Instant Pot French Onion Soup! French onion soup is comfort food at its finest. Rich, intensely flavored broth and caramelized onions, topped with crusty, cheese-covered bread, will warm anyone on a cold winter’s night. Make this delicious soup in half the time by using your Instant Pot!
French onion soup is a bistro classic for good reason — the combination of a very hearty, onion-filled broth and a cheesy, browned crouton makes for a filling, comforting dish.
When the crouton sits in the broth, it will soften enough to break apart with a spoon, giving you a cheesy, bready goodness in every bite.
Even better, it stays hot for hours on your pressure cooker’s reheat setting, so you can make the soup whenever suits you, then add the cheese toasts just before serving.
How to make french onion soup in a pressure cooker
Using your pressure cooker’s high “Sautier” setting will speed up the caramelization of onions for french onion soup – I find it only takes half an hour for them to turn golden and sticky-sweet.
I like to start by adding salt and sugar to the onions (this helps draw out their liquid), then Leave a lid on the pot for about 10 minutes to really kickstart the sweating process. Instant Pot makes a pressureless cooking lid, or you can use any 9-inch tempered glass or metal lid from your cupboard.
Then caramelize the onions with the lid open for another 20 minutesstir occasionally until golden brown.
Finally, add the remaining ingredients and pressure cook the soup for five minutes. Pressure cooking softens the onions even more and helps all the flavors blend together.
At this point the soup itself is ready – all you have to do is scoop it into bowls; Put a slice of bread in each bowl and grill some cheese on top in the oven.
- New to Instant Pot? Read our beginner’s guide to all things Instant Pot.
The Best Onions for French Onion Soup
Yellow or red are equally suitable for the onions. Choose regular onions over the “sweet” varieties as they tend to have more flavor.
The best bread for french onion soup
A French baguette is traditional, but you can try sourdough if you like a spicier flavor. Just make sure the bread is nice and crispy so it stands up nicely when dipped into the soup.
The best cheese for french onion soup
Let’s face it — almost any melty cheese will be delicious when grilled on a crusty slice of bread.
The traditional cheese is Gruyere (which is what I used here). Its nutty, slightly sweet taste complements the strong, onion-based broth. If you can’t find Gruyere, use Jarlsberg, Emmental, or a Swiss cheese as a similar substitute. Spicy cheddar would be delicious too.
What to serve with french onion soup
French Onion Soup is a hearty first course for a fried chicken dinner. It’s also great for a light lunch or afternoon snack – either on its own or with some lightly dressed leafy greens (and maybe more cheesy croutons) on the side.
Store and freeze French Onion Soup
This soup will keep in the fridge for about five days. To reheat, warm the soup on the stovetop or in the microwave, then top with bread and cheese and grill before serving.
If you want to freeze your French onion soup, freeze the soup separately from the bread and cheese.
My favorite method of freezing is to place a silicone mini loaf pan on a baking sheet, add portions of soup to the pan, allow them to freeze solid, and then place the “soup loaves” in a freezer safe bag or other container. They thaw quicker than freezing the soup in one big block, and you can reheat it in a saucepan on the stovetop or in individual batches in a microwave-safe bowl.
Need more soup recipes?
- Instant Pot Beef Chili
- Instant Pot Chicken Wing Ramen
- Simple tomato soup
- Pressure Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
- Pressure cooker pozole with green pork
Instant Pot French Onion Soup
If you don’t have grill-safe bowls, you can toast the cheese sandwich separately, then add a slice to each bowl of soup just before serving.
ingredients
For the soup:
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1/4 Cup unsalted butter or vegetable oil
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2 1/2 to 3 lb yellow or red onionshalved, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick
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1 tablespoon Brown sugar
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1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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1/4 Cup dry sherry vermouth
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4 cups low sodium beef broth
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1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
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1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
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1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
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1 bay Sheet
For the toast:
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6 (1 inch thick) slices from a Baguette
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1 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
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1 Cup grated Gruyere cheese
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Freshly ground black pepper
method
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Set cooking time:
Select the high sauté setting on your pressure cooker. If it’s an Instant Pot or similar model, the timer should default to a 30-minute cook time. You’ll use every minute of it to sauté the onions.
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Add the fat and caramelize the onions:
Put butter or oil in the pressure cooker. Once the butter has melted or the oil is shimmering, about 2 minutes, add the onions, sugar and salt and stir with a wooden spoon, separating the onion layers and brushing the slices with the fat.
Cover the pot with a tempered glass lid or other 9-inch saucepan lid and cook the onions, without stirring, for 10 minutes.
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Uncover the pot and continue cooking the onions:
Uncover the pot. At this point, the onions should be soft but not brown, and there should be some liquid at the bottom of the pot.
While wearing an oven mitt, hold the rim of the inner pot and stir the onions vigorously. Be careful not to splash hot liquid on yourself.
Continue to stir the onions vigorously every 2 minutes, making sure to loosen any baked-on or browned bits from the bottom of the pot as they develop with your spoon. Keep doing this until the sauté cooking program finishes after 30 minutes and the pot turns off automatically.
At this point, the onions should be caramelized and golden brown.
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Deglaze the pot and pressure cook the soup:
With the pot off but still hot and the onions sizzling, add the sherry. Use a wooden spoon to thoroughly scrape the remaining stock from the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the broth, Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper. Secure the pressure cooker lid in its locking position, then select the manual setting and set the time for 5 minutes at high pressure.
(The pot needs about 10 minutes to build up pressure before the cooking program starts.)
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Release the pressure and prepare to serve:
At the end of the cooking program, allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 15 minutes, then set the pressure relief valve to “Vent” to release any remaining steam.
At this point, the soup will stay hot on the keep warm setting for up to 10 hours, until you’re ready to serve it.
When you are ready to serve the soup, discard the bay leaf. Taste the soup to season, adding salt and/or pepper if needed.
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Make the toasts and finish the soup:
Preheat the grill in the oven and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place grill-safe serving bowls on the baking sheet, then scoop the soup into the bowls and fill to about 1/2 inch from the top.
Spread the baguette slices very sparingly with Dijon mustard (1/4 teaspoon per slice), then place the baguette slices on the soup plates.
Place a heap of Gruyere cheese on each slice of baguette. Grind a grain or two of black pepper over each slice. Grill for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 527 | calories |
| 17g | Fat |
| 74g | carbohydrates |
| 20g | protein |
