Instant Pot French Onion Soup
Instant Pot French Onion Soup comes together with minimal effort, yielding a rich, hearty, restaurant-quality soup with nuanced flavor, topped with a cheesy crostini.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups thinly sliced Vidalia Onions
- 2 small shallots thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- ½ cup dry red wine or additional beef stock
- 4 cups low-sodium beef stock
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 dried bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- salt to taste
- 8 slices Italian or French Bread cut into 1 inch slices
- ½ cup Gruyere Cheese shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese grated
Instructions
For Instant Pot French Onion Soup
- Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté, ensuring it's set to Normal heat. Use the +/- buttons to adjust if needed. Add the olive oil and let it heat briefly. Once heated, add the sliced onions and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions break down and begin to caramelize. This takes about 10 minutes. Once softened, add in the butter and thyme leaves and sauté for another minute or two, or until the butter is fully melted.
- Pour in the dry red wine (or additional beef broth) and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the inner pot. After two minutes, turn the Instant Pot OFF by hitting Cancel.
- Add beef stock, Worcestershire, brown sugar, bay leaves, pepper, and a pinch of salt, then stir to combine.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker and be sure the vent knob is sealed. Set the cook time for 20 minutes on high pressure by hitting the manual or pressure cook button and using the +/- buttons to adjust the cooking time. Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves, give the soup a taste to adjust seasoning if needed, and ladle the soup into serving bowls to be topped with the cheese topper.
For Crostini Topper
- Preheat the broiler. Place the bread on a baking sheet and broil for 2-3 minutes per side until the bread is just toasted. Remove from the oven, then evenly divide the Gruyère and Parmesan cheese between the slices. Return to the oven and broil until the cheese has melted, watching carefully not to burn. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with crostini.
- Alternatively, ladle soup into oven-safe serving bowls and place on a baking sheet. Top with a slice of bread and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Place the baking sheet in the oven and broil until the cheese has melted and browned. Watch carefully so the bread does not burn. Be careful when serving, as the bowl will be hot.
Video
Notes
Onions: Vidalia onions are best for French Onion soup, as they are perfectly sweet and caramelize perfectly. However, yellow onions will work as well.
Wine: Be sure to use a dry red wine, such as Cabernet or Merlot. A dry sherry wine or dry marsala wine can be used in place of the red wine as well. To omit alcohol, use stock in place of the wine.
Thyme: Fresh thyme is best, but you can use ½ teaspoon of dried thyme leaves if needed.
Stock: For stock, low-sodium beef stock adds the most classic flavor to this French Onion Soup. However, vegetable or mushroom stock can be used to make this soup vegetarian.
Cheese: Gruyere Cheese, Swiss Cheese, or even sliced provolone cheese can be used for the crostinis.
Stock and Worcestershire sauce are both salty, so I recommend adding salt to taste after the French Onion Soup has cooked.
Storage Instructions: Store any leftover soup in an airtight container once cooled for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Alternatively, place the cooled soup into a freezer-safe airtight container, leaving 1-2 inches for expansion, and freeze it for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup if needed and then reheat the soup until warmed through. Top the soup with the bread and cheese as directed.
Nutrition
Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 456mg | Potassium: 431mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 3mg
