Instant Pot French Onion Soup - Eating Instantly (2024)

January 9, 2024 by Taylor Stinson

This Instant Pot French Onion Soup is a restaurant-quality dish with caramelized onions, topped with baguette slices and Gruyere cheese.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Butter – use a butter substitute of your choice or even olive oil.
• Yellow onions – yellow onions caramelize the best, but white onions will work if they’re all you have on hand.
• Salt & pepper – to taste.
• Dried thyme – dried oregano will provide a similar flavour.
• Flour – swap out for almond flour if need be.
• Red wine – any dry red or white wine will work or you can leave the wine out entirely.
• Beef broth – vegetable broth would be the best substitute here.
• Baguette – pieces of French or Italian loaf would also work well as a topping for this soup.
• Gruyere cheese – use any mild melting cheese such as mozzarella or Swiss.

How to make French onion soup in the Instant Pot

Step 1: Sauté the onions.

Sauté the onions until they start to brown in the Instant Pot, stirring occasionally and scraping bits off the bottom.

Step 2: Add the salt, pepper, thyme and flour.

Add the salt, pepper, thyme and flour, stirring until the onions are well coated.

Step 3: Pour in the red wine.

Pour in the red wine, then sauté until some of the liquid is reduced.

Step 4: Add the beef broth.

Step 5: Cook on high pressure.

Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes then do a quick release of the pressure.

Step 6: Broil with bread and cheese then serve.

Ladle the soup into ramekins, then top with the sliced baguette and grated cheese. Broil in the oven until the cheese is melted then serve!

Variations of French onion soup

• Vegetarian: Substitute the beef broth for vegetable broth.
• Keto: While onions are not the best choice for a keto diet, you can enjoy this Instant Pot French onion soup as a rare treat. Just leave out the croutons to make it keto-friendly.
• Alcohol-free: Leave out the red wine entirely if you want this dish to be alcohol-free.
• Protein: Sauté some beef ribs and stir them into the soup before serving.
• Cheese: Swap out the Gruyere cheese for another kind of mild melting cheese like mozzarella or Swiss.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storing and reheating

If you want to store any leftovers of this French onion soup Instant Pot recipe, be sure that you do so before adding the baguette and cheese to it. Keep the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Reheat your soup in a pot on the stovetop or use your Instant Pot’s sauté function to reheat the soup. Ladle into oven-safe bowls, place the baguette and shredded cheese over the top, and place it under the broiler to melt the cheese.

Can you freeze French onion soup?

You can freeze this insta pot French onion soup without the baguette and cheese. It should keep well frozen for about 2 to 3 months. You can freeze in individual servings in glass bowls and then reheat from frozen for 6-8 minutes in the microwave, stirring halfway through. Add your baguette and cheese fresh and voila!

More Instant Pot soup recipes

• Instant Pot Lentil Soup
• Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
• Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup
• Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
• More Easy and Delicious Instant Pot Soup Recipes

Meal prep tools for this recipe

• Grab someglass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning thisonion soup into leftovers.
• Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.