If I’m thinking classic soup recipes, my mind automatically goes to one of my faves: French Onion Soup. It’s super simple to make and is a no-brainer when it comes to parties and family dinners. But, with the peak of Vidalia onion season in full bloom, I thought that a fun spin on the recipe was to use the sweet onions instead of traditional cooking onions. Here’s my easy recipe for Vidalia French Onion Soup.
This post was sponsored by Heluva Good! Cheese as part of an Influence Central campaign and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. #HeluvaGoodSummer #IC
Vidalia French Onion Soup Recipe Ingredients
Recipe makes 4-6 servings depending on bowl size
- 4 Vidalia Onions, cut in half and sliced
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
- 32 ounces Beef Broth (do not dilute)
- 1 Block Colby Jack Cheese, sliced into 1/8 inch slices. I used Heluva Good!® Block Cheese, Colby Jack style
- 4-6 slices French Bread, sliced into 1/2 inch slices (one slice per bowl)
Directions
Add butter and sliced Vidalia Onions to a large saute pan together. On medium heat, once butter is melted, make sure all onion slices are coated and continue to stir to keep onions from browning. You want the onions to be translucent but not brown or crunchy.
Immediately add beef broth to onions and butter and bring just to a boil. Now you’re ready to assemble the soup and prepare the bowls for broiling.
This is a really hearty, decadent soup so I find that using smaller bowls is perfect for my family. While you’re gathering the rest of the ingredients, turn your broiler on high.
The rest of the steps are really simple: Add onion/butter/broth to soup bowls and place bowls on a large cookie sheet or cake pan. It’s much easier to pull them from under the broiler when there’s all of that gooey, melted cheese over the top.
So, let’s talk about why I used Heluva Good! Colby Jack cheese for a sec. One, it’s readily available in the dairy aisle at my local Walmart. Two, it’s highly affordable. Three? It melts great. Four, it’s gluten free, made from milk, has 0 grams of trans fat, is a good source of protein, and an excellent source of calcium. Lastly, I wanted to give my French Onion soup recipe a new take on a classic.
Right now, if you want to score an even better deal on Heluva Good! block cheese, Ibotta is offering a 75 cent cash back offer. There’s no expiration date on its offer, but quantities are limited so head to your local Walmart and score a great deal soon.
Let’s get back to the assembly, shall we?
This next steps need to be done in a timely fashion so the French bread doesn’t sink to the bottom before the cheese gets added to the top. After you’ve added in the broth mixture, add one slice of French bread to the top and then immediately add the slices of Colby Jack to the top of each bowl. You want the cheese to completely cover the top of the bowl, so I arrange it in a circular fashion.
Broiling Tips
As soon as you’ve put all of your soup bowls on your cookie sheet or cake pan, immediately put it under the broiler and close your oven door. Keep a constant watch on the bowls – you’ll want to pull them out as soon as you see the cheese looking uniform but with small, darker bubbles forming. And no worries if the cheese melts all over the sides of the bowls. That’s what makes enjoying so fun!
If you have any leftover broth mixture, you can store it in a covered container in the fridge for two or three days. Just add it to a pan and heat it on the stove. It assembles exactly the same.
Need even more recipe inspiration? Check out our Oven Lovin’ recipes!
