Vegan French Onion Soup
This vegan French onion soup recipe has the same rich, comforting and soul-warming flavors of the classic soup – and yet it’s vegan! If you love French onion soup but are looking to veganize it, then this recipe is for you. With its soupy, caramelized onions covered with melting (vegan) cheese, you won’t be able to tell the difference. And you don’t need any fancy tricks or equipment to make a batch. All that’s required is a wide pot, some patience, and a willingness to create the best restaurant-quality soup at home.
Back when I was living in Minneapolis, I once found myself craving a warm, comforting bowl of soup during a heavy winter snowstorm. And so I decided to create a recipe for French onion soup in my kitchen. I spent days perfecting this recipe. The secret, I discovered, is to slow-cook the onions and not over-season them.
We’ll begin by caramelizing onions with garlic. We’ll then add flour, along with salt, pepper and sugar, and slow cook it for a time. Next, we’ll add the broth and a few seasonings and let it simmer. In the meantime, we’ll get our oven ready. We will then pour our soup into oven safe bowls with slices of a baguette, top it with vegan cheese and, finally, bake it. It might sound like quite a bit of work, but I assure you it’s worth the investment.
If you desire to make this recipe gluten-free, then feel free to use gluten-free flour and a gluten-free baguette. I top my French onion soup with my favorite vegan mozzarella, cheddar or gouda cheese. But you can add your own choice of cheese if you prefer.
I encourage you to share your experience in the comments below if you tried this Vegan French Onion Soup or made it differently. If you took a photo, please share with me on my instagram account ‘zesty_zahra’ and I will share your stories there. I am always happy to learn about people’s food choices and preferences!
Vegan French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Vegan Butter or Olive Oil
- 1 lb Yellow Onions halved and thinly sliced
- 6-8 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- ½ tsp Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Dry White Wine
- 4 cups Vegetable Broth
- 2 tbsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 tsp Dried Thyme
- ½ tsp Dried Rosemary
Garnish
- 2 tsp Sherry
- Baguette sliced
- 4 oz Vegan Cheese
Instructions
- Heat a pot over medium heat. Add butter/oil, onion and garlic and sauté until golden brown. Sprinkle water as needed if onion or garlic sticks to the pan.
- Reduce heat to low and add flour, salt, pepper, sugar. Mix well together and continue cooking for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Bring the heat back to medium, then add wine and cook for 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates.
- Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for 25 minutes, then remove pot from heat. When safe to touch, remove bay leaves.
- Heat the oven to 400F. Place oven safe bowls on a sheet pan.
- Add ½ tsp of sherry to each bowl, then pour in soup, leaving space for the baguette slices and cheese. Add a slice of baguette to each bowl and top with cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted, then let cool for 10 minutes.
- Serve hot with additional slices of baguette.