Freezable French Onion Soup Recipes

FREEZABLE FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large roasting pan, toss together onions, oil, sugar, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover tightly with foil; cook until steamed, about 30 minutes. Uncover; cook, stirring every 30 minutes, until onions are golden brown and caramelized, 1 to 1 1/4 hours more.
• Transfer onion mixture to a large saucepan (reserve roasting pan); stir in broth and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until liquid has darkened, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, deglaze the roasting pan with wine: Place the pan over medium heat; add wine. Scrape bottom of pan with a wooden spoon or scraper to loosen any browned bits. Simmer until reduced and syrupy, about 2 minutes. Pour liquid (and browned bits) into soup. Season with salt and pepper. (If freezing, let cool completely before transferring to airtight containers, leaving 1 inch at top.)
• If desired, make the cheese toast: Heat broiler. Place bread on a baking sheet; top with Swiss cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Cut each slice into four triangles.
• To serve, divide soup among bowls; garnish each with two triangles of cheese toast, if desired.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the oil, onions, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until onions are deep golden brown and caramelized, 45 to 55 minutes. In the beginning, you will only need to stir the onions only occasionally. As they start to brown midway through cooking, you will need to stir them frequently, scraping the fond (the brown particles) from the bottom of the pan. If the onions are browning too quickly, reduce the heat slightly or add a few tablespoons of water to deglaze the pan and continue cooking.
• Add the wine and raise the heat to high. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape any fond from the bottom of the pan, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and the onions are jammy, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
• Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes.
• While the soup simmers, preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• When the soup is finished, remove the bay leaves and add the sherry; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If the soup needs a deeper flavor, try a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. If it's not quite sweet enough, add ¼ teaspoon sugar.
• Adjust an oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on a baking sheet and divide the hot soup among the crocks (be sure the soup is very hot as it won't warm up much in the oven). Top each crock with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère and then Parmigianno Reggiano. Slide the crocks into the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let the crocks cool for a few minutes before serving. (Alternatively, if using regular soup bowls: Top each toast slice with some cheese and return to broiler to melt, about 2 minutes more. Divide the soup among bowls and top each serving with two cheese toasts.)
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The soup can be made and refrigerated up to 3 days ahead (without toasts or cheese), or up to 3 months ahead and frozen. Toasts can be made (without the cheese) and kept sealed at room temperature for up to 3 days.

SLOW COOKER FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Over medium heat sauté the onion in butter until soft and translucent and caramel colour. Make this in 3 batches.
• Place onions in slow cooker.
• Deglaze cooking skillet with some of the beef stock;this is the secret to that taste.
• Add to slow cooker along with the remaining beef broth (your own homemade or powdered mixed with boiling water).
• Add Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaf.
• Cover; cook on High for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaf.
• Divide soup into appropriate containers.
• Seal and freeze.
• When ready to enjoy your French Onion Soup.
• Remove from freezer and place in a microwave dish with 2 tbsp sherry; heat for 5 minutes.
• Add Parmesan cheese to your onion soup bowl. Place one slice of toasted bread over the cheese. Fill bowl with soup.
• Top with shredded Gruyère cheese.
• Place under broiler to melt your cheese.
• Tip: When adding your ingredients to the slow cooker make sure they are all hot.
• Use the processor to slice your onions. I once read 'If I use my food processor just to make onion soup it will be worth the cost".
• Bon Appettit!

EXTRA CHEESY FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Make stock by bringing 10 cups water to boil.
• Add beef and chicken bouillon pastes (or heat canned beef and chicken broth).
• Lower heat to simmer and let simmer while preparing onions.
• Melt butter slowly (so it does not brown) in large soup pot over low heat.
• Add thinly sliced onions.
• Stir, cover, and cook on low heat until lightly brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 mins.
• Add wine, bring to boil, scraping up browed bits.
• Cook about 5 mins.
• stirring occasionally.
• Add about 5 good shakes of worcestershire sauce.
• Add stock to onions.
• Bring to boil, turn heat down to simmer and simmer uncovered about 1 1/2 hrs.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• BREAD SLICES- BRUSH OLIVE OIL ON SLICES.
• SPRINKLE WITH PARMESAN AND PLACE IN OVEN ON COOKIE SHEET AT 375f UNTIL LIGHTLY BROWN.
• Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls.
• Float bread on top of soup.
• Top with 2 or 3 cheese slices.
• Place in oven or microwave until cheese melts.