If you’re a fan of Panera Bread’s Bistro French Onion Soup, you’ll love this homemade copycat version. It’s an uncomplicated, almost effortless comforting French onion soup, which uses a crockpot to caramelize the onions as a way to save time. After you discover just how easy this soup is to make, it will quickly become a regular addition to your weeknight meal rotation.
There are very few fast-food restaurants that I deem worthy enough to eat at. I am of course a diehard fan of Chick-fil-A, although I am seriously upset with them for changing their menu and retiring their coleslaw. You see, I refuse to eat fast-food fries and I also prefer to ditch the bun, so without an alternative side to order, I’ve been forced to turn to their Cobb Salad, which although very yummy, just doesn’t have that hint of pickle flavor that I so look forward to.
The other fast-food restaurant that I will often frequent is Panera. I pretty much order the same three things every single time I go there; Caesar Salad with Chicken, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, or Bistro French Onion Soup. The last is one of my favorites, especially on a cold rainy day. So for this month’s “Copycat Soup Recipes” themed Soup Saturday Swappers hosted by Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, I chose to recreate Panera’s recipe.
French Onion Soup isn’t that hard to make, however, it does require a great deal of time standing next to the stove, slowly caramelizing onions, and feeling like you’ve wasted several precious minutes of your life. Instead of slaving away over a hot stove, I chose to make Crockpot Caramelized Onions, which not only made my life a whole lot easier but also gave me more time to spend doing the things I actually love to do. Like chasing after Brenna in the attempt to get a few cute pics of her to share with y’all on Instagram.
The great thing about this soup is that you can put the onions in the crockpot before you leave for work and they will be perfectly caramelized by the time you return home. After that, you simply add everything to a big pot or Dutch oven and let it simmer for 20 minutes. How much easier does it get than that? While the soup is bubbling away, you can toast some French bread in the oven and grate whatever type of cheese you prefer to garnish the soup with. My favorite is Manchego, however, you can use whatever type of cheese you happen to have on hand in your fridge. Now that I have this easy recipe to turn to, I’ll be spending a lot less time at Panera.
Ingredients:
Soup:
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 4 Large Sweet Yellow Onions
- 1/3 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt
- 3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
- 1 (32-oz.) Carton Low Sodium Beef Broth
- 1 (14.5-oz.) Can Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 1 Tablespoon Ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon Steak Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Hot Sauce
Garnish:
- French Bread
- Freshly Shredded Cheese
Directions:
Soup:
- Liberally grease a crockpot with butter.
- Peel and slice each onion in half, and then thinly slice each half with a sharp knife or mandoline.
- Place the sliced onions in a crockpot with olive oil and sea salt; mix well.
- Cover and cook for 8 hours on low heat.
- Place the onions in a large Dutch oven over high heat.
- Cook for two minutes and then sprinkle with the flour.
- Stir to combine, and cook for 3 minutes stirring constantly.
- Add the remaining soup ingredients and allow to come to a boil.
- Reduce the soup to medium heat and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
Garnish:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the French bread into 1-inch cubes and place the cubes on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes to prevent burning.
- Top each bowl of soup with shredded cheese and a handful of French bread croutons.
Suggestions:
- A mandoline slicer makes thinly slicing onions a breeze.
- If you are home while cooking the onions in the crockpot, give them a quick stir every few hours. If not, a few on the side of the crockpot may burn. Just remove them before combining the onions with the all-purpose flour and making the soup.
- After the onions have cooked down, there will be some liquid present in the crockpot. Pour this liquid into the Dutch oven along with the caramelized onions; it will help add flavor to the soup.
- Use your favorite shredded cheese in this recipe. Parmesan, asiago, provolone, and gruyere will all work well, however, you can also try using gouda, havarti, or manchego.
Improvements:
- Click HERE to see the original recipe for Crockpot Caramelized Onions and HERE to see how I used them in this Classic French Onion Dressing & Dip.
- Garnish with fresh thyme.
- If you’re looking for a great soup, chili, stew, or chowder recipe, CLICK HERE to check out all of our amazing past recipes.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 4 Large Sweet Yellow Onions
- 1/3 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt
- 3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
- 1 (32-oz.) Carton Low Sodium Beef Broth
- 1 (14.5-oz.) Can Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 1 Tablespoon Ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon Steak Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Hot Sauce
- French Bread
- Freshly Shredded Cheese
Directions:
- Liberally grease a crockpot with butter.
- Peel and slice each onion in half, and then thinly slice each half with a sharp knife or mandoline.
- Place the sliced onions in a crockpot with olive oil and sea salt; mix well.
- Cover and cook for 8 hours on low heat.
- Place the onions in a large Dutch oven over high heat.
- Cook for two minutes and then sprinkle with the flour.
- Stir to combine, and cook for 3 minutes stirring constantly.
- Add the remaining soup ingredients and allow to come to a boil.
- Reduce the soup to medium heat and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the French bread into 1-inch cubes and place the cubes on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes to prevent burning.
- Top each bowl of soup with shredded cheese and a handful of French bread croutons.
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes. You can follow us HERE on Pinterest or simply click HERE to find all of our pin-worthy recipes.
MORE GREAT SOUP RECIPES
Chicken & Stars Soup with Peas & Fresh Dill
Carrot & Fennel Soup with Homemade Stock
Cajun Lentil Soup with Andouille Sausage
Make sure to check out all of the other delicious “Copycat Soup Recipes” below.
