Vegan French Onion Soup (With Vegan Gruyère)

by Steph Sunshine at StephSunshine.com

Yield 8 small bowls or 4 large bowls (1.2 L/5 cups)

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup vegan butter sticks
  • 3 lb. yellow onions, sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or rice flour for gluten-free)
  • 1/2 cup vegan sherry (use additional vegetable broth for alcohol-free)
  • 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (use coconut aminos or tamari for gluten-free)
  • 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce (such as Annie's or 365) (use gluten-free, if needed)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For Topping

  • 8 baguette slices (gluten-free if needed)
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • vegan Gruyère cheese (or use store-bought vegan mozzarella)

Instructions

  1. If you're using homemade vegan Gruyère, prepare it before you begin the recipe.
  2. Add vegan butter to a large heavy-bottomed stock pot and heat over medium. After the butter has melted, add the onions and toss them to coat them in the butter. Once the onions have softened, reduce your heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized (about 1 to 1.5 hours). If the bottom of the pot starts to dry out, use water or additional vegetable broth to deglaze the pot.
  3. Add in your minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then, add the flour and cook for 1 minute more, stirring frequently.
  4. Add the sherry, vegetable broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, salt, and pepper to the pot and stir. (If your broth or soy sauce isn't low sodium, skip the salt and add it to taste later if needed). Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
  5. Towards the end of your simmer, preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C). Brush or spray baguette slices with olive oil (use 1 slice per small bowl of soup or 2 slices per large bowl), then place on a baking tray. Toast the slices in the oven for about 3 minutes per side, then remove the baking tray and turn on the oven's broiler to the highest setting.
  6. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs from the soup, then transfer the soup to individual oven-safe serving bowls. Place the bowls on a large baking sheet, then top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (depending on the size of your bowls). Add shredded vegan Gruyère cheese on top of the baguette slices and soup.
  7. Place your baking tray and soup bowls on a middle to high rack so that the tops of the bowls are about 6 to 8 inches under the broiler. Once the cheese has melted and browned (about 1 to 2 minutes), remove the bowls from the oven and serve. (Be careful, the bowls will be hot!)

Notes & Hints

To get the vegan cheese extra melty, you can spray a little bit of water on top of the cheese before you put the bowls in the oven.

This soup is best served fresh, so I recommend preparing only as many bowls as you will eat. For leftovers, store the soup (without bread and cheese) in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

StephSunshine