This caramelized Gluten Free Easy French Onion Soup recipe is going to bring back memories for you! It is that good. I am going to show you how to slowly cook your onions so that they caramelize, adding a whole new layer of flavor to this comforting soup recipe.
Follow along, and keep reading because I include an easy video to show you how to make this classic soup recipe. If you love soup as much as we do, check out all of my delicious gluten free soup recipes!
(*This post is sponsored by Milton's Craft Bakers in honor of May being Celiac Awareness Month. All crunch and joyous opinions are my own.)
Do you miss French Onion Soup? Onion soup recipe itself is really easy to adapt to be gluten free...what has been missed is that crispy baguette that floats on top of the soup under all of the melty cheese!
Well, I found the perfect solution! Milton's Gluten Free Crackers!!
You may ask how crackers make this soup so good. Milton's Gluten Free Crispy Sea Salt Crackers are the perfect substitute for the crispy crouton in traditional French onion soup recipes."
Milton's gluten free crackers come in several varieties including:
- Sea Salt
- Cheddar Cheese
- Everything
- Multi-Grain
Milton's certified Gluten Free crackers are so tasty, they make munching a happy experience regardless of dietary restriction or palette preference. Plus, they’re Non-GMO, Project Verified, and they do not contain wheat, nuts, or conventional fillers – so they’re better for both you and the environment.
If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know I LOVE brands who give back through charitable giving. I was a non-profit fundraiser for many years and when companies are there to help, everyone wins!!
Milton’s also supports community causes like Celiac-related hospital advocacy, autism support groups and children’s charities, that promote health for our families and communities.
Now let's talk about this soup. It is crazy good and the men in the house absolutely devoured it! And yes, you should also know my "picky one" would only eat the melted cheese. This is forever my challenge...getting her to try (and like) new foods!
French onion soup is a meat broth-based soup with that famous crouton and melty cheese on top. As the name implies, it is from France, and it is usually served as a starter.
There are many variations, and my gluten free version of French onion soup is so easy to make for yourself!
What is the best onion to use for this soup?
My favorite onion to use is a large sweet onion. Some stores have Hawaiian sweet onions. Their mellow sweetness adds to the caramelized flavor of this soup. You can also use red onion, which adds a deeper onion flavor.
Yellow onions are just okay...they give off an initial bitter taste, which my son didn't like as much.
How to caramelize onions:
The first step is to melt a stick of butter in a pan.
Add the onions and sauté 5 minutes until the onions become soft.
Add coconut sugar and spices. I normally wouldn't add sugar to a soup recipe, but the sugar helps the onions caramelize. Cover and allow the onions to cook for 20 minutes, or until they are caramelized like the next picture.
Add the caramelized onions to a soup pot.
Pour in the beef broth. Add two bay leaves and thyme. Cover and allow to simmer for one hour.
Use a ladle to fill bowls with the gluten free French onion soup.
This is my favorite part. Grab a bag of Milton's Gluten Free Sea Salt Crackers. Take about 4 or 5 crackers and place them on top of the onion soup.
Top with a thick slice of gruyere cheese. Place the soup bowls in a baking dish and place under a broiler until the cheese gets all melty.
Enjoy :-).
More Delicious Gluten Free Soup Recipes to Try:
- This Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with Chicken makes a great lunch to take in a thermos.
- If you love soup, this Cream of Tomato Soup is wonderful.
- My Grandma's Chicken Soup From Scratch is perfect for cold and flu season.
- Everyone will love this creamy Gluten Free Fish Chowder recipe.
Gluten Free French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups sliced onions
- ½ cup butter
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup gruyere cheese
Instructions
- In a pan, add a stick of butter. Allow it to melt a little then add the sliced onions to the pan. Cover.
- Cook the onions on medium heat for 5 minutes until they soften.
- Add garlic, coconut sugar, salt, and pepper to the onions. Stir it in and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes until the onions are caramelized.
- Pour the onions into a soup pot. Add broth, wine, water, thyme, and bay leaves. Cover the pot and simmer on low for an hour.
- When the soup is done, use a ladle to pour into bowls.
- Top each bowl with several Milton's Gluten Free Sea Salt Crackers and then the Gruyere cheese.
- Place bowls in a baking dish and put under the broiler until the cheese is melted.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Debbie Fournier
I had to make some substitutions, as I was out of Thyme, and had no white wine so used red (which is used in traditional French Onion Soup anyway) also due to dairy allergies and healthier cooking options I replaced the butter with 1/4 cup of butter flavored olive oil, and 1/4 cup of vegan butter (I had MELT on hand). The results were outstanding, and my husband who is French Canadian loved it! Will be making it again. Only thing was, during softening stage it took more than the 5 minutes for the onions to soften, maybe because I didn’t want the onions to burn my heat was too low, or because didn’t use a big pan but the actual soup pot. But aroma built up the anticipation!
Sandi Gaertner
I love that you tested this with red wine. I will have to try that next. Thank you!
Shelly Skinner
I love all your recipes! I’m making this tonight and I’m wondering if I can use regular sugar instead of coconut? Or another alternative? I’m allergic to coconut. Thanks!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Shelly, regular sugar or brown sugar is completely fine! Enjoy :-).
Jeff
This looks amazing! I'm going to make this today as I've come into a lot of onions recently and my wife is gf. I'm curious though, can this be frozen safely if I were to make a double batch?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Jeff, this soup should freeze really well. I use Souper Cubes to freeze soup in single serving portions. (They are on Amazon)