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This Creamy French Onion and Mushroom Soup is the best bowl of cozy french onion soup. It has everything you love about a warming, cheesy bowl of French onion soup…only better. There’s a touch of cream to make every spoonful rich and creamy. Slowly caramelized onions in wine with fresh herbs deliver the most delicious flavor. Then add that classic cheesy bread topping, and you’ll have the perfect bowl of soup. Great for both fall and winter days!
You guys, this creamy French onion and mushroom soup!
This isn’t your average bowl of French onion soup. Not that French onion soup could ever be average, it’s always delicious, but this bowl is a step up. It took me a while to get this one figured out, but once I did, I knew it was special. It’s funny, my process for developing recipes can be all over the place. Sometimes I have a solid idea in my head. One that already really excites me and I don’t think twice about creating the recipe.
Other times I have an idea that I like, but don’t love. Often times it’s these recipes that take me a little longer to get just right. That was kind of the case with this French onion soup. I wanted to make a French onion soup with mushrooms and lots of herbs. Of course, that would have been delicious, but I needed something to really make me excited.
After many texts back and forth with my sister-in-law, who has really become one of my best sources to help me think even more outside the box, we landed on this soup. A creamy french onion and mushroom with double the amount of herbs. With a few simple tweaks to the recipe, I was finally excited…so excited. It’s hard to make a classic recipe like french onion soup any better, but this recipe might just do it.
OK, the simple(ish) details.
If you’ve ever made french onion soup, you know two things. One, it’s really pretty straight forward and there’s nothing too complicated. Two, the onions take a second (or two) to really caramelize down. It can take a little more time than the usual thirty-minute start to finish dinner, but it’s worth the wait.
And I don’t know, something about caramelizing onions on the stove is very relaxing and cozy. However, I am weird…I’m probably the only one that feels that way.
Anyway, I’ve made a lot of French onion soup over the years. Sometimes I’ve taken shortcuts with the onions, but with this soup, I wanted to deeply caramelize them to ensure they make for the most flavorful French onion soup.
So, start with sweet yellow onions, butter, a touch of honey, and dry white wine.
The butter is used for obvious reasons…fat, flavor, and deliciousness. The honey helps to cook and caramelize the onions faster. I always find these ingredients to be key when trying to achieve perfectly caramelized onions. Now, the wine…use a dry white wine, which is pretty traditional in most French onion soups. You’ll cook about half of the wine into the onions. Not only does this help the onions to caramelize quickly and evenly, it also infuses the onions with incredibly rich flavor.
It’s delish.
If you prefer not to cook with wine, I recommend using about half a cup of apple cider or apple juice to caramelize the onions. For the remaining amount of wine (another half cup), use chicken or vegetable broth.
Once the onions have been caramelized, toss in the herbs and those mushrooms. The mushrooms add such a rich flavor, they help to highlight the caramelized onions and herbs.
Now add the broth. You can use vegetable broth to make this vegetarian, or use chicken broth…either one works really well. Simmer the soup for ten or so minutes, then add the cream. The cream is the key to this soup. It’s not heavy, but it adds a rich creaminess that really makes this soup just a touch better, a touch more indulgent, and truly just delightful.
Finish it up.
Once the soup has simmered for a bit, transfer it to small oven-safe ramekins. These are the mini Staub cocottes I sometimes like to use. But I adore these mini pumpkin cocottes as well, so cute. Top with crusty french bread, and a layer of cheese. Then place under the broiler to melt. Watch closely, the broiler works fast.
If you don’t have any oven-safe bowls, simply melt the cheese onto the bread, then add the cheesy bread to the soup.
Then simply pull these out of the oven and experience the bubbling cheese and the deliciousness of a truly good bowl of French onion soup. And guys, that’s it. This soup is truly one of those roll your eyes back, crave-worthy, fall/winter comfort foods.
It’s going to make the best Sunday night dinner, but will be equally great for the upcoming holidays and for low-key entertaining. I already have plans to make this on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a soup that everyone loves!
Looking for other warming fall/winter soups? Here are my favorites:
Healthier Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Vegetable Soup
Creamy Wild Rice Chicken Soup with Roasted Mushrooms
Cream of Mushroom Soup with Garlic Herb Breadcrumbs
Lastly, if you make this Creamy French Onion and Mushroom Soup, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy French Onion and Mushroom Soup.
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 630 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 1/4 cups dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 3 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 2 cups cremini or wild mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 6-8 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce)
- 2 bay leaves
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 6 slices french bread
- 2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
Instructions
- 1. Melt together the butter, onions, and honey in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes. At this point, you want to slowly add 3/4 cup of the wine, 1/4 cup at a time, until the wine cooks into the onions. Continue to cook another 10-15 minutes until you've used the 3/4 cup of wine and the onions are deeply caramelized.2. Add the garlic, mushrooms, thyme, and sage. Season with salt and pepper, cook another 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup wine, the broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and return the soup to a simmer, simmer 10 minutes, then stir in the cream and cook another 5-10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Season to taste with salt and pepper.3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the bread on a baking sheet and toast for 10-15 minutes, until very dry. Switch the oven to broil. 4. Ladle the soup into oven safe bowls. Add a slice of bread to each, and top evenly with cheese. Place each soup bowl on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven, broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Top with fresh thyme. Eat!
Hi, is there anyway to do this without oven safe bowls? I was planning to make this for dinner tonight but I don’t have oven safe bowls for melting the cheese! Thanks 🙂
Hey Anna,
You could do this in one large dutch oven or other oven safe dish. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I want to make this tonight! Could I sub red wine or even white cooking wine? It’s Sunday in Utah, so I can’t buy white wine today 🙁
Hey Hannah,
You can use cider or broth in place of the wine. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
could i make this with red onions instead of yellow onions?
Hey Tamara,
I would highly recommend using yellow or sweet onions. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Well…hope it’s gonna be good. I don’t know anybody who can caramelize onions in 25 minutes. I cooked mine almost two hours before saying eff it and moving on 🙂
I hope this is amazing! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
Can you freeze this recipe?
Hey Carey,
You sure can! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Wow!! It’s is delicious! I was actually thinking to myself ‘I can’t believe I made this’, it’s so tasty. I’m lactose intolerant so used dairy free butter and cream and it was still divine! Thank you 🙂
Thank you so much Hollie! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious and easy to make
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Julie! xTieghan
Wow! This was amazing!! I had bred brother and a bottle of Malbec on hand so I used that. And wowww is all I can say, it was soooo beyond good!!
Thank you so much Carolina!! xTieghan
Made this for lunch today. Since we don’t have soup crocks, thank you for the suggestion to broil the cheese on to the bread. It was delicious! Can’t wait to make it again!
I am really glad this turned out so well for you Caitlin! Thank you for trying this one! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan!
Just made this recipe tonight! It was good — but I don’t think that it turned out the way it was intended to! It was lighter in color and lot less rich looking than yours. Maybe cook the onions longer? Love all of your recipes so I’m trying to figure out where I went wrong with this one! Thanks!!
Hey Ariana,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I am sorry it did not turn out the way you wanted. Did you adjust the recipe at all? You really need to caramelize the onions to get that dark flavor. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
I’m currently making this soup, and I’m new to your site – loving both already! But some directions seem to be missing a temperature change. In paragraph 1, it says to use med-high and never says to drop that temp. But in paragraph 2, it says to return to med-high heat, and to simmer, assumingly at med-high, for 10 min. I’m used to simmering on low. I’m adjusting it that way and crossing my fingers 😉 Appreciate whatever clarity you can give. Definitely looking forward to the finished product and to try some of your other recipes.
Hey Natalie,
Sorry for the confusion, I will go back and give this a second look. Thanks for giving the recipe a try, hope you love it! xTieghan
Loved this! I wouldn’t change a thing.
How would you suggest I warm up the leftovers? Temperature and time recommendations would be great.
Hey Nancy,
I would just heat on the stove top. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I love the saucepan! Tried looking for it and turns out some don’t come with lid, do you have the butter warmer size or the one quart size? Where’d you get the lids? Thanks!
My family loved this soup. The recipe was clear and the results were delicious. The mushrooms were a wonderful addition. I will definitely make it again!
Thank you so much Blakely! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Another winner!
Thank you so much Lama! xTieghan