Vegetarian French Onion Soup

I’ve been LOVING soup this winter (like more than usual) and this Vegetarian French Onion Soup has really been hitting the spot lately! It’s relatively easy to make and so ridiculously comforting. You can make it with or without the cheese so leave it off if you’re wanting a vegan version of this delicious soup!

And if you’re looking for other delicious vegan soups, this Chickpea Noodle Soup is one of my FAVS as well as these: Vegan Butternut Squash Soup, Alphabet Vegetable Soup, Moroccan Chickpea Soup.

A few months ago I found myself HARD CORE craving French Onion Soup. Naturally, I ended up creating my own Vegetarian version of this classic soup and figured that I would share it on my blog! While it takes a bit of time to caramelize the onions, it’s simple to make and PERFECT for cold winter dinners!

Truthfully- this was a recipe that took little effort to make vegetarian. It’s really just a matter of replacing the beef broth and finding small ways to really substitute that flavor and classic color.

I never used to make french onion soup at home until the past few years and it’s just SO COMFORTING! Like chicken noodle soup as a kid level of comfort and I am HERE FOR IT.

As written, this soup serves 4 but those are larger portions. If desired, you could easily make this into a 6 servings soup and serving it as an appetizer or side dish with a meal.

Ingredients we’re working with

Onions – probably what you would expect to see in an ONION soup 😀 The caramelized onions in this soup are really what give it such a depth of flavor.

Veggie broth – instead of using beef stock, I swapped in to for veggie and then added in a few other ingredients to give it that meaty flavor including…

Red wine – I LOVE the extra flavor that this adds to the soup and it gives it a darker color similar to what you would get if you used beef broth. If you don’t want to use this, you can swap it for an equal amount of additional veggie broth and then add in a small splash of soy sauce.

French bread – a good baguette is an absolute MUST for that classic onion soup deliciousness!

Fresh herbs– You *could* use dried herbs here but I high recommend fresh if you can swing it.

Gruyere cheese– this is totally optional and can be omitted if you’re wanting to make a vegan version of this soup! You could also swap it for vegan cheese (Violife makes a delicious vegan parmesan) which I HIGHLY recommend! Swiss cheese, fontina, or another melty cheese also works well in this recipe.

Vegan worcestershire sauce– some worcestershire sauce has fish sauce in it so if that matters to you, be sure to find a vegan version.

Fresh thyme leaves– to enhance the flavor!

For the bread topping

For classic French Onion Soup, you cook everything, ladle it into oven proof bowls and then top it with toast French bread and sprinkle on the cheese before broiling it in the oven to get the cheese melted.

HOWEVER: if you’re wanting to skip that step for whatever reason, you can melt the cheese on the toast before placing it on top of your bowl of soup. And then completely skip the broiling process. I really like the classic method but this is definitely a little easier.

How to make this soup

This recipe is incredibly easy to make but just takes a little bit of time to get the onions properly carmaelized.

We’ll start out by adding olive oil to a large pot over medium heat and once hot, add in the onions. Cook for about 20 minutes before adding in some butter and cooking an additional 25 minutes. This takes a bit of time, I know, but properly caramelizing onions is worth the wait, I promise!

From there, we’ll deglaze the pot with a little wine before adding the the remaining soup ingredients to simmer for 30 minutes.

The soup is then ladeled into ramekins and topped with toasted bread + a good melty cheese. Pop them into the oven until the cheese is gooey and delicious!

More vegetarian soups to try:

Loaded Vegan Chili

Moroccan Chickpea Soup

Vegan Corn Chowder

Acorn Squash Soup

Crockpot Taco Soup

Print

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

This Vegetarian French Onion Soup is VEGAN friendly, simply to make and perfect for cold nights when you need something comforting!
Course dinner
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 683kcal
Author Brita Britnell

Ingredients

3 pounds yellow onions about 5 large, peeled and sliced (I cut mine in half and then slice them into half moons)4 tablespoons olive oil2 tablespoons butter use vegan where applicable1 teaspoon sugar you can use coconut sugar here if you’d prefer1 ½ teaspoons salt4 cloves garlic minced8 cups vegetable broth*½ cup red wine**1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce***2 bay leaves1 tablespoon fresh thyme can use dried if desired½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper4 slices French bread or something similar, cut into thick slices1 cup Gruyere cheese freshly grated (optional or sub for vegan cheese)

Instructions

In a large pot, heat the olive over medium high heat. Once hot, add in the sliced onions and begin to caramelize. Cook, stirring often, until the onions start to soften, about 20 minutes.
3 pounds yellow onions, 4 tablespoons olive oil
Add in the butter and continue to cook the onions until they begin to brown, about 15-20 additional minutes. Really watch it and adjust the heat if the onions are starting to burn at all. You want them to slowly cook so that they brown slowly.
2 tablespoons butter
Stir in the sugar and salt and continue cooking for 15 more minutes until the onions become well browned. During the last couple of minutes, add in the garlic and continue to stir.
1 teaspoon sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 4 cloves garlic
Deglaze the pot by stirring in the red wine and use a wooden spoon to scrap any bits and flavor from the sides and bottom of the pot. Stir in the veggie broth, worchestire sauce, bay leaves, thyme, and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Stir every few minutes.
8 cups vegetable broth*, 1/2 cup red wine**, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce***, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush or spray the slices of bread with oil or cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Toast for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. You want the bread to be lightly toasted. Once done, set aside.
4 slices French bread
Season soup to taste with additional salt and pepper as needed. Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls, top with the toasted bread, and even sprinkle the cheese across the 4 bowls. Place the bowls on a large baking tray and broil in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling around the sides.**
1 cup Gruyere cheese
Serve immediately and ENJOY!

Video

Notes

*More so than other broths, I’ve noticed that veggie broths have a great range of sodium levels. If yours is low sodium then you may need a smidge more salt to the soup
**I like something like merlot or pinot noir here
***Check to make sure it’s vegetarian as some have anchovies in them
**if you don’t have oven proof bowls or don’t want to fiddle with it, you can melt the cheese on the toast before placing it on top of the soup and then not worry with that final step of broiling the soup.

Nutrition

Calories: 683kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 3489mg | Potassium: 695mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1586IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 467mg | Iron: 4mg

The post Vegetarian French Onion Soup appeared first on Food with Feeling.

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