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French Onion Soup

A savory soup of caramelized onions, beef and chicken stock, topped with toasted bread and melted cheese.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and chicken match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,148 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓

French Onion Soup

Oven375°F
Timeabout 1½ hours

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stock

  1. Make stock by bringing 10 cups water to boil.

  2. Add beef and chicken bouillon pastes (or heat canned beef and chicken broth).

  3. Lower heat to simmer and let simmer while preparing onions.

Cook the onions

  1. Melt butter slowly (so it does not brown) in large soup pot over low heat.

  2. Add thinly sliced onions.

  3. Stir, cover, and cook on low heat until lightly brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

  4. Add wine, bring to boil, scraping up browned bits.

  5. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  6. Add about 5 good shakes of Worcestershire sauce.

Simmer the soup

  1. Add stock to onions.

  2. Bring to boil, turn heat down to simmer and simmer uncovered about 1½ hours.

  3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bake and serve

  1. Brush olive oil on bread slices.

  2. Sprinkle parmesan and place on cookie sheet at 375°F until lightly browned.

  3. Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls.

  4. Float bread on top of soup.

  5. Top with 2 or 3 cheese slices.

  6. Place in oven or microwave until cheese melts.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1590Calories
102 gProtein
77 gFat
109 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Gruyere Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Saladnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + chickentop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,148 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  2. Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Onion + olivetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Onions
Caramelize slowly to build the sweet, deep flavor that defines the soup.
Unsalted butter
Carries the onions' slow browning and adds richness to the base.
Dry white wine
Adds acidity and lifts the browned bits from the pot into the broth.
Beef and chicken bouillon or broth
Provides the savory meaty backbone of the stock.
French bread
Soaks up broth and holds the melted cheese on top of the soup.
Cheese slices
Melts into a stretchy, browned layer that binds the bread to the soup.

The step that matters

Melt the butter slowly and cook the onions on low heat. Low, gentle heat lets the onions' sugars break down and brown evenly, building sweetness. Higher heat scorches the sugars and proteins, leaving bitter flavor instead of a rich, deep color.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, beef, chicken, sauce, white wine, bread, olive):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Onionthe original
  3. Capsicumfits about as well
  4. Potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, beef, chicken, sauce, white wine, bread, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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