An entirely plant-based French Onion soup? It’s true! And other than a bit of a time-commitment, it’s so easy!
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If you thought that French-food was off limits to plant-based eaters, I urge you to rethink it. Because this French Onion soup is freakin’ amazing!
It’s got everything: stretchy, melty “cheese”, caramelized onions, sweet + salty broth, broth-soaked bread, and a deep infusion of fresh herbs.
I mean, c’mon. What more could you want from a little bowl of soup?
CARAMILIZING ONIONS
Caramelizing onions is a task, it really is, but with a glass of wine and a podcast (see recommendations below), it’s really not that bad.
THE VEGAN “GRUYERE CHEESE”
This cheese is 100% plant-based, but tastes a lot like a real cheese. It’s not cultured so it’s very, very quick to throw together. It contains:
- Dry white wine
- Onion powder
- Raw cashews
- Nutritional yeast
- Maple syrup
- Salt
- Tapioca flour
- And water
That’s it! All of these ingredients in a blender and a quick heat on the range and bam–you have a stretchy, thick, melty Gruyere cheese!
Does it taste exactly like Gruyere? No, I don’t think it’s identical but it is perfect for broiling. It will melt, brown, and act just like real cheese.
SOUP CROCKS
Let’s talk about these soup crocks real quick, shall we?
I bought them on a whim but I’m so happy to have them! You can put them under the broiler, they’re sturdy, they look great on the table, and they’re necessary for making French Onion soup, properly.
You can find them right here on Amazon.
After all, what is French Onion soup without browning some cheese on top?
If you try and love this recipe, please tag #plantsdish @plantsdish on IG and leave a review below!
Vegan French Onion Soup with Vegan Gruyere
Equipment
- French Onion Soup Crocks (linked in the post)
Ingredients
FOR THE SOUP
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or plant-based butter
- 5 yellow onions sliced
- 1/2 shallot sliced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup dry red wine
- t tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- salt + pepper to taste
FOR THE VEGAN GRUYERE CHEESE
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked for six hours or boiled for 20 minutes (if you don't have a high-powered blender)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp tapioca flour
Instructions
- add the sliced onions and shallot to a stock pot over medium heat and saute with oil or butter, stirring every three minutes or so, until the onions caramelize – this will take about 45 minutes
- while waiting for the onions to caramelize, put all of the ingredients for the vegan gruyere into a blender and blend until it's completely smooth. then transfer the mix to a sauce pan over medium heat and whisk until it's thick and bubbly (about five minutes), then set it aside
- once the onions caramelize, coat the onions with the flour, then add the red wine to the stock pot and turn the heat to high, allow the wine to reduce to half (about five minutes) and turn the heat back down to medium
- add the rest of the broth, spices, soy sauce, rosemary, and bay leaf
- simmer for 15 minutes and turn on the broiler
- remove the rosemary sprig and bay leaf, then ladle the soup to soup crocks on a baking tray and top with crusty bread + a dollop of the cheese
- broil until the cheese is toasty and bubbly
- serve immediately
Notes
PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS
THUG KITCHEN PODCAST – Love this podcast hosted by a couple of really cool plant-based people. Each week, the hosts dive into politics, comedy, and culture through the lens of food.
SO BAD, IT’S GOOD – Hosted by Ryan Bailey, this podcast is pretty fresh but it’s perfect if you love a pop culture/Bravo deep dive. And I do mean deep, most of these episodes are over two hours long, and I do like this format.
It lookes amazing ! Thanks for sharing !
Thanks so much, Calin! xoxo!
I made the cheese sauce and it was AMAZING and easy. Thank you! I doubled the recipe and added a dollop of white miso paste because I love the added umami. I will make this again.
Thanks so much, Romy! 🙂