Description
Inspired by the famous Nordstrom Café recipe, this French onion soup features deeply caramelized onions, a savory broth, and perfectly melted Gruyère cheese over golden baguette slices. A true classic restaurant favorite you can make at home.
Ingredients
Scale
- 5 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 8 cups rich beef stock
- 1/2 cup dry sherry or white wine
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 baguette, sliced and toasted
- 2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional, for extra flavor)
Instructions
- In a large heavy pot, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook slowly, stirring often, until onions are soft and deeply caramelized, about 40–45 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes. Add flour and cook for another 2 minutes to eliminate raw taste.
- Deglaze with sherry or wine, scraping up any browned bits.
- Add beef stock, thyme, and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove thyme and bay leaf before serving.
- Preheat oven broiler. Ladle soup into oven-safe bowls, top each with toasted baguette slices, and sprinkle generously with Gruyère and Parmesan.
- Broil until cheese is melted, bubbly, and golden brown, about 2–3 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes
For a Nordstrom-inspired finish, use a combination of Gruyère and Parmesan cheese. Serve with a simple green salad for a café-style meal.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop and Broil
- Cuisine: French-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 390
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 910mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 34g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 18g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
Keywords: nordstrom cafe french onion soup, restaurant style french onion soup, cheesy onion soup, gourmet soup recipe