French Onion Bean Soup

This French Onion Bean Soup is everything you love about French Onion Soup! An easy white bean French Onion Soup recipe with added protein, it’s simple to make on the stovetop or in the slow cooker. Serve it with fresh bread or croutons and shredded Parmesan cheese.

 

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Here at The Busy Baker comfort food is our jam – but not just any comfort food. We love the slow cooked, made-with-wine, savoury dishes that feature fresh ingredients and transport us back to a quiet European cafe somewhere. This French Onion Bean Soup recipe is all that and more! It’s an ultra-flavourful soup that’s straightforward and easy to make, and it tastes like it was made in a high-end restaurant. If you’re a fan of French Onion soup, you’ll love this healthier homemade version!

French Onion Bean Soup is everything you love about French Onion Soup with a super easy and delicious twist with added protein and fibre… white beans! The deep flavours of the caramelized onions perfectly combine with the hearty white beans, creating a cozy, protein-packed meal. Add some homemade croutons and shredded cheese and you’ll have the perfect comfort food dish everybody will love!

There are so many reasons we turn to this French Onion Bean Soup again and again. Here are just a few:

1. It’s a whole MEAL: the hearty beans turn this soup into a filling main course.
2. It’s BUDGET-FRIENDLY: this soup uses pantry staples like beans, onions, and broth.
3. It’s a CROWD PLEASER: caramelised onions and cheese always make for a delicious soup!
4. It’s great for MEAL PREP: the soup freezes well and keeps very well in the fridge… some might even say it tastes better the next day.
5. It’s great for SOUP WEATHER: this warm and hearty soup is the best lunch or dinner to warm you up during the cold seasons.

Here are some of our favourite recipes we love to make along with this French Onion Bean Soup:

1. Homemade Croutons
2. Best Ever Rosemary Focaccia Bread
3. Quick Dinner Rolls – Ready in one hour!
4. Potato Bread

Whether you’ve never made French Onion soup before or you’re a seasoned home cook, here are all our best tips and tricks for making the perfect French Onion Soup at home in your own kitchen!

Cooking the onions low and slow helps them caramelise and gives the soup a very nice depth of flavour. We know having to wait for onions to caramelise is hard, but we promise it’s worth it.

We’ve tried and tested this recipe many times but tastes differ, so we encourage you to taste as you go and add salt, pepper, or herbs to your liking,

Don’t skip the wine or the balsamic vinegar. They both help you get a balanced soup. If at the end of cooking you’d still like more acidity in your soup, feel free to add an extra splash of balsamic vinegar.

Homemade croutons are awesome, they’re great for using up dry, stale bread and easily customizable to your preference. They also elevate this soup. Try our homemade crouton recipe here!

If you’re running into any trouble with this French Onion Bean Soup recipe, here’s some troubleshooting ideas for common issues, and how to fix and prevent them!

Add a few splashes of balsamic vinegar and let the soup boil a little more. This will cut down the sweetness.

Simmer for a while uncovered so that the liquid can reduce. This will also deepen the flavours of the soup.

Add some more stock or water to thin it out. Make sure you taste it and adjust the seasonings so that your soup is as flavourful after the addition of more liquid.

If you’re using salted stock, make sure you don’t add a lot of extra salt as you’re cooking. You can always adjust the saltiness towards the end of cooking. If your soup is too salty, add some more unsalted stock or some acidity with balsamic vinegar or wine. Make sure your croutons are not too salty and don’t use a salty cheese like Parmesan on top. Instead, choose a nuttier cheese like Gouda, Gruyère or Emmental.

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this delicious White Bean French Onion Soup (paid links):

• large knife and a Cutting Board
• measuring cups and spoons
• Garlic Press
• heavy-bottomed soup pot
• wooden spoon
• cheese grater
• Soup Ladle
• ramekins optional

Here’s all the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious white bean soup recipe (paid links):

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 large onions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup white wine we prefer dry white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dry
• 2 bay leaves
• 28 ounces canned white beans rinsed and drained
• 6 cups beef broth

To serve:

• homemade or store bought croutons
• Parmesan cheese grated
• Emmental and Gruyère cheese grated

We hope you love this French Onion Soup recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite comfort food to make at home? We’d love to know!

• Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
• Pumpkin Soup
• Crock Pot Cabbage Soup
• Tomato Soup
• Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Avgolemono Soup
• Meatball Soup
• Minestrone Soup
• Sweet Potato Soup

Watch the video below to see exactly how we make this recipe. You can find many more deliciously simple recipe videos on our YouTube channel!

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