This dry onion soup mix is perfect to throw together in 3 minutes or less and have on hand to use whenever you want. All you need are some spices you probably already have in your kitchen pantry.
You will love this recipe for Onion Soup Mix
This seasoning secret will add a savory note to lots of dishes. Here are a few reasons why we love it:
- Versatile – This favorite dry soup mix isn’t just for soup! Use it to add an extra flavor boost to lots of your flavorful family meals. It’s great for sour cream dips too.
- Easy to make – The mix itself is as simple as mixing all of the dry ingredients together and storing it in a glass jar.
- Basic ingredients – Most, if not all, of these ingredients are pantry staple seasonings.
Homemade Onion Soup Mix
I’m not going to lie and tell you that you will save oodles of money making your own onion soup mix recipe. A box of packets of Lipton onion soup mix costs less than $2, but I will tell you that this one is a little tastier and works great in a pinch for a substitute.
I’ll also go out on a limb here and say 90% of my foodie friends already have all the ingredients they need to make this recipe in their pantry. No secret ingredient or hard to pronounce things in this onion soup mix substitute.
Onion Soup Mix Recipe ingredients
The base for dry onion soup, sometimes called French Onion Soup Mix, is fairly basic. Made with simple ingredients found in your spice cabinet or easily at your local grocery store.
- Dry onion flakes – It wouldn’t be onion soup without some onion, right? The flakes are important to add a little texture.
- Powdered beef bouillon – Because this is a dry mix and we need it to be shelf stable, we need beef bouillon granules, not bouillon paste.
- Onion powder – A little more onion flavor can’t hurt! Granulated onion is less potent, but still important for the rich onion flavor.
- Garlic powder – No good soup is made without garlic. It just adds to the tasty onion broth flavor.
- Parsley flakes – I didn’t use these the first time I made this soup mix and took pictures, but I do like to add them sometimes.
- Celery salt – If you’d really like to step up the flavor, you can substitute this for celery seed instead.
- Smoked paprika – I like the smoky flavor the best, but you can certainly use regular paprika if that’s all you have on hand.
- Salt and pepper – I prefer to use freshly ground black pepper and fine sea salt. Coarse Kosher salt is a little too coarse.
I prefer mine to be extra onion-y (yep, I just made up that word), so I use more onion flakes than the store bought version and also add black pepper. Look for a very finely ground black pepper to make the smoothest mix.
You can even go a step further and use garlic flakes instead of onion or use both!
Using Dry Onion Soup Mix
This is probably one of the most versatile items in the kitchen for seasoning. When I say that I always have it, I’m not joking. Whether is it a homemade onion soup mix or pre bought, it is a staple. Here are a few of my favorite recipes to use it with:
- Roasted potatoes and vegetables
- Steak Rub
- Chicken and pork marinade
- Mixed into mashed potatoes
- Mixed into gravy
- Add to ground beef for meatloaf and hamburgers
- French Onion Dip
- Salisbury Steak
- Cube Steak
- Slow cooker pot roast
- And of course, for making soups!
For most recipes, keeping it chunky and whole is perfectly fine, but if you are looking for all of the flavor, but a fine blend without large pieces of onion, try using a spice grinder to blend it up. This is my favorite spice grinder, cheap and easy to clean! You can also use it to grind coffee!
How to make Onion Soup from an Onion Soup Mix
One of the most common questions is how to make soup from dry onion soup mix. The process couldn’t be simpler! If you want to make soup, add 4 cups of water or low sodium beef broth in a large bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Add caramelized onions, frozen veggies like green beans or even thinly sliced beef or chicken to make a whole meal. It’s sure to be a family favorite.
How to store French Onion Soup Mix
Storage: This dry soup mix is very shelf stable and will last in a cool, dry place for up to a year. Store in an airtight container like a mason jar.
Freezing: You can also store it in the freezer or fridge to preserve it a little longer. Keep in mind that like most dry seasonings, it will start to lose its potency at about 6 months.
PRO TIP: Get a few small glass containers from the craft store and make these into gifts. Print out the soup instructions on cute labels and decorate with colorful string.
DIY Dry Onion Soup Mix FAQs
There are about 3 tablespoons in a Lipton onion soup packet, give or take a smidge. In most recipes, you can eyeball the amount and use a little more or a little less without worry of ruining the recipe.
The only thing to be mindful of is salt content. If the recipe calls for additional salt, add the soup mix and then season with salt accordingly. Adding both could make it to too salty. Same goes for recipes using broth, opt for a low-sodium broth so you can control the saltiness.
There really isn’t a difference and honestly, I don’t even use it to make French Onion Soup, only just a basic onion soup.
More Homemade Spice Blends
- Homemade Seasoned Salt
- Thai Seasoning
- Homemade Italian Seasoning
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
- Homemade Fajita Seasoning
- Homemade Poultry Seasoning
Rosemary Salt
Homemade Blackened Seasoning
Best Corn on the Cob Seasoning
Dry Onion Soup Mix Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dried onion flakes
- 3 tablespoons beef bouillon ground
- 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Combine the onion flakes, powdered beef bouillon, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt, paprika, black pepper and salt in a small mixing bowl and combine.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings.
Video
Notes
If you want to make soup, add 4 cups boiling water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. If you like a smoother soup, use a spice grinder to make it evenly fine.
I’ve been making my own soup mixes like cream of mushroom. How much ingredients and water to equal 1 – 10oz can of French onion soup?
Can powder soup base be used in place of ground bullion?
Probably- but I haven’t personally tried that.
This was such an easy spice mix to make and store at home — we used this on roasted veggies recently and it added such great flavor to the dish!
This is a great recipe! Perfect for dips, soups, and I can’t wait to try it with my french onion soup pork chops!
I use onion soup mix for so many recipes. This homemade mix will definitely come in handy. It’s the perfect addition to my pantry.
Love homemade seasoning mixes… so much better (and better for you) than store bought! Can’t wait to make an onion dip with this.
Great recipe! Love it in our favorite slow cooker pot roast recipe, and of course, onion dip!
Great recipe, thank you so much. Love the taste!
This is a great sub for the store package without any salt
Wonderful recipe! I’m so glad to have a homemade onion soup mix recipe. The box ones contain bioengineered food and I won’t touch that. My husband and son said this tastes better than brand in box. I used 1/4 cup to a 16oz container of sour cream. Perfect!
Awesome! And thank you for coming back to let us know!
I have made this twice in one week. Tried it as a dip for chips/veggies and also used it to make meatloaf. Company coming tomorrow so I just made another batch for dip
Woohoo! That is what we love to hear and thank YOU for coming back to let us know!
How long would this mixture last in air tight container? Like a canning jar?
Probably a really long time! The salt is a natural preservative, so a year or so with decent flavor. The thing I would be more worried about is the dried bits starting to lose their flavor.
This is beyond amazing! This has opened up our menu to nee possibilities since having to go GF due to Celiac! In my opinion, this is 10 times better than the boxed onion soup mix!! Thank you !!!!!
So glad you love it and thanks for coming back to let us know!
To send this recipe over the top dehydrate your own vegies, then mix, super good. Thanks for the recipe.
Great idea!
There have been so many times I wanted to make something that called for dry onion soup mix which I refuse to buy. Now I can try those recipes! Thanks for figuring it out.
Loved the recipe!
But to much salt. Bouillon has salt, then the celery salt and the sea salt.
I will be using this recipe. Just leaving out the salt and use celery seeds or dryed celery flake insted.
This makes about 2 single pkgs like in a box.
Great tasting recipe a keeper.
Thanks for the feedback~! Yep, all of those things have salt and differ in saltiness by brand. Always use a coarse kosher salt, not a fine or table salt.
The recipe does not say how much of the mix you add to how much water??
2 tablespoons. Sorry- most folks just want the dry soup mix, not the whole soup. LOL.
Hi Jessica. We just found your recipe and we absolutely luv it. We’ve made different recipes trying to find a good one and yours is the best we’ve tried. We will keep this on hand to put in all of our different recipes from dip to meatloaf. Thank you so much for this one!
Thanks so much and thank you for taking the time to come back and let us know!
I love this soup mix. I made a quart jar of it and keep it on hand at all times. I put it in all kinds of recipes. I add it to my beans, roast, use for dip, etc. Will keep this on hand. Thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks for the feedback, Tami!
Is this for 1 pouch of soup mix?
Hi Kathy- each packet is about 3 tablespoons and this recipe makes a tiny bit less than 4 pouches.