My husband loves French Onion Soup. I have personally witnessed him eat French Onion Soup in greasy spoon diners in rural parts of this country and in swanky hotel lounges overlooking city centres while sipping $20 cocktails. He is somewhat of a connoisseur so the first time I made it for him and it didn’t quite turn out the way I hoped, I never made it again. Until now!
While I typically shy away from slow cooker recipes that involves any kind of pre-cooking before tossing things into the pot, this one is worth it. In ten minutes you can have your entire prep done, toss the stuff into the slow cooker and come home a few hours later to one of the best French Onion Soups my husband has ever had (or so he tells me).
Simply melt the butter.
Add onions and garlic.
Add brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and thyme.
Add flour.
Toss into the slow cooker.
Add beer, stock, pepper and cook.
Top with bread and cheese, broil and enjoy.
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, thinly sliced (I used regular cooking onions but sweet white ones would be good too).
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp coarse salt
1 ½ tbsp. flour
½ bottle of beer
1 box beef stock (approx. 900mL)
Pepper to taste
Topping:
Slices of French Bread
Slices of swiss or gruyere cheese
Melt butter in sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until soft (approx 6-7 minutes).
Add brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and thyme and cook 2-3 minutes.
Add flour and coat well.
Put onion mixture into slow cooker sprayed with non-stick spray.
Add beef stock, beer and pepper to taste then cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Just before serving, toast one slice of bread per serving, ladle soup into oven proof bowls, top with toasted bread and one slice of cheese. Broil in oven for 2-3 minutes until cheese is bubbly.
CAREFUL: Serving bowls will be very hot after broiling.
NOTE: This recipe can easily be doubled for a large group and is a perfect make-ahead dinner party appetizer.
BONUS: Looking for other soup recipes? Try my Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup, Crockpot Turkey Stock or my Dad’s Two Potato Soup.
Printer-friendly version