This gluten free Irish stout onion soup is made with buttery toasted thyme croutons and topped with plenty of Irish cheddar.
French onion soup has been on my bucket list to make for quite some time.
I kept putting it off because I don’t own (and probably never will) those brown crocks it always gets served in.
I’m not really down with brown serving-ware and refuse to buy more bowls especially when they’d only have one specific use.
Then I remembered I had these white ramekins on the top shelf of a corner cabinet hiding in the back when I spent this whole past weekend organizing (read: going through cabinets like a lunatic) my kitchen.
So much food was either thrown out or donated, boxes set aside for cute glass mason jars, hundreds of dollars spent at Bed Bath & Beyond on stupid tray organizer things all because I finally successfully convinced Ulysses to remove the dumb wire racks the builder had installed in the pantry and replace them with solid wood shelves.
So what was supposed to be a fun weekend with friends partying at the casino in Connecticut to celebrate someone’s 30th, turned into a head cold which forced me to stay home and go batshit on my kitchen/pantry organization instead.
Bright side is, this Irish stout onion soup came out of the whole ordeal.
If I see French onion soup on a menu, chances are I’m ordering it. So, I’ve tasted quite a few in my years.
Here’s what a good onion soup comes down to in my opinion:
-a soup so flavorful it could be eaten alone without the cheesy, buttery bread topping and still be kickass. This means a deep savory flavor profile (just like in this wild mushroom soup) and usually a thicker consistency. No watery soup allowed.
-The cheese to soup ratio is also important. No pathetic cheese sprinkling will do. It should be a thick, melted over the edges kind of coating.
-And one last thing, the full slice of bread that then needs to be broken up with your spoon…why? Just, why? Cut that bread into cubes and make it easy!
All these things were taken into consideration when making this Irish stout onion soup.
The broth is deep and flavorful thanks to the oatmeal stout used with the beef broth.
The top is buttery, cheesy and full of sharp cheddar and thyme flavor.
The best part though?
The whole thing is gluten free thanks to Udi’s rye style bread and a gluten free oatmeal cream stout.
I’ve never much been into St. Patrick’s Day (there isn’t a drop of Irish blood in me, the food seems to generally suck and artificially green dyed things are gross) but if I had to choose a way to celebrate, it’d be with a big bowl of this stout onion soup (or this Reuben soup – it’s a toss up!) in my face and some Baileys ice cream afterwards!
Love this Irish Stout Onion Soup?
Try more hearty soup recipes like Italian Tomato Pasta Soup, Spiced Pork, Squash and White Bean Soup or, Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup.
Irish Stout Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 4 large sweet yellow onions, sliced
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 1/2 cups beef broth, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
- 20 ounces gluten free Irish stout, I used Steadfast oatmeal cream stout
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
For the topping
- 4 slices Udi’s rye bread, cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
- 3/4 cup grated white Irish cheddar
Instructions
- Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium-low heat.
- Once melted, add onions and brown sugar. Stir to combine and cook until deep golden brown and caramelized, about 45 minutes – 1 hour. Stir occasionally while cooking and add beef broth as needed to keep from burning (I used about 1/2 a cup during the caramelization process).
- When onions are done, add garlic, thyme and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the pot. Cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add flour, stir to coat all the onions and cook 2 more minutes.
- Add the stout, remaining 3 cups of beef broth, apple cider vinegar, mustard, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower to a simmer and cook/reduce for 30 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and turn off heat.
- Preheat oven to high-broil.
- Make the topping by placing the butter and thyme in a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Once melted, add the bread cubes and toast in skillet until golden brown on all sides.
- Ladle soup into oven safe bowls/crocks, top with the toasted croutons and divide the cheese evenly over the croutons in each bowl.
- Place bowls on a baking sheet and broil for 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve hot.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Udi’s Gluten Free. The opinions and text are all mine.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
These are absolutely beautiful, Gina! Love that they are french onion reminiscent, but SO much prettier.
OH MY GOD!!!! YOU are killing me with this recipe! It looks seriously SO GOOD!!!
I can’t pass up a good onion soup either. Yours looks and sounds perfect. For starters, stout in anything is awesome and two, cheesy bread cubes is super smart!
Oh wow this looks really comforting – a must-try for rich soup lovers such as myself. Can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing.
For reals, drooling. These look absolutely ridiculously amazing!
Your soup is GORGEOUS!! The flavor profile sounds spot on for my French Onion Soup-aholic of a husband! And yes…I DO have those crocks only mine are ebony. I bought them about 20 years ago as a kid because I wanted to make a multi-course Valentines Day dinner for my Parents and siblings. It was one of the first times I stretched my culinary wings. The crocks have in fact seen little use since then and still look brand new. I do serve other soups in them from time to time or chili. They are huge! And hey…some Irish food is delicious, no the American interpretation but boy do they know potatoes, fish and scones :) I have some lessons at The Ballymaloe Cookery School on my bucket list (famous cooking school in Ireland).
Haha, yeah I’ll give them their potatoes and scones for sure. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well we ate when visiting Ireland a few years ago. It’s mostly our bastardized American version of things that grosses me out (why do we ruin everything?!). Cooking classes there would be amazing! I’ve had the 6 week course at Le Cordon Bleu on my bucket list forever so I understand :)
I love those little crocks and totally believe in multifunctional pieces. And these will definitely be on my St. Patty’s Day menu!
I love the idea of this soup and, you know what? I totally prefer these little white pots to the brown crocks!!
Dear Gina, your soup looks marvelous! This just sounds so perfect today, I wish I had this for lunch. A perfect recipe to make for St. Patty’s Day. xo, Catherine
I actually have those brown crocks from my mom, and you can bet I’ll be serving this soup in them!! Looks incredible!