Caramelized Onion Soup with Cheese Toast

Name: Caramelized Onion Soup with Cheese Toast
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Home cooking
Ingredients: Onions — 240 g; Butter — 16 g; Sugar — 2 g; Wheat flour — 6 g; Vegetable stock cubes — 0.4 pcs; Fresh thyme — 2 g; Bay leaves — 0.8 g; White bread — 28 g; Hard cheese — 28 g; Salt — 2 g; Ground black pepper — 0.8 g

A rich bistro-style soup with deeply caramelized onions, topped with crispy cheese toast. The onions need to cook for about 40 minutes to fully develop their flavor.

Time: 1 h 5 min
Serving: 434 kcal
Ingredients: ≈ $1.22
Protein: 14 g

Soup Meat-free Hearty

Caramelized Onion Soup with Cheese Toast

Ingredients

1 Onions≈ $1.60 per kg 240 g
2 Butterpack 180 g ≈ $1.58 16 g
3 Sugar 2 g
4 Wheat flour 6 g
5 Vegetable stock cubes to taste
6 Fresh thymepack 20 g ≈ $2.50Not in every store: Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Target, Trader Joe's, Safeway, Whole Foods 2 g
7 Bay leaves to taste
8 White breadpack 350 g ≈ $1.44 28 g
9 Hard cheesepack 200 g ≈ $2.70 28 g
10 Salt 2 g
11 Ground black pepper to taste

Grey rows are pantry staples: salt, oil, spices. They are not counted in the serving price.

Method

Slice the onions¹ into thin half-moons.
Melt the butter² in a pot, add the onions¹, sugar, and salt.
Simmer on low heat for 40 minutes, stirring often, until deep golden brown.
Sprinkle in the flour and toast for 1 minute.
Pour in 350 ml of water, add an onion¹ soup cube, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper.
Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove the bay leaf.
Top with bread and cheese, then broil at 220 °C (425 °F) for 5–7 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Tips

Why it works: Soften the onion for 40 minutes over low heat so the sugar caramelizes and gives a sweet flavor. If you rush, it stays bitter or raw.
Substitutions: Instead of a hard cheese, use Parmesan or mozzarella, which melts faster. Instead of fresh thyme, use 0.4 g of dried.
Common mistakes: If the crouton didn't brown, the temperature is too low or the cheese isn't fatty enough. Check after 3 minutes.
Storing and reheating: Keep in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes, and dry the crouton separately in a pan.
Serve with: Serve with a simple cucumber and vinegar salad to balance the richness of the soup.

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Nutrition

Per serving and share of 2000 kcal

Calories	434 kcal	22%
Protein	14 g	19%
Fat	23 g	32%
Carbs	42 g	16%
Per 100 g	124 kcal

Cost

≈ $1.22per serving

Average supermarket prices, BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), October 2026. Your store will differ: products come in packs and each chain sets its own prices. The priciest item here is onions.

You will need

Stove, Oven

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