Now you can make the onion soup that you know and love at home. Copycat Panera French Onion Soup is brimming with caramelized onions and topped with croutons and cheese.
Copycat Panera French Onion Soup
Make a pot of your favorite onion soup at home with this easy Copycat Panera French Onion Soup recipe that cooks in less than an hour.
So there’s no need to make a trip to your local food establishment for a bowl of onion soup anymore.
Onions caramelize slowly in a skillet and combine with seasonings, broth and sherry, making every spoonful a delicious delight.
Sherry adds a depth of flavor, but if you prefer you can use white wine instead.
Don’t want to add alcohol? No worries, you can easily substitute additional beef broth in place of the sherry or wine.
An easy topping for this flavorful soup are frozen cheesy garlic bread slices that you heat up and then place on top of the soup bowls.
I also love placing a bread slice on the bottom of the soup bowl and then ladling the soup on top. Yum!
It is important not to crowd the onions when they are caramelizing and that is why I use a large skillet to do that step and then transfer the onions to a larger pot to continue making the soup.
I added a few tablespoonfuls of my homemade onion soup mix to this soup for a delicious depth of flavor. Of course, you can use store-bought onion soup mix instead of my homemade soup mix.
Nothing quite compares to a classic french onion soup and now you can make this easy version to serve at home.
I love that this soup is topped with croutons that you can buy at the supermarket but you can also top it with french bread sliced that are topped with melted cheese!
Panera French Onion Soup is brimming with so many onions and lots of flavor. It quickly became my favorite homemade soup recipe and I’m sure it will be your favorite too!
Check out all the easy homemade soup recipes here at Swirls!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Be sure to visit the Swirls of Flavor Amazon Storefront for GG's personal kitchen recommendations!
How to make homemade french onion soup recipe
Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add the sliced onions and cook until the onions have become golden brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
- Add the sherry and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the flour, thyme, garlic powder and pepper, stirring until the onions are coated and any liquid is absorbed.
- Transfer the onions to a large pot and add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and onion soup mix and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium high and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup will thicken slightly.
- Season with salt, if desired.
- Ladle soup into servings bowls and top with croutons and mozzarella cheese. You can microwave the bowls of soup if you want the cheese to melt more.
How to make cheesy toast
- Top your soup with cheesy bread instead of croutons and cheese. Here's how:
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on the prepared pan.
- Bake until lightly toasted then top with cheese.
- Continue to bake until the cheese is melted.
French onion soup vs onion soup
Ever wonder if there’s a difference between french onion soup and onion soup? Me too!
And the answer is yes! Here are the differences between French onion soup and onion soup:
- French onion soup is always made with beef broth or stock
- Onion soup can be made with chicken, vegetable or beef broth or stock
- French onion soup always contains sherry or wine
- Adding sherry or wine is not typical in onion soup
Swirls of Flavor Recipe Tips
- For best results, be sure not to crowd the onions in the skillet when caramelizing them
- If you have a small butane torch, you can gently and carefully torch the cheese to melt it
Substitutions
- You can use grated gruyere cheese in place of the shredded mozzarella cheese
- Shredded Swiss cheese can be substituted for the mozzarella cheese
- White wine or additional beef broth can be used in place of the sherry
- Butter can be used in place of the olive oil
- You can make this soup with beef stock in place of the beef broth
- Sweet onions can be used in place of the yellow onions
Storage
- Store soup, without the croutons and cheese, in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Soup will stay fresh for 3-4 days.
- Soup can be frozen for up to one month.
- As always, I find it helpful to visit the FDA website for food storage guidelines
Equipment
What to serve with french onion soup
Easy soup recipes
Ingredients for Panera french onion soup recipe
- olive oil
- yellow onions
- flour
- beef broth
- sherry
- onion soup mix
- Worcestershire sauce
- Dried thyme
- garlic powder
- pepper
- croutons
- shredded mozzarella cheese
CopyCat Panera French Onion Soup
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups sliced yellow onions
- ¼ cup sherry
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 Tablespoons homemade onion soup mix
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup croutons
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
I earn a commission from Instacart from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add the sliced onions and cook until the onions have become golden brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
- Add the sherry and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the flour, thyme, garlic powder and pepper, stirring until the onions are coated and any liquid is absorbed.
- Transfer the onions to a large pot and add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and onion soup mix and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium high and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup will thicken slightly.
- Season with salt, if desired.
- Transfer soup to servings bowls and top with croutons and mozzarella cheese. You can microwave the bowls of soup if you want the cheese to melt more.
Liz
So much depth of flavor in every spoonful! Delicious!!