Gluten Free French Onion Soup is a cinch to make at home! All you need is a little bit of time, plus fridge and pantry staples.
French Onion Soup is one of my very favorite soups (hello, melted cheese lid) and I’ve been wanting to develop and share a gluten-free version for years. That said, most gluten free breads would almost instantly dissolve inside the savory, hot broth underneath said cheese lid.
Solution: heavily toasted hearty bread.
Outcome: EPIC Gluten Free French Onion Soup.
Soup season is saved!
Homemade Gluten Free French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup at home is the perfect weekend soup as it takes a couple hours to make, but all you’re doing during that time is stirring every 10-15 minutes.
The result is a luxurious, velvety soup that has endless layers of flavor on account of simmering caramelized onions in a mixture of wine, beef broth, chicken broth, and fresh thyme.
Crispy croutons made from hearty gluten free bread are layered on top of the soup in oven-proof crocks before they’re blanketed in both swiss and gruyere cheese and broiled until golden brown and bubbly.
I make this soup on game day when I’ve got nowhere to be but home. Stir a little, sip and taste often, then enjoy gluten free comfort food in a bowl!
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Caramelize the onions.
Start by heating butter and extra virgin olive oil in a 6-quart Dutch Oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sliced yellow onions and salt then cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Remove the lid then continue to cook for an 1 – 1-1/2 hours, stirring every 10-15 minutes, or until the onions are tender and caramelized. Some recipes will have you caramelize the onions until they’re chocolate brown, but I like a medium-caramel color on mine.
Recipe Tip
I typically use vidalia onions when caramelizing onions but recommend yellow onions for this soup as the sweet ones are just a touch too sweet in the final dish.
Step 2: Thicken the soup.
Turn the heat up to medium-high then sprinkle in gluten-free flour and cook while stirring for 1 minute. Add gluten free worcestershire sauce and dry white wine then cook for another minute or two.
Recipe Tip
Opt for a crisp, dry white wine like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc, over an oaky chardonnay or sweet riesling or moscato wine.
Step 3: Simmer the soup.
Last step is to add gluten-free beef broth, gluten-free chicken broth, a bay leaf, and fresh thyme then turn the heat up to bring the soup to a boil.
Turn the heat back down to medium-low then gently simmer for 1 hour, stirring and scraping the fat off the top occasionally.
Step 4: Make the croutons.
There are 2 important steps to the bread-portion of Gluten Free French Onion Soup:
- Pick a HEARTY gluten free bread, vs GF white bread. I like a grain and seed-type bread.
- Slice the bread into cubes then bake until dry and crunchy.
Toss the cubes with extra virgin olive oil and salt then spread out on a parchement paper or silpat-lined half sheet pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 14-15 minutes, stirring once, or until the cubes are golden brown and crunchy.
Step 5: Assemble and broil.
Ladle the soup into 4 oven-proof bowls then top each with a quarter of the croutons and swiss cheese. Fill in the holes with grated gruyere cheese then place the crocks onto the sheet pan you used to make the croutons and broil until golden brown and bubbly.
Serve immediately.
Nothing better than digging into the golden brown cheese lid to get to the croutons and luscious onion soup below. I hope you love this gluten-free take on the classic – enjoy!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 3 large yellow onions, sliced not too thin, not too thick (8 cups)
- salt
- 1 Tablespoon gluten free flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, like pinto grigio or sauvignon blanc
- 1 Tablespoon gluten free worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups gluten free beef broth or stock
- 2 cups gluten free chicken broth or stock
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 slices hearty gluten free bread
- 4 slices swiss cheese
- 4 oz shredded gruyere
Directions
- Melt butter and 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large, 6-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot. Add onions and a generous pinch of salt then stir to coat and place a lid on top. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, then remove lid and continue sautéing onions for 1 – 1-1/2 hours, stirring every 10-15 minutes, or until onions are very tender and caramelized. Turn the heat down if necessary to avoid searing the onions.
- Turn heat up to medium-high then sprinkle in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add wine and worcestershire sauce then simmer until mixture has thickened and the liquid has nearly evaporated, 1-2 minutes. Add beef broth, chicken broth, thyme, and bay leaf then turn the heat up to high to bring the soup to a boil. Turn heat down to medium/medium-low then gently simmer for 1 hour, occasionally stirring and skimming off fat from the top if necessary. Remove bay leaf and thyme stems then season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the Bread Cubes:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees then line a half sheet pan with parchment paper or a silpat. Cut bread slices into cubes then add to the sheet pan and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and salt. Toss with your fingers to coat then spread cubes out and bake for 14-15 minutes, stirring once, or until golden brown and crunchy.
- Switch oven to broiler mode then place an oven rack in the second highest spot. Scoop soup into 4, oven-proof crocks then top with croutons, a slice of swiss cheese, and a quarter of the grated gruyere cheese, letting some hang off the edge of the crocks. Place crocks back onto prepared sheet pan then broil until cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Btw, worcestershire sauce isn’t gf…
At the time of this writing (11/20) Lea & Perrins is in the United States.
Do you think vegetable broth or just more chicken broth would work in place of beef broth. I don’t eat beef.
Where do you get the bread?
I find it in the gluten-free aisle at my grocery store.
I like the trick of the swiss slice + grated gruyere. A whole bag of onions can be caramelized at once overnight with only one stirring in a slow-cooker with the same amount of butter and/or oil. Extra caramelized onion can be frozen for up to six months–flat in a freezer zip top bag, of course. A pinch of baking soda will help the onions to caramelize better whichever way they’re cooked. Who would want to skim that deliciously flavored butter and EVO off!? :-)
That soup looks amazing! Question about the bread: does it contain soy?
Hi Tracey! This bread does contain soy protein.
Oh my goodness, this looks delicious!
Wait – what? Skim fat? Whyyyy? This looks great and I’m going to try it sans the fat removal :-)
yum!!! this sounds amazing!
Thanks Emily!
Oh gosh Kristin, thank you so much for posting this. French onion soup is my absolute favoritebut I’ve never made it. Adding this to our fall soup repertoire as the temperatures in Colorado are stuck in the 80’s too. Seriously, this post made my very crap-tacular morning just a bit better. ?
Awww – I’m sorry to hear you had a rough start to your day. :( Cheese and soup tend to lift my spirits up too though! Hope your day is going better!
OMG, I had no idea it was this easy to make this soup! Looks delish and I cant’ wait to try it!
Right? Super, super easy – I hope you love it!
hi, what brands of broths have you found are gluten free? I can’t seem to find any. Thanks so much!
Hi Deb! I usually use HyVee’s brand of chicken broth, but Progressive, Imagine, and Pacific all have great GF broth options too.
This looks AMAZING!! I’m definitely going to try it next time we have a full day at home. I LOVE Schar white bread, it’s the closest GF bread to regular bread in my opinion.
Always feels good when you find a great GF replacement for an old favorite!
YUM I love anything with lots of onions, so this is on my list ASAP. I recently discovered Schar and have liked almost everything. The Ciabatta buns are a little small, but I love the burger buns. I wish the croissants were available in the US! Thanks for the awesome looking recipe!
Ohhh man – what I wouldn’t do for a good old fashioned croissant!! Hope you love the soup, Cori!