Healthy French Onion Soup Recipe

Soup, glorious soup. It’s such an easy way to start a multi-course meal or, paired with a side salad and sprouted bread, a simple lunch or dinner. And there’s no better — or easier — soup than this onion soup recipe.

You’ve likely had classic French onion soup at a restaurant or cafe but for an everyday soup, it can be too rich. With this version, you can enjoy homemade, healthy French onion soup whenever the mood strikes.

Key Ingredients

This French onion soup uses just five ingredients. Onions are surprisingly powerful little vegetables. Onion nutrition is packed with antioxidants that can lower inflammation and may even help fight cancer. Research studies have shown an inverse relationship between the frequent consumption of onion and garlic and the risk of several common cancers, including esophageal, colorectal and breast.

And if you’re suffering from diabetes, animal research demonstrates that getting your daily onion fix may help control blood sugar levels in the body and prevent insulin resistance. Not too shabby.

This recipe is packed full of bone broth, my favorite food for healing leaky gut. It’s also exceptional at protecting joints and keeping skin looking young. Additionally, bone broth boosts the immune system naturally by reducing inflammation and helping the gut get in tip-top shape.

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Lastly, the ghee gives the dish some healthy fats. You can also use butter instead, but ghee provides a more robust flavor.

History of Onion Soup

You may be surprised to find out that this delicious soup has a really lengthy history. Experts seem to agree that onion soup has been made and eaten since ancient Roman times! But wait, why is onion soup considered such a French classic today? That’s because the modern day version of onion soup, often called French onion soup, was introduced in 18th century Paris, France.

To this day, it’s easy to find onion soup on restaurant menus in Paris and other parts of France as well as around the entire world. It will likely be served in ramekins with gratinee (melted and slightly browned cheese on top) with baguette slices on the side.

How to Make French Onion Soup

So how do you make this French onion soup? It’s actually super easy. First, you’re going to make some caramelized onions. This is a really important step to any good onion soup because the caramelized onions are the rich and delicious star of the show. If you don’t caramelize the onions first, this soup would turn out to be really unimpressive to say the least.

Next, you’ll add in your chicken broth and beef broth. If you have chicken or beef stock on hand, those can work too. All that’s left to do now is add some seasoning, bring it to a boil and then allow for some cooking time so this onion soup can reach its ultimate rich and flavorful potential. Let’s get started.

To begin, in a large stockpot over medium heat, melt the ghee. Then add in the sliced onions. If you want, you can replace the ghee with grass-fed butter or avocado oil. While some onion soups contain olive oil, I don’t recommend substituting olive oil because it does not have a high heat threshold.

Cook the onions until they’re lightly caramelized, then add in the broths and garlic. Add salt and pepper and try a sip so you can adjust to taste.

Then crank up the heat so the mixture boils. Once it’s bubbling, reduce the temperature and let the onion soup simmer for 30–35 minutes. The longer it simmers, the more flavor you’ll be rewarded with. In fact, you could even turn this into a slow cooker recipe.

When the soup is ready, ladle it out into bowls or mugs. You can add shredded goat cheddar cheese to top off your soup if desired.

Serve this classic French onion soup recipe hot … and enjoy!

French Onion Soup Recipe

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• Author: Dr. Josh Axe
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

There’s no better or easier soup than this onion soup recipe. You’ve likely had French onion soup but that can unnecessarily rich. Here you can enjoy a homemade, healthy onion soup whenever the mood strikes.

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Ingredients

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• 4 tablespoons ghee
• 4 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 cups chicken bone broth
• 2 cups beef bone broth
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• shredded goat cheddar cheese, for topping (optional)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. In a stock pot over medium heat, melt ghee and thinly sliced onions.
2. Cook onions until lightly caramelized.
3. Add bone broth and garlic.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 30–50 minutes (the longer, the more flavor).
6. Serve into bowls or cups, then top with goat cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Notes

As the video shows, you can also make this recipe is a slow cooker. First, caramelize the onions in a frying pan before adding to the slow cooker.

• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 40
• Category: Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Soups
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bowl
• Calories: 223
• Sugar: 3.7g
• Sodium: 542mg
• Fat: 11.6g
• Trans Fat: 0.2g
• Carbohydrates: 9.3g
• Fiber: 1.5g
• Protein: 16.8g
• Cholesterol: 18mg