Gather your ingredients to make a rich, flavorful wintry soup. It only takes 10 ingredients to make this incredible meal. The important thing for this recipe is that you slowly caramelize the onions to bring out their mellow, sweet flavor.
Slice the onions as thinly as possible. Using a mandolin would be great for this but I didn’t have one. Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pot and add onions. Add a sprinkle of salt and cook until softened.
Next, place the lid on the pot slightly ajar and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40-50 minutes. Check on them so they don’t burn.
My onions still needed more caramelization so I put them back on the stove and stirred them frequently until they reduced down to a beautiful, rich almost paste.
Next, deglaze the pan with the white wine or veggie broth if you prefer. This will help release all of the flavorful bits on the bottom and sides of the pot.
You are almost done! Add the water, shoyu, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and thyme sprigs. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer for 10-15 minutes and serve.
I served this luscious Vegan French Onion Soup with a slice of rustic whole wheat bread toasted with vegan pepper jack cheese in the broiler.
Vegan French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 1 T. Olive oil
- 4-5 medium-sized onions sliced into thin rounds
- 3/4 C. White wine dry, or substitute vegetable broth
- 4 1/2 C. Water
- 1/3 C. Shoyu
- 2 T. Balsamic vinegar
- 3 Sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- Black pepper freshly ground
- Sea salt to taste I didn't need any when I made it
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat and add sliced onions.
- Cook until softened about 20 minutes.
- Cover the pot but leave slightly ajar. Cook in the oven at 350 degrees F until beginning to brown, about 40-50 minutes. Check periodically so the onions do not dry out completely.
- Next, place back on the stove and cook until the onions caramelize and begin to break down. This will vary depending on your onions. When the mixture begins to stick deglaze the pan with the white wine.
- Cook for a few minutes to pick up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. This will give it the rich flavor and color you are looking for.
- Add the water, shoyu, balsamic vinegar, thyme, garlic, and black pepper.
- Heat this to a simmer and then cook for about 10-15 minutes.
- Taste for salt and adjust to your liking.
- Serve with a rustic bread with a vegan cheese slice broiled and bubbly. I used a whole wheat bread from the farmer's market with a slice of Follow Your Heart Pepper Jack cheese.
- Bon Appetit!
Please leave a comment and photo below.
Mahalo!
I also like to add thin slices of sautéed mushroom to this recipe. Great as is, too!
Sautéed mushrooms sound like a perfect addition! I’ll try that next time.