You had me at Burrata! Right? I’m putting just a little twist on classic French onion soup with a ball of fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. My favorite part of eating crockpot burrata French onion soup is how the mozzarella shell melts and the creamy curd on the inside oozes into the soup making it creamy and rich.
Wedges of French baguette are used to scoop the stringy, melting burrata and onions while soaking up the rich broth of the crockpot buratta french onion soup.
The last time I traveled to France was during a cool Autumn month. While walking down Rue de Rivoli, a man outside a cafe was luring in customers by bragging how wonderful their onion soup was. I really wanted a fabulous bowl of French onion soup to warm my body. This man assured me that I would never taste a better French onion soup anywhere. In fact, he staked his job on it! Now that’s quite a claim. My daughter and I decided to put his soup to the test.
I took a few spoonfuls…wait could this be? Dehydrated onion soup mix? The French use Lipton’s? Soon after my soup arrived this gentleman seated another American woman who just wanted a great bowl of French onion soup. She asked him how good his soup was. He pointed to me and said, “ask this woman”. To which I replied, “time to start looking for a new job”!
It didn’t take long to realize not all French cafe’s are equal. My daughter had ordered a buckwheat crepe filled with gruyere drizzled with fresh cream, which was amazing. I was regretting my choice.
I became committed to make an amazing bowl of French onion soup. From scratch. In my own home. In Utah.
Here a some tips for how I make a rich, flavorful soup:
- Sweet onions, cooked slowly.
- Rich homemade bone broth. A combination of chicken broth and beef broth.
- fresh herbs (thyme, bay leaves, parsley)
- Fresh unsalted butter
- Have I mentioned slow cooking to blend the flavors and condense the broths and make them rich in flavor.
You will need:
- 3-4 large sweet organic onions
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut sugar or raw cane sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups beef bone broth
- 4 cups chicken bone broth
You will also need:
- Fresh thyme and 1 bay leaf
- 1 large loaf French baguette
- 1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- burrata cheese
- salt, fresh ground white pepper
Cut large onions in half from the root tip down. Slice onions about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. A mandolin works great for this job. Set aside. Melt butter in the bowl of a crock pot.
Add onions to crockpot.
Sprinkle with coconut sugar and salt. Stir well to coat the onions.
I like to add the garlic on top of the onions so they don’t even think about browning too much. Place lid on crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours.
Once the onions have slowly cooked down and are beginning to brown, add the broths, 6 sprigs of fresh thyme and a bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for an additional 8 hours. I know that seems so long, but in the end it is worth the wait.
After the long 8 hours of cooking, remove the thyme and bay leaf.
I like to chop up a few teaspoons of fresh thyme for serving. Taste the soup. This is the time to season. The reason why I only add 1/2 teaspoon of salt at the beginning is because the soup mixture cooks down and concentrates the flavors. There is nothing worse than salty soup..am I right? Add 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Taste. Add an additional tablespoon, if desired. I like to crank in some fresh ground pepper. White pepper is especially good. Add a bit of fresh chopped parsley if you have some on hand, because fresh parsley is awesome.
Slice baguette into 4-inch slices, then cut those slices in half length wise. Butter cut side and place on a hot griddle or skillet to toast and brown the baguette.
French onion soup was meant to be served steaming hot. Ladle hot soup into serving bowls and drop a ball of burrata into each bowl. (Yes, that is a lot of cheese)
Use the toasted baguette to scoop up melting burrata and onions. The baguette will soak up the wonderful rich broth. I love that each bite will have a crisp crunch of baguette.
Warning: Have plenty serviette de table (table napkins) on hand. This can get a bit messy if you slurp and dip like I do…it’s embarrassing.
Crockpot Burrata French Onion Soup
I’m putting just a little twist on classic French onion soup with a ball of fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream.
Ingredients
- 3-4 large sweet organic onions cut in half and sliced 1/8-1/4 inch thick
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut sugar depending how sweet onions are
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken bone broth
- 4 cups beef bone broth
- 1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- fresh thyme bay leaf, parsley
- salt
- fresh ground white pepper
- 4 balls burrata cheese
- 1 loaf French baguette
Instructions
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In the bowl of a crockpot melt butter. Add sliced onions, coconut sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt. Stir to coat onions. Add minced onions to the top of the onions.
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Cook on low for 6 hours. Stirring every 30 minutes or so.
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Add broths, sprigs of fresh thyme and 1 bay leaf.
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Cover and continue to cook on low for an additional 8 hours.
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Before serving add Worcestershire sauce to taste. Season with salt and white pepper and additional fresh herbs.
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Slice baguette into 4-inch slices. Cut in half length wise. Butter cut side and place on a hot griddle or skillet until golden brown.
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Pour steaming hot soup into serving bowls
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Add burrata to hot soup
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Serve with toasted baguette
Recipe Notes
- Soup can cook for as long as 12 hours on low.
- I like to cook the onions during the day, then add the broth and cook through the night.
- Soup can be cooled and refrigerated for 3-4 days. Reheat when ready to serve.
Recipe inspired by Pizzeria Limone who had a great idea, but broth was WAY too salty and should have used homemade stock…personal opinion.
This soup is, also, great served with homemade Crusty Bread/Artisan No-knead bread
https://www.simplysgood.com/artisan-no-knead-bread/
Im with you Janet, I would eat Burrata on everything I eat if I could!
I’ve searched for and tried so many onion soup recipes – yours looks like the winner that has eluded me for so long! Might I ask about the broth – do you make your own or is there a brand or concentrate you prefer? Thanks so much!
Yes, I make my own broth. I have a few recipes on my blog for bone broths and stocks. If you use a boxed brand, I would use an organic brand like Pacifica. They also have a bone broth but it’s much more expensive. I do believe the flavor of the broth makes all the difference in an onion soup recipe. I hope this helps.
Well I am glad that it made your day to read my comment, because for real I owe you a debt of gratitude that I can never repay. truly, you have been the source of many of my “backbone” Recipes that my family love. I have given out your blog in reference to many things – but especially in regards to the giant cinnamon twist recipe more times than I can count. I may have even referred to you as my “cooking Mom” to some over the years- and I mean that in a totally loving but non stalker way haha ! Really, it has made a big difference in my life. SO thanks again.
Ok and to be a realy pain and clarify because I am a stickler for details, it is ok to use regular white sugar in the place of coconut sugar? not leave the sugar out but replace it with the plain old white stuff? will that make it too sweet? And I had an idea to bounce of you if you had any thoughts, I was trying to figure out a way to fit in enough time to serve this to my family piping hot for dinner without reheating it- do you think it would work if I did the first 6 hours of browning the onions, and then cooled them and put them in the fridge over night, and then the next morning fire up the crock pot again and add the broths and do the remaining 8 hours of cooking? Just wondering if that sounded like a legit plan or if you needed to cook it all in one fail swoop without stopping. Thanks again for everything!
Awesome! Thank you so much. Sorry I did’t totally answer your question. Yes, you can replace the coconut sugar with regular white sugar. However, if you don’t want to add sugar, it can be deleted entirely. My daughter can’t process most sugars, so she just doesn’t add it at all. I hope this helps and I hope you love the soup!
THis looks amazing. I have loved your blog for many years now and cannot thank you enough for posting your recipes. You have literally taught me how to cook through the years….and I enjoy your amazing food. I have a question, in this recipe how crucial is it to use coconut or raw sugar? If I don’t have any could I use regular sugar? also, are regular just like white onions ok? or do they need to be sweet onions? thanks again for your blog I have been a long time fan.
You just made my day Melissa. I just assumed my kids were the only ones checking out my blog each week. You can absolutely leave out the sugar and any onions you have on hand will work. Vidalia or Walla Walla onions work great, but they aren’t always available. Use what you have available to you. I’m so happy to read that you like the step-by-step. I have discussed how long this takes me to photograph with other bloggers, and they tell me to stop doing it. I could post more often if I stop the step-by-step. However, this was the purpose of me starting this blog in the first place. I wanted to help others learn how to cook. You’re a gem. Thank you.