CopyCat Panera Bread French Onion Soup – CopyCat Restaurant Recipes

Ingredients
For Onion Soup:
16 oz yellow onions, thinly-sliced
¼ tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp salt
5 cups beef broth
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup red wine
3 tbsp brandy, or Cognac
salt
black pepper, ground
8 oz Gruyere cheese, grated and divided
For Croutons:
1 baguette, preferably stale, ends trimmed
½ cup olive oil
salt
black pepper, ground

Directions
Onion Soup:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat up oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onions, thyme, and salt. Sauté until deeply caramelized, for roughly 20 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning, while adjusting to low heat as needed, until onions form caramelized bits, or fond, at the bottom of the pot or skillet.

Add spoonfuls of the beef broth, up to 1 cup. Allow the liquid to evaporate before adding broth again as needed.

Once your onions turn jammy and caramelized, stir in the flour and roast briefly. De-glaze with red wine and reduce briefly.

Add beef broth and simmer until soup has slightly reduced (no more than 1/2 of its original amount), roughly 15 minutes. Add brandy or cognac to the soup and stir to combine. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Adjust accordingly and set aside in a warm area.

Croutons:
Brush baguette slices with olive oil on all sides. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer to the oven and toast until crispy and golden, for roughly 5 to 8 minutes. Increase oven heat to its maximum setting. Sprinkle half of the cheese onto the toasted baguette slices, then return to the oven and broil until the cheese has melted.

To Serve:
Ladle the onion soup until 2/3’s full, then add 3 to 5 baguette slices. Cover with roughly 4 ounces of cheese.

Using a kitchen torch, heat the cheese until melted and slightly caramelized on the edges.

Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

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