English Onion Soup offers a lovely variation on the classic French recipe with a combination of chicken stock, sage, and sharp Cheddar. It’ll warm you from the inside out on the coldest winter day!
It can get really cold here in north Georgia during the winter. Really, really cold. At least for me.
I grew up in the far southwest corner of Georgia, where three snowflakes make the local newspaper front page. I was not meant to live on the tundra. My idea of sweater weather is anything below 72 degrees.
Dealing with cold weather just wears me out. You have to wrap up head to toe to go outside. Then get all that stuff off again when you come back in. Ugh. Just give me flip-flops year round and I’d be happy.
On cold, miserable days, I really need something warm and satisfying. And what could be better than a lovely warm bowl of onion soup? With buttered toast and melted cheese on top. Yum.
Now, you’re probably thinking of rich beef broth, golden soft onions, and Gruyere cheese…not this time! This is an English Onion Soup with chicken stock for a base, sage for the seasoning, and lovely sharp Cheddar cheese.
I ran across a similar version of this soup years ago, and I knew immediately that it would suit my palate much more than the classic. Not that I don’t love the classic French onion soup, I do! But this version really pleases me.
❤️ What You’ll Love About This Recipe
- It’s so comforting! This delicious soup warms you from the inside out!
- It’s very inexpensive. For the cost of a few onions, you’ll have a delightful main course soup. It’s even cheaper if you make your own stock.
- And it’s really delicious! What’s better than caramelized onions, toast, and melty cheese?
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🍳 Equipment You’ll Find Useful
You’ll need a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pan, a good sharp knife and cutting board, along with oven-proof bowls for serving.
🛒Ingredient Notes
- Onions – I like to use a mix of red, yellow, and green onions for a richer flavor. However, you can make this soup with all the same onion and any kind that you have on hand.
- French Bread – Use any thick cut bread that you like.
- Chicken Stock – Homemade is always best, but purchased stock works well.
- Sage – You’ll need a few leaves of fresh sage for the recipe.
- Cheddar Cheese – Use any kind – white or yellow, mild, sharp, or extra sharp.
The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
🥄 How to Make English Onion Soup
Prepare the Onions and Sage
I prefer a variety of onions in this soup for a richer flavor. I typically use a few red onions, yellow onions, and some green onions. But anything you have on hand is fine! You could even include a few leeks and shallots.
- Prepare the onions by peeling and slicing the red and yellow onions into half moons and chopping the green onions.
- Roughly chop the fresh sage, reserving a few leaves for garnish.
Add Ingredients to Pan
- Place the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. When melted, add the onions, sage, salt and pepper. Stir well to coat everything with the butter and oil.
Cook Slowly
- Reduce the heat to low and place a lid on the pan leaving it slightly ajar. Cook for 50 to 60 minutes without coloring the onions too much.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking for about 20 minutes more until the onions become soft and slightly golden. Be sure to stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
👉 PRO TIP: Don’t rush the cooking of the onions. It’s very important to allow them to cook “low and slow.” Cooking at too high a temperature can result in burnt onions with an acrid taste.
Add Stock to Onions
- Just before the cooking time is up, place the stock in a pot on the stove and bring it to a simmer.
- When the onions are soft and slightly browned, add the hot stock, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Finish with Toast and Cheese
- While the soup is simmering, prepare the toasts.
- Cut 8 one-inch thick slices of bread and place them on a baking sheet. Spread each slice generously with butter.
- Place under the broiler until they are golden brown and crisp.
- Place 8 oven-safe bowls on a baking sheet and ladle soup into each. Top each dish with a slice of toasted bread and a generous amount of grated cheddar. Sprinkle the cheese with just a few drops of Worcestershire sauce.
- Toss the remaining sage leaves with a few drops of olive oil and place one on top of each dish.
- Place the baking sheet under the broiler until the cheese is nicely melted and bubbling.
- Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven. Serve hot.
🍚 Storing Leftovers
If you have leftovers, it’s best to store the soup without the bread topping which will become quite soggy very quickly. Allow the soup to cool completely and store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat in the microwave.
💡 Tips and Variations
- Take your time and be patient when cooking the onions for the soup. Cooking them for a long time at a low temperature will result in lovely caramelized onions that impart a glorious flavor to the finished recipe.
- Use a variety of onions for best flavor. Add some garlic if you like.
- Substitute bacon fat for the butter and olive oil.
- To make a vegetarian version of this soup, use vegetable stock in place of chicken.
- Substitute the Cheddar cheese with Swiss or Gruyere.
- Change the herb to thyme and/or bay leaf.
- Use a good, sturdy country loaf of bread for the toast.
- Substitute 2 cups of the stock with a pale ale or lager for an increased depth of flavor.
❓ Questions About English Onion Soup
The two soups are very similar, yet quite different. Both make use of slowly cooked, caramelized onions. However, the French version always uses beef stock, baguette, and Swiss or Gruyere cheese. The English version uses any type of stock (beef, chicken, or vegetable) with any sturdy bread and Cheddar cheese. They’re both equally delicious!
I suppose that the most English ingredient in this soup is the Cheddar cheese. Other than that, it’s simply a different version of the classic onion soup.
Onion soup in French is Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée.
Have a question or thought to share?
If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
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📖 Recipe
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English Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds onions a good mixture of red, yellow and green preferable
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 8 cups hot chicken or vegetable stock
- 8 slices French or Italian bread
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese white or yellow
- Few drops Worcestershire sauce
- Few drops olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare the onions by peeling and slicing the red and yellow onions into half moons and roughly chopping the green onions.
- Roughly chop the fresh sage, reserving a few leaves for garnish.
- Place the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. When melted, add the onions, sage, salt and pepper. Stir to coat with the butter and oil.
- Reduce the heat to low and place a lid on the pan leaving is slightly ajar. Cook for 50 to 60 minutes without coloring the onions too much.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking for about 20 minutes more until the onions become soft and slightly golden. Be sure to sure occasionally to prevent sticking
- Just before the cooking time is up, place the stock in a pot on the stove and bring it to a simmer.
- When the onions are soft and slightly browned, add the hot stock, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, prepare the toasts.
- Slice 8 one-inch thick rounds, place on a baking sheet and spread each generously with butter.
- Place under the broiler until they are golden brown and crisp.
- Place 8 oven-safe dishes on a baking sheet and ladle soup into each. Top each dish with a toasted bread round and a generous amount of grated cheddar. Sprinkle the cheese with just a few drops of Worcestershire sauce.
- Toss the remaining sage leaves with just a few drops of olive oil and place one on top of each dish.
- Place under the broiler under the cheese is nicely melted and bubbly.
- Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven.
Notes
- Take your time and be patient when cooking the onions. Low and slow cooking will result in the best caramelization.
- Use a variety of onions for best flavor. Add some garlic if you like.
- Store leftover soup without the bread topping. Allow the soup to cool completely and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat in the microwave.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
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— This post was originally published on January 11, 2011. It has been updated with new photos and additional information.
I’m Lana Stuart, an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, and lifelong cook raised deep in Southwest Georgia. I started Lana’s Cooking in 2009 to share the tried-and-true recipes I grew up with. Around here, the food is full of flavor, the traditions run deep, and there’s always room at the table.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Not much of a cook AT All. Getting ready to retire in 4 years. Lord willing. Want to learn how to cook 😁🤩
I hope it turns out good for you, Letty! It’s never too late to learn to cook.
I used all of your tips to improve on the recipe, and ended up making the best English onion soup of my life! Thank you, Lana!
So great to know that the tips are useful! Thanks, Laurie.
Thank you for sharing how to make English Onion Soup. It helps me make a delicious meal in my family.
You’re welcome. Hope your family enjoy it!
Simple and delicious! I used a mix of vidalia, red and green onions along with one shallot, one leek and fresh garden sage. Amazing flavor with shredded Kerrygold Grass-Fed Dubliner Irish Cheddar Cheese, crispy sage and Worcestershire on top!! I’ll make this again for sure! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Thanks for letting me know you liked the recipe, Amy. It’s one of my favorites as well.
We always giggle at that whole ankle deep snow and we can’t go anywhere thing!!!
If it’s not up to your hip and you can chip the ice off the windows (without breaking them)…..you can still go wherever you want here! LOL
I gathered all my ingredients yesterday (not that I didn’t have most of them anyway! Who wouldn’t keep leeks around, right?!! I was just out.), to make my soup, and couldn’t find my recipe!!! So, thank you SO much…because I totally blanked on Jamie’s name so I couldn’t even look it up! LOL
This looks truly scrumptious!!
This is interesting—I’ve never seen the English version of onion soup, but I’m definitely intrigued. Leave it to you (with a little help from Jamie Oliver, of course—love him) to bring something so delicious to my attention.
It’s freezing here in NY too. This soup would be perfect to warm me right up!
I have been meaning to make this soup as well! I watch Jamie at Home every day when I get home from work and I received the cookbook (Which I am pouring thru everyday!) for Christmas. The Gardening tips at each section are motivating to plant something other than cucumbers and tomatoes in my garden as well!
This looks wonderful! Will make soon!
I enjoy his shows. He’s always so enthusiastic about whatever he’s making that it makes me want to try it, too. I have to say I’ve had mixed results with his recipes – they don’t always turn out great for me, but this one is a keeper :-)
Hi from Denver! It looks like you have almost as much snow as we do!!
Hi Lee – Yes, we’ve had loads of snow and ice here! It’s something that doesn’t happen in this area very often so we don’t really have the equipment to deal with it. Even the mail man could not get through for two days!
This looks absolutely yummy – I’ll have to try it! Love your snow pictures!!!
Thanks! Hope you enjoy it.
Ok, thanks. for some reason I thought
dried was half that of fresh. I’ll wait until i can buy the sage fresh….too bad as i was looking forward to making this today. thanks again
will one tbsp of dried sage work?
I haven’t tried with dried sage so I can’t say. If you’re using the very fine, powdery dried sage, I’d cut way, way back to perhaps between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon. That’s equal to a LOT of fresh sage.
Well, Bee Bop should feel right at home…we’ve got several inches in Denver now too and like you, none of that warming sun the next day…bitter cold and no melt in site!
This is interesting; guessing the addition of sage and cheddar in lieu of wine and Gruyere give it the English spin. Sounds so warm and wonderful right now I would eat it for breakfast!
That looks like the perfect meal for a cold winter day! Stay home as long as you can!
It’s a fabulous soup, Susan. And, as you say, perfect for a cold day.
Nothing better than soup on these cold winter days!
I know what you mean about weather people, by the time a hurricane comes, I am worn slap out – nice soup, I wondered what made it English, then saw it is from Jamie… well, he is a bit much for me, still, the soup does sound wonderful… maybe time to rethink
Jeez, Lana, I feel guilty that I spent the whole day working in a tank top but completely sympathize. Although I spend four years living in Colorado and did learn to deal with the snow in terms of driving, I never ever figured out how to dress properly for it. That said, you wonderful soup here would totally suit me in any weather, any season, and any time. I’m so looking forward to making this and have onions and sage in the garden now. Can’t wait!
Oh, yeah. Just rub it in Barbara about the tank top :-)
I love the French, but I have a feeling the English is going to be my best friend! Thsi looks YUM! And I also love Jaime Oliver. Excellent post!
Thanks, Suzanne! Enjoy it!
Looks and sounds great, wish I had a bowl right now! Cute snowman, glad you’re having some fun with the snow! We’ll be getting about 8 more inches tonight:@O
We’re still trying to get moving after all that snow and ice. Thank goodness I work from home and don’t have to go out if I don’t want to.
What a wonderful looking soup! Beautiful pictures to boot!!! I love French Onion Soup, so I know this one will suit me well too! ~ Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer – This one is so similar, yet so different from the traditional French style. Let me know how you like it if you decide to try it.