This Instant Pot French Onion Soup is a restaurant-quality dish with caramelized onions, topped with baguette slices and Gruyere cheese.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter – use a butter substitute of your choice or even olive oil.
- Yellow onions – yellow onions caramelize the best, but white onions will work if they’re all you have on hand.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Dried thyme – dried oregano will provide a similar flavour.
- Flour – swap out for almond flour if need be.
- Red wine – any dry red or white wine will work or you can leave the wine out entirely.
- Beef broth – vegetable broth would be the best substitute here.
- Baguette – pieces of French or Italian loaf would also work well as a topping for this soup.
- Gruyere cheese – use any mild melting cheese such as mozzarella or Swiss.
How to make French onion soup in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Sauté the onions.
Sauté the onions until they start to brown in the Instant Pot, stirring occasionally and scraping bits off the bottom.
Step 2: Add the salt, pepper, thyme and flour.
Add the salt, pepper, thyme and flour, stirring until the onions are well coated.
Step 3: Pour in the red wine.
Pour in the red wine, then sauté until some of the liquid is reduced.
Step 4: Add the beef broth.
Step 5: Cook on high pressure.
Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes then do a quick release of the pressure.
Step 6: Broil with bread and cheese then serve.
Ladle the soup into ramekins, then top with the sliced baguette and grated cheese. Broil in the oven until the cheese is melted then serve!
Variations of French onion soup
- Vegetarian: Substitute the beef broth for vegetable broth.
- Keto: While onions are not the best choice for a keto diet, you can enjoy this Instant Pot French onion soup as a rare treat. Just leave out the croutons to make it keto-friendly.
- Alcohol-free: Leave out the red wine entirely if you want this dish to be alcohol-free.
- Protein: Sauté some beef ribs and stir them into the soup before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yellow onions are the best kind of onions to use for French onion soup. They caramelize the best and provide the best flavour. You can use white onions if they’re all you have on hand, just keep in mind that the flavour will be slightly different.
Yes! As long as you have an Instant Pot that’s big enough, you can double this recipe without needing to increase the cooking time (just make sure you don’t go over your Instant Pot’s maximum line).
This French onion soup can be enjoyed as a main or a side dish. If you’re looking for ideas on what to serve it with, it’d be great with an arugula salad, marinated steak or a French dip sandwich.
If you want your soup to be even thicker, stir in a cornstarch slurry (using a bit of cornstarch and cold water) after the soup has finished cooking in the Instant Pot. Put the lid back on and let it sit for a few minutes, then ladle it into bowls.
Storing and reheating
If you want to store any leftovers of this French onion soup Instant Pot recipe, be sure that you do so before adding the baguette and cheese to it. Keep the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Reheat your soup in a pot on the stovetop or use your Instant Pot’s sauté function to reheat the soup. Ladle into oven-safe bowls, place the baguette and shredded cheese over the top, and place it under the broiler to melt the cheese.
Can you freeze French onion soup?
You can freeze this insta pot French onion soup without the baguette and cheese. It should keep well frozen for about 2 to 3 months. You can freeze in individual servings in glass bowls and then reheat from frozen for 6-8 minutes in the microwave, stirring halfway through. Add your baguette and cheese fresh and voila!
More Instant Pot soup recipes
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
- Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup
- More Easy and Delicious Instant Pot Soup Recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this onion soup into leftovers.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Instant Pot French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 10 medium-sized yellow onions, sliced
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 6 cups beef broth
- 6 slices baguette, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
- 3/4 cup Gruyere (Swiss) cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute mode. Add butter and saute onions for 15 minutes until they start to brown, stirring occasionally and scraping bits off the bottom.
- Add salt & pepper, thyme and flour, stirring until onions are well coated. Pour in red wine, then saute for 1-2 minutes until some of the liquid is reduced.
- Add beef broth, then place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 5 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily. Meanwhile, slice baguette, grate cheese and turn oven to broil on high.
- Ladle soup into ramekins or oven safe bowls, then top with a slice of baguette and sprinkle some cheese overtop. Broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted, watching closely so it doesn't burn. Remove from oven, then serve and enjoy!
