November 10, 2022
Vegan French Onion Soup
This vegan French Onion Soup is much like its original counterpart – rich broth, caramelized onions, ooey-gooey melty cheese, and crusty bread to soak it all up! The best part? Even though it looks and feels fancy, French Onion Soup is super easy to prepare! Serve it as a starter for your next fancy Holiday dinner or prepare it for an easy weeknight meal! Either way, it’s sure to be on rotation this season!
vegan French onion soup
French onion soup is probably one of the most iconic soups in the world. Seriously, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know (and love) it. You’d think a dish so legendary would be intricate, but the beauty of it is that it’s exactly the opposite. A few humble ingredients is all it takes to make this effortless, yet sophisticated dish.
Grab a drink and let’s get to cooking some amazing vegan French Onion Soup!
what goes in vegan French onion soup
I love this dish, because much like its original counterpart, it requires just a few simple ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
Dried porcini mushrooms: because we’re not using a traditional beef broth, I like to soak dried porcini mushrooms and use that soaking liquid in the broth. Doing so adds richness and a kick of umami to the broth that the beef broth would otherwise provide. I buy my dried porcini mushrooms on Amazon. A little goes a long way and they make all the difference to dishes that call for fullness and richness!
Vegan butter: if you’re able to find unsalted vegan butter, I recommend using that! Some brands that I’ve found that carry unsalted vegan butter are Earth Balance, Miyoko’s, and Violife. If you’re not able to find unsalted butter, that’s fine! Salted works, too – just be sure to go easy on the salt and taste as you go! Additonally, if you don’t have vegan butter, you can use a good quality olive oil!
Onions: I like to use white vidalia onions AND red onions, but feel free to use just one or the the other if you’d like! Both are sweeter in flavor, which taste wonderful when caramelized.
Aromatics: fresh garlic, thyme, dried bay leaves, and some fresh parsley for garnish!
Dry white cooking wine: most of the wine cooks out, but if you prefer not to cook with wine whatsoever, feel free to sub it for broth.
All-purpose flour
Good quality vegan beef broth or vegetable broth:I typically buy this in powder or cube bouillon form, then mix with water to create a very flavorful broth. I can find artificial beef powder or bouillon at my local Asian market, specialty health food stores such as Whole Foods and Sprouts, or on Amazon. If you can’t access it, you can substitute with mushroom powder, or vegetable bouillon.
French baguette
Vegan mozzarella cheese
how to make vegan French onion soup
Much like the ingredients list, the preparation of this soup is simple! Especially once you’ve got the caramelized onions done! Here’s how to make it:
1. soak:
Soak the porcini mushrooms in 1 cup boiling hot water for 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and reserve the soaking liquid. Set aside.
2. caramelize:
Heat the butter in a stockpot or Dutch Oven over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and garlic. Season with the salt and pepper and mix to combine, coating the onions in the butter, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer until the onions have softened and are slightly translucent. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium, and continue to cook the onions, stirring often, until the onions are a deep golden color, about 30 to 40 minutes longer.
3. deglaze, add broth, and simmer:
Add the wine, scraping the bottom of the pot and continue to simmer until most of it evaporates. Sprinkle in the flour, stirring to combine, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the reserved porcini soaking liquid, vegan beef broth, and fresh herbs. Bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seaosnings, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.
4. time to get steamy!
Transfer the soup into oven-safe bowls. Top each bowl with 3 to 4 slices of the baguette and ¼ cup of the cheese. Cover each bowl loosely with foil (doing so will create a steaming effect and help melt the cheese) and bake until the cheese is melty.
5. broil and enjoy!
Remove the foil and broil until the cheese is bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately. ENJOY!
tools you need
- Sharp knife and cutting board
- Heavy bottomed soup pot or large Dutch Oven
- Soup ladle
- Oven-safe soup bowls
more soup recipes to try all season long
- Wild Rice Mushroom Soup
- Butternut Squash & Soy Chorizo Soup
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Lemony Dill Chickpea and Orzo Soup
- Tortellini Pesto Vegetable Soup
French onion soup? oui oui!
I hope you love this vegan French Onion Soup as much as I do! If you try this dish and enjoy it, I wanna know! Snap a photo, take a video, or make a story and post it to Instagram or TikTok, and tag me at @eat_figs_not_pigs and #EatFigsNotPigs. I love seeing your recreations of my recipes!
Til next time, friends!
XO!
- • 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
- • ¼ cup vegan butter
- • 2 pounds Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
- • 2 pounds red onion, thinly sliced
- • 10 cloves fresh minced garlic
- • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- • 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, plus more to taste
- • 1 cup vegan-friendly dry white cooking wine
- • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- • 6 cups good quality vegan beef broth or vegetable broth
- • 4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
- • 3 bay leaves
- • 1 French baguette, sliced into 1”-inch thick pieces
- • 1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese
- • Fresh parsley, for garnish
- Soak the porcini mushrooms in 1 cup boiling hot water for 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and reserve the soaking liquid. Set aside.
- Heat the butter in a stockpot or Dutch Oven over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, reduce the heat to medium low and add the onion and garlic. Season with the salt and pepper and mix to combine, coating the onions in the butter, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer until the onions have softened and are slightly translucent, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium, and continue to cook the onions, stirring often, until the onions are a deep golden color, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Add the wine, scraping the bottom of the pot and continue to simmer until most of it evaporates.
- Sprinkle in the flour, stirring to combine, and cook another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in the reserved porcini soaking liquid, vegan beef broth, and fresh herbs. Bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seaosnings, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Transfer the soup into 4 oven-safe bowls. Top each bowl with 3 to 4 slices of the baguette and ¼ cup of the cheese. Cover each bowl loosely with foil (doing so will create a steaming effect and help melt the cheese) and bake until the cheese is melty, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the foil and broil until the cheese is bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately. ENJOY!
