French Onion Soup Recipes: The Perfect Holiday Dish

By Vanessa Voltolina for Ideas That Spark

Savory cheese atop perfectly caramelized onions in a meaty broth … is there anything better on a nippy winter day? French onion soup is a dish I can’t get enough of, especially as comfort food during the cooler months. And since there are so many different French onion soup recipes out there, we can all enjoy it all season long — without getting bored! Here are three of my favorite twists on the classic recipe for French onion soup:

Twist No. 1: Maple Mayhem

Channel your inner Canadian and add a few tablespoons of maple syrup next time you’re cooking up this decadent soup. According to this delicious recipe from SimpleBites.net, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup enhance the sweetness of the onions. Add the syrup as you’re simmering the onions, just before adding the broth or water and bringing to a boil.

Twist No. 2: Butternut Bliss

The mild and sweet butternut squash plays off the savory notes of the onion and other ingredients in this French onion butternut squash soup with gruvere. You’ll stir in the 3 to 4 cups cooked, mashed butternut squash after you’ve caramelized the onions, and continue to cook on medium-low heat for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

Reeni, the blogger behind Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice, says that she omitted red wine from this recipe and used chicken broth so as not to overwhelm the butternut flavor. White wine, she says, would be a better choice than red.

Twist No. 3: South of the Border Soup

Love Mexican food? Then you’ll love this twist on French onion soup. Blogger and foodie extraordinaire Leslie Limon’s adapted recipe tops the sweet, caramelized onion soup with crispy slices of toasted bolillo roll (a baguette-like bread traditionally made in Mexico) and melted Manchego cheese. The real Mexican twist, though, comes with the splash of tequila she uses in place of white wine.

Want to try making your own version? French onion soup must include onion, but the rest is virtually up to you. Experiment with the cheese, bread or croutons, wine or spirits, milk and more. Depending on the cheese you use, just be sure to use a holiday-inspired air freshener before company arrives to eliminate any strong cooking smells.

Vanessa Voltolina is the managing editor of Studio One’s Healthy Starts Made Simple, and a former online editor for NBCUniversal. Her work has appeared in several national publications, including Weight Watchers and SHAPE.