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This Vegan French Onion Soup will make you cry happy tears! It’s loaded with savory flavors from caramelized onions, broth infused bread and bubbly gooey ‘cheese’.
French Onion Soup was a childhood favorite of mine and I was kinda bummed after going vegan that I couldn’t have it anymore. However, I quickly learned how easy it was to veganize. I really enjoy turning my past food memories into reality today. This Vegan French Onion Soup lets me reminisce about the past while nourishing my body, mind & soul.
Wow, that’s deep! (who needs chicken soup!)
I love making soup, especially during the cooler months. They are easy to make, inexpensive, comforting and great for make-ahead meals. They freeze really well and make great leftovers, too.
This Creamy Potato Leek Soup is another family favorite, along with my Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup. They are both hearty, savory & satisfying!
Alright, back to the soup – the onions are the star of this show!
They will create a deep, rich & flavorful soup. So, give them thyme and let them do their thing. Just relax and have a glass of that red wine and watch the magic happen.
They will reach a deep golden brown color as they caramelize and they will give off a heavenly, sweet aroma in your kitchen.
They will shine!
Vegan French Onion Soup – No dairy needed
Check out that soft, gooey & stretchy cheese! Doesn’t it look mouth-watering? You can have all that deliciousness without a drop of dairy.
Can you believe it?
The recipe calls for very simple ingredients and it’s really easy to prepare.
To make the vegan cheese, you’ll need:
– Raw cashews
– Tapioca starch
– Nutritional yeast
– Non-dairy milk
– Lemon Juice
– Garlic powder
– Salt
These healthy ingredients will make the most delicious mozzarella-like cheese ever. Just whirl it all up in a high-powered blender and heat it up on the stove for a couple of minutes.
It will start to thicken and stretch just like dairy cheese.
It’s a vegan miracle!
This fabulous stretchy vegan cheese adds the perfect creamy texture to your savory soup. Just toast a baguette slice, drop it into the soup and cover with this gooey goodness.
You won’t be missing the “real” cheese, I promise.
So, are you ready to try this homemade batch of loveliness? You will be happy that you did!
Enjoy!
Looking for more soup recipes? Here are my faves:
I’d love to hear from you
If you make this Vegan French Onion Soup, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don’t miss it.
Vegan French Onion Soup
Ingredients
Soup
- 1/4 cup vegan butter or olive oil (or a blend of both)
- 4 medium yellow onions , sliced
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 3/4 cup red wine (*see note)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 quarts vegetable broth , low sodium
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt , more to taste
- Fresh ground pepper , to taste
- 1 baguette , sliced and toasted
Cashew "Mozzarella" Cheese
- 1/4 cup raw cashews , soaked in water 2-4 hours
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened plant-based milk , hot (be careful not to burn the milk)
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour/starch
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the butter or oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions and sugar. Sauté until the onions are very tender & caramelized, about 40-50 minutes. Stir often to avoid sticking or burning.
- Now add the garlic and thyme. Sauté 30-60 seconds.
- Add the red wine and turn heat up to bring to a simmer. Now reduce heat and gently simmer on medium-low for about 10-15 minutes, or until the wine has evaporated.
- Stir the flour into the onions. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 1 minute. Stir constantly so the flour doesn't burn.
- Add the vegetable broth, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Turn heat up to to get things moving and turn right down to gently simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Now's a good time to prepare the "mozzarella" cheese. Drain cashews and discard water. Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend on high until smooth. Now pour mixture into a small pot and place over medium heat. Stir often, so it doesn’t stick or burn. Scrape the sides and bottom as needed. The cheese will start to thicken up and get slightly stretchy. This whole process should take about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- When the soup is done, remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. Add more if needed.
- Heat the broiler to high. Carefully ladle the soup into oven-safe crocks or bowls. Fill halfway, and place 1-2 slices of toasted baguette into each bowl. Now add more soup, pouring directly over bread. Make sure not to overfill the bowls. Now top each baguette slice with a big scoop of cheese and place the bowls in the oven. I placed a big piece of parchment paper under the bowls. Sometimes the cheese melts over, so it avoids mess in your oven.
- Broil for 2-3 minutes to slightly brown and melt the cheese. Watch carefully to avoid burning.
Notes
- Not all wine is vegan and may contain egg whites. However, there are many that are vegan. Here is a vegan wine directory.
- Leftover cheese can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days. Just reheat to make it soft and stretchy again. You can add a splash of 'milk' if it's too thick. If you'd like to skip the cheese step, you can use stretchy store-bought vegan cheese. Daiya, Chao and Follow Your Heart make delicious vegan cheese. Just slice and place on top of the soup. Broil for 2-3 minutes to melt.
Nutrition
Janice Graham-Welsh
Hi I loved your vegan onion soup recipe. i made the cheese as well and it was delicious. My husband enjoyed the soup as well and he does not usually eat vegan meals. Thanks I will make this soup again.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Janice, I’m so happy that you both loved it! Thank you so much 🙂
Samantha
My roommate and I just made this soup and it’s the best vegan recipe of any food I’ve ever made! We lived it and so did our non vegan roommate so it’s a winner!
Melissa Huggins
Yay! This is wonderful to hear! Thank you so much for making it and sharing your feedback. 🙂
Nadia
This was SO SO SO good! I don’t like to cook with oil, so I caramelized the onions in water and a bit of wine instead. I also omitted the sugar. It was absolutely out of this world divine, and I can’t wait to make it again.
Melissa Huggins
Thank you, Nadia! I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you for sharing your method without the oil. It’s really helpful to know. 🙂
Katie
Great recipe! This was the first french onion soup I’ve made. As I was eating, the soup got better with each spoonful. Something to make again! Maybe will also make the ‘cheese’ since I used a vegan cheddar this time.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Katie, thank you for making it. I’m so happy you liked it. Have a lovely week 🙂
rh
” …soft and stretchy again. You can add a splash of milk, if it’s too thick.”
Sure hope you mean vegan milk…..
Melissa Huggins
The ingredient list lets you know what kind of milk to use for the recipe. Writing vegan milk in every sentence is just redundant. All my recipes are 100% vegan 🙂
Justin
People that make comments like this make me embarrassed to be vegan sometimes.
Holly
Made the French Onion soup today. Fabulous. My spouse loved it, too!
Melissa Huggins
So happy to hear this! Thank you for making it! 🙂
Desiree
Can I use potato starch instead of tapioca?
Melissa Huggins
Hi Desiree, the tapioca gives the ‘cheese’ a slight stretch. The potato starch will work to thicken, but it will be missing the stretch.
Cate
I’ve tried a few recipes for vegan French onion soup but this is the best by far! Just had it for dinner & will definitely be making it again 👍🏼
Melissa Huggins
Hi Cate, thank you for making it! So happy you enjoyed it! It’s my favorite wintertime soup 🙂
Rebecca
Hello! My hubby absolutely loves French Onion Soup – but I only buy red onions (more antioxidants!). Would it still work with red onions? Thanks! Looking forward to trying this recipe!! 🙂
Melissa Huggins
Hi Rebecca, I haven’t tried it with red onions, but I’m sure it would work. The only thing is that the red onions have a milder flavor when cooked, so that could change the flavor a bit. I’d love to hear how it turns out for you. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Lisa
I made this for dinner last night, it was really good! I didn’t make the cashew cheese and instead used a vegan mozzarella I already had on hand. I have not had French onion soup since becoming vegan a few years ago and was always a favorite. Thank you for the recipe!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Lisa! Thank you for making it! It was always a favorite of mine too so I just had to veganize it. Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Kris
Made this last night and loved it! My mom refused to believe it was vegan! Lol
Melissa Huggins
Hi, Kris! Yay, thank you for making it! I’m so happy that it’s mom-approved 🙂
Margie Vail
I made this soup and it was delicious! I changed it a bit because I didn’t have the ingredients for the cheese so I just used Daiya. I let the onions cook down for an hour, adding splashes of broth or wine to keep them from burning. My husband said it was the best French Onion soup he has ever had!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Margie, Thank you for making it and sharing your feedback. I’m so happy that you and your hubby loved it. Daiya is a perfect substitute and much easier too. 🙂
Daniela
Grandpa said it tasted just like the best onion soup he’d had at the bank of the Seine in his youth (ehem, ultimate compliment). Subbed the vegan mozzarella for camembert for my non-vegan familiars though.
Also, my alcoholic self couldn’t help but pour a bit more wine with the broth.
Great recipe!!!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Daniela, wow, tell your Grandpa that I said, thank you!!!! That is such a nice compliment. I’m really happy you all loved the soup. I’m all about adding more wine too. It’s what makes cooking fun 😉
Steve
Just made a batch. We both ate two bowls. Omg. Only change was I put the “mozzarella” in my silicon muffin dishes to set a bit more. Thank you for helping me find my latest replacement!!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Steve, oh wow, I just found this in my spam folder. I’m sorry for the late reply. Thank you for making this soup. I’ve actually been craving it all day. Soups on tomorrow! Have a great weekend! 🙂
Oriane
Being french and vegan is not easy, trust me haha but I am so happy I have found your recipe!
One question though, I live in Dubai and we can’t buy alcohol here, what would you suggest to replace the wine..? Thank you for your help and congratulations, your website is awesome 🙂
mhuggs
Hi Oriane, I could only imagine. 😉 I’m glad you found my site, too. Welcome! I haven’t used anything other than wine, but I have read that some people will use red grape juice (unsweetened). I probably wouldn’t use the whole 3/4 cup, but I would do half that & half vegetable broth. I looked online and some people have suggested a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, but I haven’t tried it. Good luck to you. I’d love to know how it turns out. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Cara H.
Craving French onion soup and found this recipe, it came out so perfectly and the instructions were super user friendly for someone who had never made this soup before. I am a vegan with a gluten intolerence and I substituted Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour and it came out perfectly! Thank you!
mhuggs
Hi Cara, thank you so much for your feedback. I’m so happy you like this soup. It’s good to know that the GF Bob’s Red Mill worked well in it. I will give it a go next time I make it. Have a great day! 🙂
milli
We just had this delicious soup for lunch. We really liked it, it is nice and creamy and flavorful, a really special treat for fall time.
Thanks for the recipe, I will make this again!
mhuggs
Thank you so much for making it and commenting. It’s always nice to hear what other people think. I’m glad you loved it as much as I do 🙂
Chrissy
I used mushroom broth! Yum!
mhuggs
Hi Chrissy, wow, that sounds good with mushroom broth. I’ll have to try it that way next time. Thank you for making it and for commenting. It’s always nice to hear. 🙂
Agnes
Thank you for the awesome recipes. I just found your site and love it.
mhuggs
Hi Agnes, You’re welcome! Thank you for visiting my site. I’m so happy you like the recipes. 🙂