recipe and post for my fave for the From The Farm Blog Hop this week! Thanks for linking up 🙂
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This sounds super yummy! Thanks for linking up to Tip Me Tuesday linky party this week. {knuckle bumps}
Did you know that I can “lend” your blog posts my Google page rank for better search engine traffic?
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If you upload at least 2 images, 2 steps, and blog post URL into your Tip Junkie craft room, you’ll be in business!
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This sounds so yummy! I love love love French onion soup and this sounds really easy to make. Stopping in from the Wakeup Wed Linkup Party.
Oh, I wish I had a bowl of your soup right now! Stopping by as co-host of Homemade link Party.
This looks so good!
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
It is absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Be sure to try it!
This soup sounds delicious! I bet it does warm up a dreary day! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
This sounds yummy!
Thanks for linking up at Tell Me About It Tuesday. We hope you hop over and share with us again this week. (Sorry for the late comment!)
Congratulations!! Your recipe has been featured at Tasty Tuesdays 46 on my blog, Lori’s Culinary Creations. Hop on over and grab a feature button and link up your latest culinary creations. Congrats again.
Link- http://bit.ly/1doQZDX
Lori
I love French Onion Soup and can’t wait to try this. Thank you for linking up to Tasty Tuesdays last week. I will be featuring your recipe tomorrow for Tasty Tuesdays on my site, Detours in Life. Congrats!
This looks delicious! I have never made French Onion soup at home, but seem to always order it when it is at a restaurant. My slow cooker is a necessity with twin infants in the house (plus two older kids), so I will definitely be pinning this and trying it. Yum!
I have never had French onion soup, but my mom use to eat all the time. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays, stop by and share some more.
Just stopped by to pin your recipe and let you know that you are one of our features on Family Fun Friday! Blessings!
This looks delicious, especially on these cold days. Shared on Google+
Poor onions! I love French Onion Soup – glad to have a slow cooker recipe. Thanks for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you next time.
This looks amazing. I love french onion soup. I will be pinning this & making it for sure. JOining you from the Creative Muster Linky.
I really like French Onion Soup! This looks so delicious! Thank you for bringing it to Family Fun Friday!
Oooh, finally a reason to pull out the slow cooker. I haven’t actually used it yet, but I’m going to dust it off for this French onion soup.
oh my goodness, one of my favorites! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop . Hope to see you sharing again this week. Big Hugs
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I love French Onion Soup. I think I’ve only made it once and it’s been years. I want to give your crock pot recipe a try. I’d do the extra step of caramelizing the onions first.
what a great idea. i love onion soup. Thanks for linking up to the all things pretty party. we love having you.
Sounds really yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
Have a wonderful week-end!
Lea
P.S. I did like you on FB and would love for you to like Lulu’s Musings as well: https://www.facebook.com/LulusMusings
Thanks
I never thought of making onion soup in my slow cooker but I love the idea and can’t wait to give it a try. I love getting food started and then walking away without having to tend to it.
I so agree! some days I have just too much to do and “slaving” over the stove is not possible!
This year I bought a new, larger crock-pot and I’m using it more and more. It is great for making homemade broths. I have a pea soup recipe that is easy in the crock-pot; my husband loves it. Thank-you for sharing this recipe. I will have to try it.
I loovveeee French Onion Soup! One of my favorites for sure. Never have tried a slow cooker version, definitely need to give this a try 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
This is so good. I’m glad I found it at Fluster Buster!
Thanks for the feature! I appreciate your support!
Thanks for the feature and all the kind words. I am so glad you enjoy my blog. Blogs are like children and when you hear about someone else caring about them, it makes you feel so good! Thanks again!