Description
A rich and hearty twist on classic French onion soup, featuring fall-apart tender beef short ribs, deeply caramelized onions, and savory broth, topped with toasted baguette and melted Gruyère cheese.
Ingredients
2 lbs beef short ribs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine or beef broth
6 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
1 bay leaf
1 baguette, sliced
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Season the beef short ribs with salt and pepper.
- In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and sear the short ribs on all sides until browned. Remove and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium and melt butter in the pot.
- Add sliced onions, sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 40–45 minutes until deeply caramelized.
- Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add flour and stir for another minute to coat the onions.
- Deglaze the pot with white wine or broth, scraping up browned bits from the bottom.
- Return the short ribs to the pot along with beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaf.
- Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 2.5 to 3 hours, until the meat is very tender.
- Remove the short ribs, shred the meat, and discard bones. Return the meat to the soup and discard the bay leaf.
- Preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls.
- Top each bowl with a slice of baguette and a generous amount of shredded Gruyère cheese.
- Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 2–3 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped parsley if desired and serve hot.
Notes
Use boneless short ribs to save time shredding the meat.
Substitute Gruyère with Swiss or mozzarella if needed.
Try red wine instead of white for a deeper flavor.
Use gluten-free flour and bread to make the soup gluten-free.
Add mushrooms with the onions for extra umami.
The broth and meat base can be frozen for up to 2 months.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop, Broiling
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 485
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 820mg
- Fat: 30g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13g
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 90mg
