Slow Cooker French Onion Beef Soup
Deeply caramelised onions, tender slow-cooked beef blade and bubbling Gruyere make this French onion-inspired soup the ultimate cold-weather comfort food. The slow cooker does most of the work, transforming an economical cut of beef into a rich savoury meal that’s perfect for chilly evenings and leisurely weekend lunches.
How long will it take?
4 hours
What’s the serving size?
6
What do I need?
For the Beef and Soup
- 1 kg beef blade roast
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 50 g butter
- 1 kg brown onions, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 250 mL dry white wine
- 1.5 L beef stock
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
To Serve
- 1 baguette, sliced
- 200 g Gruyere cheese, grated
- Fresh thyme sprigs
How do I make it?
- Season the beef generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the beef on all sides. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- In the same pan, melt the butter with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil.
- Cook onions over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes until soft and golden. Add garlic and cook for 1 minutes. Pour in wine and simmer for 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits.
- Transfer onion mixture to the slow cooker. Add stock, Worcestershire, thyme and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours or until the beef is very tender and easy to pull apart.
- Remove the beef from the slow cooker and shred with two forks. Discard any large pieces of fat and the bay leaves. Return the shredded beef to the slow cooker and stir through the liquid.
- Toast the baguette slices.
- Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls and top each with a baguette slice and a generous handful of Gruyere. Place under a hot grill until the cheese is bubbling and golden.
- Scatter with thyme and serve immediately with baguette.
TOP TIPS
- For the deepest flavour, caramelise the onions the night before making the soup.
- This soup can be made up to 3 days ahead and reheated gently before adding the baguette and cheese topping.
- Leftover soup freezes well for up to 3 months.
