Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Paleo, Gluten Free)

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Paleo, Gluten Free)

Do you have a travel bucket list? I definitely do! Growing up, I have always wanted to go see the world. Things got really difficult for me after college on the family front and for a while, I gave up all hope of ever leaving the shores of New Zealand. I watched my friends go off on their European and American adventures in envy.

Things are different now. It is true that I do have little beebs but I don’t think it will stop me. Little children are very portable and I am in a much better place in my life where the world truly feels like it is full of opportunities for me to explore and experience it instead of just an unattainable/unreachable “somewhere out there”.

Top of my list – Paris! As soon as I am able to travel and we can plan our next vacation, this is where I want to go.

Being 33 weeks pregnant, planning a trip isn’t even possible right now so in the meantime, I will enjoy my favorite French Onion Soup. My original recipe is a labor of love, hovering over a dutch oven stirring and stirring for hours. I have now successfully adapted it for a slow cooker so it is a LOT simpler but just as good as the stove top version.

The rich taste of this soup comes from caramelized onions. If you are in a hurry, you can skip the first step of this recipe. The soup will still be really good but if at all possible, I recommend caramelizing the onions the night so you can just add everything else the next morning and have the soup ready in the evening.

Start with 2 lb of sliced yellow onions.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Paleo, Gluten Free)

OPTIONAL Caramelizing: Pop them in the slow cooker on HIGH with a fat of your choice. This is traditionally made with butter so if you are primal, go ahead and do this. If you are strictly Paleo or cannot do dairy, olive oil, avocado oil or bacon grease work as well.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Paleo, Gluten Free)

At the end of 8-10 hours on HIGH, you should have some very brown and caramelized onions. Stir in some sherry and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Paleo, Gluten Free)

Then, add the water, stock and herbs and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Stir in cognac just before serving.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Paleo, Gluten Free)

OPTIONAL Cheese Finish: If desired, you can ladle soup into individual containers and sprinkle gruyere cheese on top.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Paleo, Gluten Free)

 

Enjoying my bowl now!

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Paleo, Gluten Free)

You’ll Need:

  • 2 lb of Yellow onions, sliced end-to-end
  • 3 TBSP of fat of your choice. If you are primal, I recommend butter. Otherwise, bacon grease, olive oil or avocado oil works really well
  • 1/2 cup dry sherry
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups chicken stock (You can use the stock in the pot from my poached chicken recipe)
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 2 TBSP Cognac
  • Optional for Primal folk – shredded gruyere cheese for finishing 
  1. OPTIONAL Caramelizing Step – French Onion Soup is at its best when you start with caramelizing the onions but this is not necessary to still get a good soup especially if you’re in a hurry. You can just throw the onions and fat of your choice in the slow cooker and proceed with Step 2. If you would like to caramelize the onions, start the night before and rub the fat of your choice all over the inside of the slow cooker. Throw your onions in and drizzle more fat on top. Then cook on HIGH for 8-10 hours until the onions are really nice and brown. 
  2. Add dry sherry and cook on HIGH for 20-30 minutes.
  3. Add thyme, bay leaves, water and stock to the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours (or HIGH for 3-4 hours in a hurry)
  4. Remove herbs. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper and stir in cognac just before serving
  5. OPTIONAL Cheese Finish – Spoon soup into individual serving bowls and sprinkle a generous layer of shredded gruyere  on top

Comments

  1. Awesome! Trying this tonight!

  2. This looks amazing. Trying this today. Thank you.

  3. I made this with homemade Bone Broth. This turned out so good! I took it to a friend’s house for dinner. Everyone loved it! That was this past winter. Fall is coming and starting on September 7th I’ll be making Bone Broth every weekend. This is one of the things I’ll be making with it!

  4. Yummy! Just woke up to the caramelized onions. Hate to wish my day away but really can’t wait until dinner time. I hope you have the ability to post some more recipes from time to time. I also had children only months apart – it took everything to just get a shower on many days. Looking forward to you sharing your talents with us again!

  5. Thanks for the awesome recipe! I included it in a roundup post I just published comparing different variations of Paleo French Onion Soups