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French Onion Soup - Slow Cooker Style

French Onion Soup is delicious and easy when you make it in the slow cooker.

“You will find this to be a more oniony soup than the usual kind but, as the cross old lady said when a stranger told her that her slip was showing, "I like it that way.” ~Margaret Yardley Potter

I think of French Onion Soup as the Rocky Balboa of soups. It is an enduring favorite, it has bite and it may be basic, but it definitely has depth. You can envision it going a few rounds with Apollo Creed's Beef Stew.

But seriously, French Onion Soup is that perennial favorite that we love to order in restaurants as an appetizer but seldom actually try to make at home. In all the years that I have been cooking the first time I tried to make it was last weekend, when I decided to try my hand at a slow cooker version. I have just one thing to say.

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Yo Adrian! This is amazing!

This slow cooker version of the classic recipe is easy and so very good-you really need to give it a try.

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One piece of advice: Use the Gruyere. The recipe calls for Gruyere cheese, which I purchased, but when my husband and I tried it we agreed that it tasted like dirty feet. We used Provolone instead. The soup was good but we both felt there was something missing, so on our second round we used the Gruyere. BIG improvement. Do yourself a favor and use it.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 8 ounces of beer
  • 64 ounces of low-sodium beef stock
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • french bread
  • Gruyere cheese, sliced

Instructions:

  • Set your crock pot on high, then add onions, garlic, brown sugar, butter, salt and balsamic and mix until combined.
  • Cover and let cook for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are a bit caramely and brown on the edges.
  • Add in flour, then stir thoroughly and let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Add in beer, beef stock, thyme, and pepper, then turn heat down to low, cover and cook for 6-8 hours.
  • Cut french bread into slices.
  • Fill soup bowls to the top, then cover with slice of bread and a slice of cheese.
  • Set under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

Adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe

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