Instant Pot French Onion Soup

Instant Pot French Onion Soup

A French onion soup recipe that is not only delicious, but is a time saver.  Instant Pot French Onion Soup is great for those chaotic weeknights when you are in a hurry but still want a satisfying dish.  Use Instant Pot French Onion Soup as a light main dish or as a great appetizer to a great entree.

Many French onion soup recipes take time, time that a lot of people don’t have.  That is what is so great about my Instant Pot French Onion Soup. This French onion soup recipe reduces the usually long caramelizing onion process, resulting in a French onion soup that has a great depth of taste without the long wait.  

Throw French onion soup ingredients in your instant pot and save time without sacrificing flavor.

Is French Onion Soup Good For You?

I love French onion soup.  It must be something about the melted layers of gruyere cheese that draws me in, followed by the rich oniony taste.  It’s a perfect companionship of flavor and such a comfort food.

Now, is French onion soup good for you?  Yes and no. Yes it is good for you because it is a broth based soup instead of a creamy based soup.  One point goes to the healthy side, yay!

Also, homemade soup usually wins for healthiness when competing against soup in a can.  Homemade versus canned soup always sounds more appetizing and tends to be healthier too. Another point in favor of healthiness.

However, many things that taste good have their indulgences and French onion soup definitely is guilty of some indulgent ingredients.  The mouthwatering, gooey, white, gruyere cheese that is a signature element to a French onion soup can be fattening. Plus just like with a lot of foods, sodium is something to watch for.

But remember, for a healthier option you don’t have to eat all the cheese or massive amounts of croutons.  Although when I make Instant Pot French Onion Soup, I like to enjoy all the indulgent elements it has to offer, but that’s just me.

Is French Onion Soup from France?

I love food from all different countries and French onion soup is in fact from France. Don’t you think it is kind of sad we have to ask this? I visit France all the time and they definitely eat this soup there, but call it onion soup.

The title is not a trick.  The modernized version of this soup is in fact from Paris, dating back to the !8th century.

Is French Onion Soup Vegetarian?

When making food sometimes I want to avoid an over abundance of meat.  Although French onion soup is not loaded with meat or chicken, this may be surprising, but French onion soup is typically not considered a vegetarian soup.  Most French onion soup recipes use beef broth, which makes it not vegetarian.

However, you could substitute the beef broth for a vegetable broth to make the French Onion soup a vegetarian option.  Flavor will be slightly different but still tasty.

Is French Onion Soup Vegan?  

If it’s not vegetarian, then unfortunately it’s not vegan either.  Even if you switch out the broth the cheese disqualifies it from being considered vegan.  I’ll say this: I am sure you could make a vegan recipe, but honestly, that will change the recipe as is. And I can’t vouch for how good it will be. As is, it is great.

Is Onion Soup Good for a Cold?

Along with the benefit of a great tasting soup, onion soup can be good for a cold, but the cheese in French onion soup is not an added benefit when you are sick.  

What kind of Cheese is in French Onion Soup?

The signature cheese in French onion soup is gruyere and boy is this cheese good!  It’s a creamy Swiss cheese that I think just elevates the taste. The undertone of the nutty flavor combined with sweet and salty, makes this cheese a winner in my books.

What is a good Substitute for Gruyere Cheese?

Obviously I’m a gruyere cheese fan and it almost feels wrong to talk about replacing or substituting another cheese for gruyere in French onion soup.  However, I realize that the stars aren’t always aligned and sometimes you don’t have time to go to the store or don’t have access to an ingredient.

Gruyere Substitutions:

• Swiss cheese
• Comte cheese
• Jarlsberg cheese

What are the Ingredients in French Onion Soup?

Another thing I love about French onion soup is that it doesn’t have an over abundance of ingredients and most of the ingredients you may already have on hand.

Ingredients:

• Butter and oil
• Beef broth
• Thyme
• Bay Leaves
• White wine (depending on recipe)
• Garlic cloves
• Gruyere cheese
• Salt and Pepper

What is the Best Onion to use for French Onion Soup?

As in life, not all things are always created equal and that is the same with onions.  Different types of onions, while may be subtle to some, bring about different flavors.

Opinions vary on what the best onion is to use in a French onion soup recipe, but for most it usually is between a yellow or Vidalia onion.  The end goal when carmelizing the onion is to have the onion be sweet. Therefore, why not start out with a sweet onion?

Because of its sweetness in taste, some stand by the Vidalia onion.  While others think that after the carmelization process it produces a flavor that is too sweet, voting for the yellow onion.  It is just personal preference, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend the red onion for this type of soup.

Instant Pot French Onion Soup For The Win!

This soup is fabulous!  I love that I can reduce the time without the reducing the flavor with the use of my Instant Pot.  The Instant Pot has been a life changer.

With that said, I realize that not everyone has gotten around to getting an Instant Pot or there are people out there that are very loyal to their crockpots.   Although it may not be done as quickly, the recipe can become Crockpot French Onion soup or Slow Cooker French Onion soup, if you prefer to use a slow cooker or crockpot.

Instant Pot French Onion Soup is a fantastic dish.  Serve alone or for a heartier meal serve as a side to Eazy Peazy Mealz Steak with Mushroom Garlic Cream Sauce and finish your meal with a happy and full stomach.

Tools Used to Make Instant Pot French Onion Soup

• Mandoline Slicer:
• Instant Pot: I used a 6 Qt
• French Onion Soup Bowls:
• Sheet pan:

Other Great Recipes

• Instant Pot Meatloaf
• Instant Pot Chili Mac
• Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatsauce
• Instant Pot Lava Cake
• Instant Pot Pot Roast

More Great Recipes

• Low Carb Beef Stroganoff
• Salmon with Creamy Lemon Dill Sauce (Keto)
• Lemon Butter Salmon and Asparagus Foil Packs
• Greek Chicken and Veggies Sheet Pan Meal
• Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken, Mushrooms, and Broccoli

Instant Pot French Onion Soup

Delicious French onion soup cooked in an instant pot pressure cooker and finished in the oven.

4.91 from 10 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Dish, Soup

Cuisine: French

Keyword: french onion soup, Instant Pot French Onion Soup, Instant Pot French Onion Soup Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 8

Calories: 468kcal

Author: Rachael

Ingredients

• 5 lbs yellow onion sliced thin with a mandolin slicer
• 1 Tbs olive oil

Broth

• 1/4 cup red wine optional
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 8 cups beef broth
• 2 Tbs dry minced onions
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Garnish

• 8 slices of French bread or baguette approximately 1 inch thick
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere and a sprinkling of Parmesan

Instructions

• Add olive oil to the instant pot liner
• Turn pot on to saute
• When it is heated up, add the onion, and saute for 2-3 minutes until onion is fragrant.
• Turn pot off, and add red wine to pot, and let it come to a simmer, use it to deglaze the pan, by scraping the brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. If you don’t cook with wine, you can use beef stock in its place.
• Once you have scraped the brown bits off, add in the remaining broth ingredients (soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, minced onions, dried oregano, dried thyme, bay leaf, and minced garlic).
• Put lid on, lock into place.
• Turn valve to sealing.
• Use manual setting, and set to "25 minutes"
• Meanwhile line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil and preheat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the upper third of the oven.
• Brush both sides of the French bread or baguette slices lightly with olive oil
• Put in the oven and toast until lightly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven.
• When the 25 minutes is up, quick release pressure
• Ladle the soup into oven safe bowls, cover with the toast and sprinkle with gruyere cheese.
• Put into the oven for 10 minutes at 350° F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned.
• Serve immediately

Nutrition

Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 1897mg | Potassium: 729mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 235IU | Vitamin C: 22.7mg | Calcium: 368mg | Iron: 3.9mg

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

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