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Learn how to make Vegan French Onion Soup in the Instant Pot. The easiest and most hands-off way of making this French Bistro Classic without compromising on the flavor! No standing around sautéing for hours!
In the midst of soup season, I am coming at you with another vegan version of a comfort food classic.
Vegan French onion soup – this popular French soup is usually made with beef stock and caramelized onions, then often served gratinéed with croutons or a larger piece of bread covered with lots and lots of cheese floating on top on cheese topped bread on the side.
This vegan version is every bit as delicious but made with 100 % plant-based ingredients and made in the Instant Pot. Which means, no standing around sautéing for hours!
The cooking time for this soup is long but active time is just a few minutes! Tag me and do rate the recipes when you try! If you love this recipe and finding new ways to use your instant pot, get my Instant pot cookbook! 150 recipes, 400 pages, lots of photos, took 2.5 years, it has many new ways to use your instant pot for making everyday cooking simpler, faster and fun!
More soup recipes:
- Hot and Sour Soup with Ramen
- Vegan Potato Soup
- Pumpkin Soup (Instant Pot)
- Lentil Soup Instant Pot or Saucepan
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
Vegan French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion,, thinly sliced, or 2 medium
- 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon melted vegan butter
- 1.5 teaspoon balsamic vinegar or use 1 tablespoon wine
To add later:
- 3 cups broth
- 2 teaspoons flour
- 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce or 2-3 tablespoons of red wine
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, if your broth isn’t salty enough
Sides
- Slices sourdough
- vegan mozzarella, as needed
- herbs as needed
Instructions
- Make the caramelized onions in Instant pot– see recipe notes for stove top instructions. Add 3.5 cups(for 6 qt) to 4 cups(for 8 qt) of water to your inner pot. Add the yellow onion to a large flat inset pan (steel, see pictures). Use a size so that the onion isn’t more than 2-3 layers thick otherwise the onions won’t caramelize well.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and toss to coat the onions really well. If some onions are still dry add a teaspoon more vegan melted butter or oil. Close the inner pan with either foil or the lid that comes with it.
- Then use a long handle trivet and lower it into the inner pot. The water should touch the bottom of the pan. This will ensure better heat transfer. Close the instant pot lid and pressure cook on bean mode (preferred) or pressure cook mode for 1 hour.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes then quick release. Open the lid and check on the onions. They should be cooked and somewhat caramelized( for more caramelization, pressure cook another 10 mins or sauté for a few mins on a skillet). Remove the pan and the trivet and empty the instant pot.
- Mix the flour into 1/2 cup of the broth and then add it to the instant pot. Add rest of the broth and the rest of the ingredients as well as the caramelized onions.(you can also use saucepan for the soup at this point)
- Start saute mode and bring to a good boil. Taste and adjust salt and flavor and continue to cook for at least 5-8 minutes to slightly thicken the sauce and for the flavors to meld. Switch off saute mode.
- You can serve the soup with some garlic bread on the side or make some cheesy sourdough or baguette. Or make individual bowls with the slices if you are serving the soup immediately.For individual bowls: add the soup to oven-proof soup bowls or dishes and then place the sourdough bread (toast it lightly if you like) on top of the soup, top the bread with some vegan mozzarella. Broil it for 3-5 minutes or until the mozzarella is melty and slightly browned. Serve immediately.Only do this if you are planning to serve the soup immediately because the bread will get soggy if it sits too long in the soups.
- To serve with cheese topped sourdough on the side, Place the sliced sourdough or baguette in a baking dish, brush some oil or melted vegan butter on it, top it with some vegan mozzarella cheese and herbs such as thyme or oregano, and then broil it for 3-4 minutes or until the mozzarella is melty and slightly browned. Then serve them on the side with the French onion soup.
- Store the soup without the bread refrigerated in a closed container for upto 3 days. Reheat in a saucepan and serve with sides of choice
Video
Notes
- The calories do not include bread or cheese
- Instang pot Insert pans here
- love this recipe? Find more new ways to use your instant pot in my Instant pot cookbook! 150 recipes, 400 pages, lots of photos
- This recipe is gluten-free with gluten-free bread
- Soyfree use wine instead of worchestershire sauce
- Nutfree : depending on the vegan cheese
- Stove top: Add onion, salt, sugar, vegan butter to a skillet and cook over medium heat for 14-16 mins. Stir occasionally and deglaze with splashes of broth if needed. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the onion are caramelized to preference. (10-25 mins). If they keep drying out quickly, partially cover the pan and continue. Stir well occasionally to avoid burning and even cooking. then proceed with the soup.
- Doubling in the instant pot. Use a larger insert pan. Too much onion together will leak a ton of liquid and they won’t brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- onion – I have yellow onions for this recipe
- the onions are caramelized with a mix of vegan butter, salt, sugar, and balsamic vinegar
- bay and thyme are the traditional seasoning for French Onion Soup. You can use fresh or dried thyme for this recipe
- I like to use low sodium vegetable broth here and add more salt to taste in the end if I feel it needs it – homemade broth is best but storebought obviously also does the trick
- the broth is thickened with some flour – use more or less depending on how thick you want your soup to be
- season the soup to taste with vegan Worcestershire sauce or 2-3 tablespoons of red wine as well as salt
Tips:
- You can serve the soup with some garlic bread on the side or make some cheesy sourdough or baguette.
- To serve on the side, you can place the sliced sourdough or baguette in s baking dish, brush some oil or melted vegan butter on it, top it with some vegan mozzarella cheese and herbs such as thyme or oregano, and then broil it for 3-4 minutes or until the mozzarella is melty and slightly browned. Then serve them on the side with the French onion soup.
- You can also make individual bowls with the slices if you are serving the soup immediately.
- For individual bowls add the soup to oven-proof soup bowls or dishes and then place the sourdough bread on top of the soup, top the bread with some vegan mozzarella. Broil it for 3-5 minutes or until the mozzarella is melty and slightly browned. Serve immediately.
- I use my cashew mozzarella recipe spread it over the bread and serve in the soup bowl.
How to make Vegan French Onion Soup in the Instant Pot:
Add 3.5 (for 6 qt) to 4 cups(for 8 qt) of water to your inner pot. Then use a large flat insert pan (steel, see pictures) and add your yellow onion. Use a size so that the onion isn’t more than 2-3 layers thick otherwise the onions won’t caramelize well.
Add the rest of the ingredients and toss to coat the onions really well. If some onions are still dry add a teaspoon more melted Vegan butter or oil. Cover the inner pan with either foil or the lid that comes with it.
Then use a long handle trivet and lower it into the inner pot. The water should touch the bottom of the pan. This will ensure better heat transfer. Close the instant pot lid and pressure cook on bean mode (preferred) or pressure cook mode for 1 hour.
Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes then quick release. Open the lid and check on the onions. They should be cooked and somewhat caramelized. Remove the pan and the trivet and empty the instant pot.
Mix the flour into 1/2 a cup of the broth and then add it to the instant pot. Add rest of the broth and the rest of the ingredients as well as the onions. You can also do this step in a saucepan.
Start saute mode and bring to a good boil. Taste and adjust salt and flavor and continue to cook for at least 5-8 minutes to slightly thicken the sauce and for the flavors to meld. Switch off saute mode.
You can serve the soup with some garlic bread on the side or make some cheesy sourdough or baguette.
To serve with cheesy bread on the side, place the sliced sourdough or baguette in a lined baking dish, brush some oil or melted vegan butter on it, top it with some vegan mozzarella cheese (shreds or homemade) and herbs such as thyme or oregano, and then broil it for 3-4 minutes or until the mozzarella is melty and slightly browned.
Then serve them on the side with the French onion soup.
You can also make individual bowls with the slices if you are serving the soup immediately.
For individual bowls: add the soup to oven-proof soup bowls or dishes and then place the sourdough bread (toast it lightly if you like) on top of the soup, top the bread with some vegan mozzarella. Broil it for 3-5 minutes or until the mozzarella is melty and slightly browned. Serve immediately.
Only do this if you are planning to serve the soup immediately because the bread will get soggy if it sits too long in the soups.
For serving later, Heat up the soup in a saucepan and bake the cheesy bread or garlic bread right before you are ready to serve.
Is this really only 150g (ONE) onion? We are used to onion soups with 4-5 large onions and each onion we use are around 300g each. One 150g onion seems barely any for an onion soup?
It’s a large onion so about 275 gm. That’s what fits in the stacking pan. If it’s more than 4-5 layer thick then the onions will just get steamed and not caramelize. You can double stack and put onion in both(a bit less on the top one).
Or do the stove top version (in notes) and double up the recipe.
Richa,
Can one make this recipe oil free? What would happen to the onions in the instapot without the butter?
Btw, I looove all your cookbooks and I check every day if you posted something new here…
The onions do need some sort of oil/fat to properly caramelize. Otherwise if you try cooking them in the instant pot they will just become soft and mushy.
Thank you!
🙂
can it be made not using pressure cooker, ? Does it change the outcome ?
Yes, you can make this soup on the stovetop! Please refer to the recipe Notes for the complete steps.
Thank you Richa.
Very glad you enjoy. 🙂
This was an amazing and delicious hit! The onions were beautifully carmelized and it was yummy and a lovely treat on a cold rainy day!
Wonderful!
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for and it’s on my favourite site. Made it today as written, delicious! I don’t have quite the right pan to fit into the pot so used a flat-bottomed glass dish. It was a bit small for the onions but they still tasted great. Thanks so much will be making again.
Wonderful!
Looks very delicious, I will definitely give this a go. What sort of broth do you use Richa?
I prefer homemade broth or any store bought vegetable broth will do!
I’ve also found mushroom broth to be a particularly good broth to use in vegan French Onion soups.