🧅 Vegan French Onion Soup
🍲 Serves: 4
⏲ Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 1 hour (mostly hands-off)
🧄 Ingredients:
🧅 For the Soup:
2 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil
4–5 large yellow or sweet onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1/4 cup dry white wine (or use more broth)
1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
6 cups vegetable broth (preferably low-sodium, rich variety)
1–2 tsp miso paste (adds umami depth)
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1 bay leaf
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
🥖 For the Topping:
4 slices crusty French bread or baguette, toasted
1/2–3/4 cup vegan cheese, shredded (mozzarella-style, gruyère-style, or a mix – look for meltable ones like Violife, Miyoko’s, or homemade)
👩🍳 Instructions:
- Caramelize the onions (the most important step)
In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the vegan butter or oil over medium-low heat.
Add the sliced onions and salt, stir to coat, and cook slowly for 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The onions should become deeply golden, soft, and jammy. Don’t rush – this step builds the soup’s rich flavor.
- Add garlic and deglaze
Once onions are caramelized, stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add balsamic vinegar and white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom.
- Build the broth
Stir in the soy sauce, vegetable broth, miso paste, thyme, and bay leaf.
Simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Taste and season with black pepper and more salt if needed.
- Toast the bread
While the soup simmers, toast the bread slices until crisp (you can broil them for extra crunch).
- Assemble and broil (optional but recommended)
Ladle hot soup into oven-safe bowls.
Place a toasted bread slice on top of each bowl and sprinkle generously with vegan cheese.
Place under the broiler for 3–5 minutes until the cheese is melty and golden. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
🔥 No oven-safe bowls? No problem! Just melt the vegan cheese on the toast in the oven or skillet, then place on top of each bowl of soup when serving.
