French Onion Soup

This was pretty good.  I made it a day ahead and used brandy in place of the wine.  Cooking Light has another French Onion and Apple soup which I'd give the slight edge to.  Of course nothing can compare to Julia Child's FOS. 

This recipe was tasty although I did follow a lot of the other comments..I added 1/2cup of white wine instead of 1/4 cup. I added more thyme and halved the beef broth and added chicken broth. Deffo worth trying.

I cut the broth by half and like others, I also added twice as much thyme. It came out pretty good.

It was very delicious. One of the best kind!

This was easy and worth the effort. I consider myself a bit of a French Onion Soup connoisseur and have eaten it in many, many different restaurants. While it was not quite as perfect as The Courtyard Cafe in Brecksville, OH (which is what I consider the best anywhere) it was darn close. The Courtyard actually tops their FOS with provolone instead of the traditional Gruyere or Swiss. I prefer it that way and so in this recipe I used provolone as well. We are totally loving the leftovers and I plan to make again!

Best french onion soup ever! This soup is rich and flavorful and amazing. I did use red wine instead of white because it's what I had on hand. And I added a splash of worcestershire to the onions just before adding the broth. It tasted amazing the day I made it but I followed some other reviewers' advice and let it sit in the fridge until the next night. Amazing! I'll be making this again and again!

I love French Onion but in all my years of cooking I have never attempted to make it. This recipe was fantastic and equal to any restaurant I have ever orderd it in. Good Job.

For someone who must, for health reasons, follow the 'light cooking' concepts, this is a pretty good dish. Those who truly love traditional French Onion soup will want to add a clove of minced garlic, more thyme, a pinch of sage, a little Worcestershire or Soy sauce, more wine, a little sherry or cognac, and enrich the broth with some chicken stock. Most important for traditionalists - use a thick slice of sourdough or French bread, not cubes, and don't ever use reduced-fat cheese because it doesn't melt properly and it has no taste. I usually get some thick slices of Provolone at my deli for this dish because it melts perfectly and has just the right flavor for the rich soup beneath it.

Check out a visual summary for this recipe with pictures of each ingredient: http://counterchef.com/recipes/author/ellieGGGGG/title/french-onion-soup/

I like many was underwhelmed by the original rate of this recipe. It took a LOT of doctoring to be good. I caramelized the onion, double the thyme, added garlic, worchester sauce, and beef flavor boaster, brandy, and tripled the wine. After ALL that it was great. Try Ina's recipe, it's much better.

I first made this recipe back in 2005 when I saw it in the January issue of Cooking Light. I've made it several times and put a comment on my recipe "Still the Best!". This is as good or better than some of the best onion soup I've had eating out. I love to cook, but what I enjoy about this recipe is the simplicity. I don't braise any meat, I don't make any special stock, I don't add any additional ingredients. The only thing I did was reduce the amount from 8 servings to 4 when I only make if for my husband and myself and I do use Provolone or Gruyère cheese . I find the onions have a wonderful color, and the overall flavor is perfect. One recipe I don't mess with, and we LOVE it!

I love French Onion Soup and this recipe is lovely. I would have given it FIVE STARS if the instructions had been written to give the best results. FIRST: take the time to make your own beef stock ahead of time (Emeril Lagasse has a nice recipe online) and remove all the fat (easily done by refrigerating overnight). You can freeze the extra stock for use in other recipes. SECOND: read a couple "how-to caramelize onions" posts and allow the hour to hour-and-a-half to do this properly. I'm not certain why museumnerd had an issue with the sweetness added by half TEASPOON of sugar. Maui, Vidalia and Walla Walla onions are naturally sweet (same onion seed grown in similar soil type) and the sugar can be omitted. Personally, I will portion with one and one-half cups of soup with 1 ounce cheese and 1 ounce bread. The soup alone is about 90 calories per cup.

i made this soup several days ago. i followed another reviewer's advice and let the onions cook for about 45 minutes to really let the flavor deepen. i realized that i couldn't let the soup simmer the full 2 hours it called for, so i deepened the flavor by cheating a little and adding maybe 1/2 tsp of soy sauce (maybe less -- a small splash). at the time, the soup was good. then it sat in the fridge for a couple of days and the soup was tremendous. if given a couple of days to really let the flavors meld, i would put this up against any restaurant's french onion soup. i'll definitely make this again. this recipe is a winner!

My husband and I are just back from a week-long trip to Paris where we had French onion soup every time we found it on the menu. We hadn't had enough so I tried this version. I used the beef stock recipe from the April 2005 issue of Cooking Light and the soup was every bit as good as those we'd had in Paris bistos.

Worchester sauce helps... good cheap meal!

This recipe fall a bit short. Even using home made beef stock as the base, the soup left something to be desired. My biggest issue is the sugar. This soup was sweet! French onion soup should not be sweet. Additionally, the low-fat swiss doesn't have enough oomph for the topping. I would select a heartier, stronger cheese.

Good recipe. I changed a bit tho...added some red pepper flakes, marjoram, garlic, red and white wine and sherry. It was good. Will make it again with more changes :)

This is restaurant quality French Onion Soup! The entire family raved about this recipe. ( A bit time consuming but still worth it.) I will definitely make this again.

Excellent soup! First time I have ever made french onion soup and in my opinion it was on par with anything I have had in a restaurant. Very easy to make too. Will make many more times.

Recipe was amazing! Followed the directions for the most part, but added a couple different onions. I also cooked the onions a very long time, before i went on with the next step. I sliced fresh italian bread and mixed olive oil and some garlic together and spread over the slices and put them straight into the oven. Topped with a thick slice of swiss and melted in the oven provided the best french onion soup my girlfriend and I have ever had. The best part about it is.....I made it! Woo Hoo!

This was a good basic recipe. Based on the reviews need for deeper flavor. I slowly cooked the onions covered x 15 minutes, then added Salt and sugar and cooked over medium until golden brown uncovered about 40 minutes then added the broth and allowed to simmer also adding the other spices then and simmered about 30 more minutes. Made a fabulous soup. My thanks to Julia Child for how to cook this to deepen the flavors.

I made this wonderful soup for dinner last night following the recommendations of lcb. I, too, have never made the original but based on the reviews, the soup needed a bit of help. I did make the soup the day before so the flavors could marry and I was extremely happy with the end result. I gave the recipe a 3 star rating as some changes were made and they did alter the final result. The soup along with a hearty salad was a very satisifying, meatfree dinner.

The best French onion soup I ever had was in Paris. No, this one isn't Paris, but it is truly the best recipe I have found by far. The soup is fabulous, very easy to make (other than cutting all the onions), and is a great way to impress your dinner guests. Just make sure you let it sit awhile, I let mine go an hour or so in the dutch oven, or longer if I have the time. Alpine Lace is the way to go - keep it in the broiler until the cheese gets nice and brown on top - if you pull it out early the cheese doesn't cut through with a spoon the way it does when browned. Already made this three times and I am making again tonight!

This recipe has been a winter staple in our house since it was published in 2005. My husband and I love it and we feel it is comparable to any restaurant offering. It's incredibly easy to make and the leftovers are perfect for weekday lunch. I follow the recipe with the execption of the cheese. The reduced-fat cheese does not melt as well as full fat. So, I use regular swiss cheese slices. This is delicious and a must try for anyone who likes FOS.

I significantly modified this recipe (without trying the original) and it was even better than at a restaurant - less salty. Ingredients: 2T olive oil; 2T garlic minced; 8c onion (red, yellow, white); 1/2 tsp pepper; 1/4 tsp; salt; 2T flour; 1c wine; 6T Sherry (not cooking sherry, the real thing); 6c liquid (4 beef, 1 chicken, 1 water); 3 springs fresh time. 1) Sweat onion & garlic, med heat, covered for 10 min 2) Carmelize onion, 20 min, med-high heat, uncovered 3) deglaze on high with wine/sherry til liquid evaporates; stir in flour, cook 1 minute 4) add broths & thyme, salt, pepper, and simmer for 2 hours. 5) top with baguettes and cheese and broil. Delicious. This recipe is basically a combination of the Cooking Light one and Cuisine At Home Issue 68.

Very good light version; best made the day before. Prepared to recipe except used only 1/4 tsp pepper. Simmering two hours gives the classic "broken-down" onion broth. Recommend you use only Swiss or Gruyere for the traditional flavor. Not as complex (or fattening) as a childhood favorite: Famous-Barr's French Onion Soup.

This is the best french onion soup I've ever had, bar none!! It doesn't even stack up to anything I've had in restaurants!

I would make this soup again, but I would use more seasoning next time. It was very bland.

This recipe is really worthwhile. It is much lighter and healthier than the usual soup I make. My husband and I both decided it is a keeper! I served a watercress/endive/celery/apple salad dressed with walnut vinaigrette and additional baguette.

This is a SUPER recipe! I have made it several times and for special family dinners this is a favorite request. I did supbstitute MINOR's AU JUS PREP in place of the beef broth and that really gives it the extra oompf that people have said it lacks. It is super beefy and has great color and flavor using it. It doesnt look or taste watered down like some soups made with just beef broth. It is NOT low sodium tho. But I give this recipe 10 stars!!!!!

Very good classic french onion soup. Even though it takes a little time on the stove it is very simple to make.