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It’s another video day!!
Are you happy?!? I’m happy, but slightly sad because this is the last video for a couple of weeks. My number one video guy is off at school doing the whole college thing. We filmed all the previous videos that have been on the site this month, the week before Kai left for LA…it was craziness. Videos are so much work and so hard, at least for me. Like so, so, SO hard, but I have absolutely loved making them for you guys, and am excited to film a whole bunch more when Kai comes home for Thanksgiving break…meaning there will be videos in December!
Perfect cause you know, that’s my very favorite month of the year! I am pumped!
And clearly my excitement for the holidays is already through the roof. Don’t hate me, just love me for my enthusiasm…it doesn’t come out all that much, so take it while you can! 🙂
So today’s recipe and video are this pretty soup! I mean, it’s crockpot french onion soup! It really doesn’t get too much easier, as you will see in the video!
SIDE NOTE: the brother (Malachi/Kai) and I are having a hard time finding music for these videos. Any video pros out there who have suggestions?? They would be so, very much appreciated!
I feel like simple and easy and no fuss is really welcomed on a Monday. I mean, I get it. Monday is the worst, but I also feel like we can make it the best it can be with this soup. Yes, we can!!
Hello, cheesy french toast?
So I know all french onion soup has cheese melted over toast, but my toast is special because it’s actually french toast. Like egg dipped french bread fried in a skillet with butter and parmesan cheese.
Then the bread gets placed on top of the french onion soup and basically covered in Gruyère cheese. Oh yeah, I so went there… and I have no regrets. I am only giving us what our bodies are craving…cause you know I heard the rest of you guys are finally getting some cold weather too!
Anyone with any snow on the ground?!?
Basically, I have been consumed by cozy thoughts. I want all things cozy. Cozy clothes, cozy boots, cozy foods, cozy hats, cozy fires, oh and cozy candles! I love candles. I think my favorites are all the Fall Yankee Candles and then of course the Christmas Sugar Cookie Candles…which I do believe that everyone should have!
I actually really need to replenish my candle stock, does anyone have any new good fall candles I should try? Maybe even some early Christmas candles?? Please, let me know!
Ok, sorry, back to the soup. My mind is all over the place here! Monday – ugh, that’s just how it goes.
So I obviously I say all this in the video, but I kind of adore this Crockpot French Onion Soup, and using the crockpot method is such an awesome way to make it. I don’t know about you guys but sometimes the thought of standing over the stove and babysitting onions for 45 minutes sounds a little daunting. Letting the onions slow cook in my crockpot overnight just seems like the way to go. I swear, the crockpot does an AMAZING job of caramelizing those onions. All you have to do is throw them in and turn it on. Done and done.
I also used a pumpkin beer for my soup because I ran out of red wine…oopsies (better re-stock before the cousins show up for the holidays…cough, cough, Abby….cough, cough, Marge). I personally love the beer in this soup though, and I typically use it in place of wine when making french onion soup. If you think you’d prefer wine, go ahead and use wine, no biggie.
And then pour yourself a glass and wait for dinner to be ready. Mondays, they don’t always have to be brutal. Cheese, caramelized onions and a little booze – sounds pretty good!
And with that, I am out. Happy video watching, let me know what you think! 🙂
Crockpot French Onion Soup with Cheesy French Toast.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, cubed
- 4 sweet onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup of your favorite beer OR red wine
- 2 quarts beef broth
- 2 leaves bay
- 3-4 fresh thyme sprigs + more for serving
- large pinch of pepper
Cheesy French Toast
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- pinch of salt + pepper
- 6-8 slices thick cut french bread
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded
Instructions
- To the bowl of your crockpot, add the butter, onions, garlic, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce. Stir everything together, cover the crockpot and cook on low for at least 8 hours or up to 14 hours. I like cooking the onions overnight while I sleep (note that I have noticed that all crockpots cook differently, if yours seems to cook fast, check the onions at 8 hours in to make sure nothing is burning).
- The next morning, stir the flour into the onions and then add the beer (or wine), beef broth, bay leaves, thyme and a good pinch of pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. The longer and slower you can cook this the better. Taste and season with salt + pepper if needed.
- Just before you're ready to eat, make the french toast. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, parmesan and a pinch of salt + pepper.
- Preheat the broiler to high.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter to melt.
- Submerge one piece of toast at a time into the egg mixture, allowing it to sit 30 seconds in the eggs. Remove and allow the excess to drip off back into the bowl. Place the toast on the hot skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining bread.
- Ladle the french onion soup into oven safe ramekins or bowls. Place 1-2 pieces of toast on top of the soup and cover with cheese. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the cheese is melted. WATCH close, the broiler works quick!
- Serve the soup with fresh thyme and enjoy hot, right out of the oven!
To Make this soup on the stove
- Heat a large heavy bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat and add the butter. Add the onions + brown sugar and cook about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Add the worcestershire sauce and let it cook into the onions. Continue to slowly cook the onions until they are golden brown and caramelized, about 10-15 minutes.
- Once the onions have caramelized, add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then stir the flour into the onions and add the beer (or wine), beef broth, bay leaves, thyme and a good pinch of pepper. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Taste and season with salt + pepper if needed. Continue with the french toast as directed above.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Did you see the cheese at the end though?!?! I mean, what?!? Wow, the BEST!
I have really small onions. Any idea how many cups of sliced onions it uses?
Nice thing about French Onion soup is you can put in whatever amount you like.
I absolutely loveeee this recipe OMMMGGGG! I had a get together last night and figured I should double it just to make sure I had enough and we didn’t even eat 1/4 of it oops! Even with people getting seconds (it was a big hit!)
I was hoping to freeze it. Do you think it would turn out okay?
Thank you so so much Alyssa! Love to hear this! I haven’t ever frozen this before but let me know if you give it a try! xT
We have been waiting forever for the temps to lower to make this soup again. I have never had a better French Onion soup. We do the entire time suggested and it’s turned into a sort of ritual. It smells so amazing and we have leftovers for days and days. The onions are in and I’m just salivating over here waiting for tomorrow’s dinner! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! xT
Maybe the quantity was intended as a side? When I read the description it said it could be used as a main. We are a family of 6 (one isn’t eating yet, the toddler and preschooler don’t eat tons and even my 7 year old often doesn’t eat an adult portion.). I threw in broth water and an extra onion. All my onions were massive. As soon as it was done I was horrified to find maybe enough for 2 or 3 adult meal portions. Nothing close to 6. Now I’m going to be scurrying around trying to find a last minute second dinner for everyone. Yikes! All I can think is it must have been intended as a side in the quantity section.
Also it’s really sweet somehow? Not sure what that’s about but hopefully adding even more broth and even more Worcestershire sauce will help?
Can you substitute the beef broth for vegetable broth to make it vegetarian?
Hey Sarah,
Totally, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
If making this ahead for a family party and not really having access to cook the eggy cheese toast right before, any suggestions on how to modify that part?
Hi Amy,
You could really just use some toasted bread with melted cheese similar to a classic French onion. Let me know if that helps, I hope you love this recipe! xT
I would think you could probably make it ahead and freeze it. The toast is supposed to be stale anyway. Just my thinking.
Hi! For your creamy French onion and mushroom soup you recommended white wine but this one calls for red wine. When is it better to use one instead of the other? Thank you so much for clarifying!
Hey Meghann,
I just felt the white wine fit with the creamy French onion, this recipe is more of a classic. Let me know if you have any other questions! xxT
What can I use instead of the alcohol in this? I’m in a ‘night in Paris’ mood and am baking gluten-free mini baguettes to accompany this!
Hey Alexandra,
You can use broth in place of the alcohol:) I hope you love the recipe! Enjoy your night! xx
This recipe is delicious and incredibly easy. My fiancé liked it so much that he begged me to make it again when his mom comes for Christmas. I’m currently cooking that batch now. I hope this wins me some brownie points with my future MIL haha!
My only adjustment was to swap the cheesy French toast for some homemade herby cheesy croutons as I’m not really into eggy french toast. Everything turned out great!
Hi Molly,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! Happy Holidays!?? xTieghan
I love these copper mini stock pot bowls. Can you please share the details on where to find? Thank you in advance! Love all of your recipes, you have a true gift!
Hey Jen,
I found these at Williams Sonoma a few years back so I am not sure if they still carry them. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This is the only french onion soup recipe I will ever use. We’ve made it about four, maybe five times now. I like to move the onions just a bit from the crockpot walls inside before I go to bed and it keeps the onions from getting a bit burnt in our overzealous crockpot. Waking up to the scent of onions cooking is so oddly wonderful. We are making this right now, about to prepare the toast. I’m so excited. All I wanted to do is eat this delicious soup and then settle in for a good night sleep. I just can’t wait.
Made this last night for my family. It was FANTASTIC !!! Put onions in crockpot overnight to caramelize. So easy to make and everyone LOVED it.
Thank you for all your amazing recipes.
Hey Michelle,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
Help! I loved this recipe! I would love to make this more hearty by adding stew meat- is this crazy?!? At what point would I add i? Maybe on top of the onions the night before? Would I need to do anything to prep it? Thoughts on using a roast or cut up stew meat… Would I need any additional ingredients to incorporate the meat to make this work? Any input would be appreciated
Hey Jill,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Sure, stew meat would work well, I would put it below the onions in the crockpot. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This looks amazing! Can I ask why we need the flour? Does it thicken the soup?
Hey Olivia,
Yes, that is correct, the flour helps to create a bit of a thicker broth. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I tried this recipe out this weekend and it came out pretty sweet. Any ideas as to what went wrong? Was it the choice of wine? I used a Syrah. Any suggestions on how to correct the sweetness?
Hey Crystal,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, so sorry to hear it was sweet! My guess is the wine, I would dry a dry Chardonnay next time or just use broth. I hope this helps! xT
I have lots of yellow onions on hand. Can I use those instead of sweet onions?
Hey Lydia,
Yes, yellow onions will work just fine here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan