Whenever I eat a dish I love at a restaurant, I love the challenge of trying to make it home. There’s a local restaurant near us that has this amazing red wine onion soup. This soup is so good that someone I know who used to be a french onion soup hater orders it every time we go to this place. So naturally I needed to try to replicate it. I got close to the real deal. 

I originally posted this in 2017. I’ve since updated the recipe (update posted January 30, 2019). While the original was good, I like to update recipes from time to time and improve them. The revised version has more beef stock and red wine than the original.

I used a cheap bottle of cabernet sauvignon for this, but pretty much any red wine will do. For slicing onions, I always use this method that Anne Burrell demonstrated on season 1 of Worst Cooks in America. Nice, even pieces every time, and it’s easy!

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5 from 1 vote

Red Wine Onion Soup

An interesting twist on French onion soup that doesn't skimp on the wine. You'll need a second bottle if you want to have any wine to drink!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time1 hr 15 mins

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: French onion soup, Onion soup, Red wine onion soup, red wine recipe

Servings: 6 servings

Equipment

• Dutch oven or large pot

Ingredients

• 1 Vidalia onion sliced thin
• 1 medium yellow onion sliced thin
• 2 cloves garlic grated
• ½ tsp thyme
• ½ tsp sage
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 bottle red wine
• 8 cups beef stock
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• Asiago cheese sliced
• Gruyere cheese sliced
• Stale baguette sliced
• kosher salt to taste

Instructions

• Melt butter in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat (tip: preheat the pot on the stove before adding the butter).
• Add onions, garlic, oregano, thyme, and sage.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent and begin to caramelize.
• Add ½ cup of the red wine, stir, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce to a simmer and simmer until the wine has evaporated (onions should be red and dry-ish).
• Add the flour and stir the onions to coat. Cook on low for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the beef stock, apple juice, Worcestershire, bay leaves, and the remaining wine.
• Stir to make sure all of the flour is off of the bottom of the pot so it doesn’t burn.
• Bring soup to a boil.
• Reduce to a simmer. Skim the froth from the top and discard. This is a good time to taste the soup and add some salt if needed.
• Cover and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Fill soup crocks (I used Le Creuset mini cocottes) with stale baguette slices, about halfway. Ladle soup into the crocks. Top each with asiago and gruyere slices. Place onto a baking sheet and broil until the cheese is melted and golden. (And caution – the soup will be extremely hot!)