French onion soup's garlic-heavy cousin skips caramelizing for hours—dry sherry and 40 cloves deliver depth in under an hour.
Onion-Garlic Soup
Dive into a bowl of cozy delight with our savory Onion-Garlic Soup! This soul-soothing recipe features caramelized onions and aromatic garlic, simmered to perfection for a rich, robust flavor that warms you from the inside out. Perfect for chilly nights, this easy-to-make soup is the ultimate comfort food you didn’t know you were missing!
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
The Story
This so-called American classic is really French onion soup's lazy cousin, born when 1950s Midwestern housewives couldn't be bothered with Lyon's traditional caramelization ritual—so they lobbed in garlic like they were warding off Dracula, added Sherry instead of proper French wine, and pureed the whole lot with bread because gratin dishes were apparently too much effort for Tuesday supper.
Regional Twist
Down in Louisiana's Cajun country, cooks swap the dry Sherry for a splash of bourbon and throw in a pinch of cayenne, transforming this pale, polite soup into something with actual backbone that won't apologize for existing.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 3/4 cup peeled garlic (about 30) (180 ml)
🥩Meat & Seafood(1)
- 3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans low sodium chicken broth
🥛Dairy & Eggs(1)
- 3 tablespoons butter (42 g)
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (30 ml)
- 3 slices bread, torn into piecesFrench Bread and Focaccia both work wonderfully
🧂Spices & Seasonings(2)
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (5 ml)
📦Other(3)
- 1/2 cup dry sherry (120 ml)
- 1 cup half-and-half (240 ml)
- 2 -3 cups chopped onions (480-720 ml)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Melt butter in large pot over medium heat.
- 2
Add onions and garlic; cover and cook until onions are tender but not brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- 3
Add flour; stir 2 minutes.
- 4
Add broth, half and half, Sherry, thyme and bay leaf; bring to boil.
- 5
Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until garlic is very tender, about 15 minutes.
- 6
Discard bay leaf.
- 7
Working in batches, puree soup with bread in blender until smooth.
- 8
Return to pot.
- 9
Season with salt and pepper.
- 10
Rewarm soup over medium heat; serve.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Cook the onions covered over medium heat (not medium-high) and keep the pot lid on for the first 10 minutes—trapped steam raises humidity around the onions, encouraging tender softening via pectin breakdown rather than Maillard browning, which would add unwanted bitterness to this pale soup.techniquemedium heat, 10 minutes covered
- ✓Stir the flour constantly for a full 2 minutes before adding liquid so the raw starch granules fully coat in fat and lose their pasty flavor through gelatinization-priming, preventing a chalky mouthfeel in the finished soup.technique2 minutes
- ✓Simmer uncovered at medium-low (around 185°F, not a rolling boil) for the full 15 minutes so the garlic cloves soften completely through moist-heat breakdown of cell walls, while gentle uncovered evaporation concentrates the broth without scorching the dairy.timing185°F, 15 minutes
- ✓Let the soup cool slightly before pureeing with the bread and blend in small batches filling the blender no more than half full, since hot liquid expands rapidly and can blow the lid off, while the bread's starches need full blade contact to fully thicken the soup.equipmentfill blender to 50% capacity max
- ✓Add the Sherry during the simmer stage rather than at the end so its alcohol has time to cook off and its sugars caramelize slightly into the broth, deepening flavor instead of leaving a sharp, boozy edge.ingredient15 minute simmer
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
French onion soup's garlic-heavy cousin skips caramelizing for hours—dry sherry and 40 cloves deliver depth in under an hour.
Onion-Garlic Soup
Dive into a bowl of cozy delight with our savory Onion-Garlic Soup! This soul-soothing recipe features caramelized onions and aromatic garlic, simmered to perfection for a rich, robust flavor that warms you from the inside out. Perfect for chilly nights, this easy-to-make soup is the ultimate comfort food you didn’t know you were missing!
The Story
This so-called American classic is really French onion soup's lazy cousin, born when 1950s Midwestern housewives couldn't be bothered with Lyon's traditional caramelization ritual—so they lobbed in garlic like they were warding off Dracula, added Sherry instead of proper French wine, and pureed the whole lot with bread because gratin dishes were apparently too much effort for Tuesday supper.
Regional Twist
Down in Louisiana's Cajun country, cooks swap the dry Sherry for a splash of bourbon and throw in a pinch of cayenne, transforming this pale, polite soup into something with actual backbone that won't apologize for existing.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 3/4 cup peeled garlic (about 30) (180 ml)
🥩Meat & Seafood(1)
- 3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans low sodium chicken broth
🥛Dairy & Eggs(1)
- 3 tablespoons butter (42 g)
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (30 ml)
- 3 slices bread, torn into piecesFrench Bread and Focaccia both work wonderfully
🧂Spices & Seasonings(2)
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (5 ml)
📦Other(3)
- 1/2 cup dry sherry (120 ml)
- 1 cup half-and-half (240 ml)
- 2 -3 cups chopped onions (480-720 ml)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Melt butter in large pot over medium heat.
- 2
Add onions and garlic; cover and cook until onions are tender but not brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- 3
Add flour; stir 2 minutes.
- 4
Add broth, half and half, Sherry, thyme and bay leaf; bring to boil.
- 5
Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until garlic is very tender, about 15 minutes.
- 6
Discard bay leaf.
- 7
Working in batches, puree soup with bread in blender until smooth.
- 8
Return to pot.
- 9
Season with salt and pepper.
- 10
Rewarm soup over medium heat; serve.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Cook the onions covered over medium heat (not medium-high) and keep the pot lid on for the first 10 minutes—trapped steam raises humidity around the onions, encouraging tender softening via pectin breakdown rather than Maillard browning, which would add unwanted bitterness to this pale soup.techniquemedium heat, 10 minutes covered
- ✓Stir the flour constantly for a full 2 minutes before adding liquid so the raw starch granules fully coat in fat and lose their pasty flavor through gelatinization-priming, preventing a chalky mouthfeel in the finished soup.technique2 minutes
- ✓Simmer uncovered at medium-low (around 185°F, not a rolling boil) for the full 15 minutes so the garlic cloves soften completely through moist-heat breakdown of cell walls, while gentle uncovered evaporation concentrates the broth without scorching the dairy.timing185°F, 15 minutes
- ✓Let the soup cool slightly before pureeing with the bread and blend in small batches filling the blender no more than half full, since hot liquid expands rapidly and can blow the lid off, while the bread's starches need full blade contact to fully thicken the soup.equipmentfill blender to 50% capacity max
- ✓Add the Sherry during the simmer stage rather than at the end so its alcohol has time to cook off and its sugars caramelize slightly into the broth, deepening flavor instead of leaving a sharp, boozy edge.ingredient15 minute simmer