Apple French Onion Soup

A good French Onion Soup recipe will warm your heart and soul. Just seeing the gooey cheese on top makes me excited. In fact, I usually burn my mouth. I just can’t wait!

Apple French Onion Soup combines a robust French Onion Soup Recipe using sweet apples for flavor and texture. Top with crunchy garlic croutons and gooey cheese. #frenchonionsoup #fallsoup www.savoryexperiments.com


 

Apple French Onion Soup combines a robust French Onion Soup Recipe using sweet apples for flavor and texture. Top with crunchy garlic croutons and gooey cheese.

French Onion Soup seems simple enough, but is actually pretty sophisticated if you want to do it right. Much more than merely tossing a packet of onion soup mix into a pot of boiling water.

The base, of course is a beef broth or stock. Stocks alone are tricky, but a homemade stock can make or break French Onion Soup.

Simply pouring it out of a cardboard container from the store will give you flavor, but not the rich, velvety texture you crave.

Of course, if you wanted to make an easy French Onion Soup, you could totally cut the corner and buy a good pre-made beef broth, But if you are looking to make one yourself, check out my Best Beef Broth for tips and tricks.

Apple French Onion Soup combines a robust French Onion Soup Recipe using sweet apples for flavor and texture. Top with crunchy garlic croutons and gooey cheese. #frenchonionsoup #fallsoup www.savoryexperiments.com

The second layer of complexity for French Onion Soup is caramelized onions. Caramelized onions take time, about an hour or so and are not the same as simple sauteed onions.

They need to be cooked low and slow to turn into a golden and sweet brown. These can be made days, even weeks ahead of time and frozen until you need them. Check out my tips and tricks for caramelized onions.

caramelized onions in a pan with a wooden spoon

Next up, the croutons! Don’t feel obligated to get the perfect French Onion Soup bread, use whatever you have. For this batch, I cut up some leftover Italian sub rolls.

I’ve even used sourdough and brioche. Just baste with garlic butter and make sure to get a good crisp on it. You’ll need it so it doesn’t just dissipate in the broth. You can also use olive oil if you prefer no garlic in your soup.

Apple French Onion Soup combines a robust French Onion Soup Recipe using sweet apples for flavor and texture. Top with crunchy garlic croutons and gooey cheese. #frenchonionsoup #fallsoup www.savoryexperiments.com

What type of cheese is “French Onion Soup cheese?” You can use a variety of cheeses and even a mix if you want! The typical ones are provolone, Swiss, Gruyere and Parmesan.

I typically use what I have on hand. Shredded cheese sinks into the broth, but melts better, while a slice of cheese will stay floating right on top, but not sink.

Overhead view of apple french onion with caramelized onions

So makes my French Onion Soup different? Apple! A week ago I had an amazing bowl of French Onion Soup at a local restaurant and the added ingredient that really made it pop was the addition of apples.

And what a surprise lurking under the cheese! Guest raved and wondered why no one thought of this before. Pure genius!

his French Onion Soup is adapted from the masterful Julia Childs. Perfect in just about every way, it is finished with a splash of cognac. Feel free to omit it to make other adaptations as needed.

overhead of cheesy french onion soup and fresh sage

Tools you’ll need to make Apple French Onion Soup:

French Onion Soup Crocks– these are oven safe bowls perfect for serving any soup, especially those with melted cheese. I personally like the old school brown porcelain with a handle. It makes it easier to transfer from the baking sheet to a serving plate.

Dutch Oven– every kitchen should have one! They are heavy. They are expensive. They are worth it!

Micrograter– A small kitchen utensil you find you use a lot more than you expected!

If you liked our Apple French Onion Soup, here are more recipes that use caramelized onions!

And more delicious soup recipes:

Apple French Onion Soup combines a robust French Onion Soup Recipe using sweet apples for flavor and texture. Top with crunchy garlic croutons and gooey cheese. #frenchonionsoup #fallsoup www.savoryexperiments.com
Apple French Onion Soup combines a robust French Onion Soup Recipe using sweet apples for flavor and texture. Top with crunchy garlic croutons and gooey cheese. #frenchonionsoup #fallsoup www.savoryexperiments.com

Apple French Onion Soup

4.55 from 11 votes
Apple French Onion Soup combines a robust French Onion Soup Recipe using sweet apples for flavor and texture. Top with crunchy garlic croutons and gooey cheese.
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

French Onion Soup:

Croutons:

Instructions

  • Heat a large Dutch oven or sauce pan over medium heat. Melt butter. Add caramelized onions and diced apples to the butter. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring periodically to prevent burning. Apples should be slightly tender, but not mushy and not hard.
  • Add flour to mixture, allowing it to brown, forming a roux along with the caramelized onions and apples.
  • After flour browns slightly, add BEST beef stock, dry red wine, bay leaves, rubbed sage, fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir and bring to a low simmer. Never bring to a full boil.
  • Simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes, but no longer than 1 hour (the apples will start to lose their texture).
  • Meanwhile, prepare the croutons by preheating the oven to 325 degrees. Baste with melted butter mixed with garlic powder and then bake for 15 minutes or until brown and toasty.
  • Add grated onion, cognac and Parmesan cheese to the soup. Remove the bay leaves. Give it a quick stir.
  • Place Onion Soup Crocks onto a rimmed baking sheet. Top each with a croutons and 2 slices of Swiss cheese. Make sure the edges of the bread are covered with cheese to prevent the bread from burning.
  • Broil on high until cheese melts.
  • Remove, garnish with additional fresh sage, if desired, and serve immediately.
  • If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was! 

Nutrition

Calories: 472 kcal, Carbohydrates: 12 g, Protein: 20 g, Fat: 34 g, Saturated Fat: 22 g, Cholesterol: 101 mg, Sodium: 594 mg, Potassium: 152 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 3 g, Vitamin A: 1050 IU, Vitamin C: 4.4 mg, Calcium: 609 mg, Iron: 0.5 mg
Author: Jessica Formicola
Calories: 472
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Main Dish, Soup
Cuisine: American, French
Keyword: french onion soup recipe
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Jessica Formicola in her ktichen

About the Author

Jessica Formicola

Jessica the mom, wife and food lover behind Savory Experiments. She is obsessed with butter, salt and bacon and spends all her time in the kitchen and behind a camera. Jessica is a contributor to PopKitchen by Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, The Daily Meal Food + Travel and more!

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Questions and Reviews

    1. Hi! This is a great question and I’ll add it to the post. Jonagold are my favorite, but hard to find. Honeycrisp, red delicious and Grannysmith (if you like a little tart and sweet).

  1. 5 stars
    as is usual for all your recipes ….. this is going to be outstanding ….. and I get all the compliments …… thank you so much !!!

    however, one question: your recipe says
    ” 2 inch red apples cored, peeled and diced into 1 cubes * ”

    WHAT IS A 2 INCH RED APPLE ?

    1. Hi Marlene! I think that is a mistake in the way it translated when I changed recipe cards. I’ll go fix it. Just means 2 apples cut into 1 inch cubes. LOL. I hope you enjoy, this is one of my favorite recipes and yet very few people try it.

  2. 5 stars
    Wow, this looks yummy! I have been wanting to make some french onion soup, I have to give your recipe a try! Pinning!