You won’t miss the fat in this oil-free Vegan French Onion Soup. The caramelized onions and fresh herbs bring a delicious flavor to this classic soup.
My daughter had requested French Onion Soup and a lasagna for when she came home for a visit a couple days ago and I was intent on getting them both made ahead of time. So please forgive me for the less than lovely pictures. I was somewhat distracted and didn’t remember to get good photos. In fact, I almost forgot to get a photo of the finished soup until after I’d taken a few spoonfuls of the broth out of my bowl! Oh well, life happens that way sometimes.
I used to really love French Onion soup before I switched to a whole food oil-free, gluten-free vegan way of eating. The dark, rich and oily broth…the crusty chunk of french bread with gooey cheese….it was so good! I would order it at Panera Bread with a side salad and be in heaven. That was back when I thought I was eating a low fat diet with choices like this.
So here we are a few years later and I have tried several vegan recipes for French Onion soup and all had so much oil and used vegan cheeses that were made with oil. They were all good, but just had too much fat for me to feel good about eating them. So after some experimentation, I found that I didn’t need oil to get that deep dark caramelization on the onions and I made a cheesy “Mozzarella” for another recipe and decided it would work for this one too.
If you are not in a hurry, I highly recommend letting this soup cook longer than the 30 minutes that the recipe uses, but it will be good at 30 minutes. It will just be SUPER GOOD after an hour or so.
Start by slicing your onions thinly. You can use a mandolin (watch your fingers!!) or a food processor that allows you to make thin slices. Or just use a knife. Crying is pretty much expected.
Add the onions to a good sized soup pot and cook over medium heat to soften them. If you need to, you can deglaze the pan with some broth or wine or water…if the onions stick a little. Don’t brown them. Slow and steady is the key. Cook them for about an hour until they are soft and caramel colored.
Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute or two.
Add the wine and herbs and bring to the beginnings of a boil. Reduce heat to a good simmer and let it simmer until the wine reduces by about half.
You can see in the picture above that there is still a little wine showing when I pull the onions aside. Add the flour and cook until the wine is mostly absorbed. See the picture below…the wine is all absorbed.
Stir in the tamari and miso paste and mix well. Add the broth and bring to a low boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. This is where you decide how long you want to cook it. 30 minutes will do, but truly…if you have time…let it simmer for an hour or more. The flavor gets deeper the longer you cook it.
Follow the recipe for the cheese. It’s pretty easy…no pictures necessary.
Because I am gluten-sensitive, I use a gluten-free bread. For this recipe, I used Schar brand hamburger buns and cut the top off. It gave me about an inch thick slice.
Toast your bread, spread it with cheese and broil or toast again until the cheese is hot and golden.
Fill your bowl with soup, top with the crusty, cheesy bread and EnJOY!
You won't miss the fat in this oil-free Vegan French Onion Soup. The caramelized onions and fresh herbs bring a delicious flavor to this classic soup.
- 2-3 lbs sweet yellow onions, sliced thinly
- 1 tsp sugar (optional, but I recommend it)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup red wine (the alcohol cooks off)
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (chopped fine)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp gluten-free flour
- 2 tbsp tamari (I use 50% less sodium type) (or soy sauce if not gluten-free)
- 1 tsp white miso paste
- 6 cups veggie broth (I use Trader Joe's Organic Hearty Vegetable Broth that has no oil)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 4 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 slices or chunks of bread or rolls (I used Schar Gluten Free hamburger buns, but if you are not gluten sensitive, I recommend sliced sourdough flutes)
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In a large soup pot, sauté the onions over medium/low heat. You don't want to brown them...just soften them slowly.
Stir occasionally and continue to cook them until they are a deeper color...almost the color of a light caramel sauce. This takes about an hour.
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Add garlic and raise the heat a bit and sauté for about a minute.
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Add the wine, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and reduce the wine by about half.
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Add the flour and stir in well. Continue cooking at a low simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until most of the wine is cooked off.
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Stir in the tamari and miso paste. Mix well.
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Add the broth and bring to a slow boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for at least 30 minutes...but I like to let it cook on very low for hours to deepen the flavors.
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While soup cooks, make the cheese.
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In your high-speed blender, add all the cheese ingredients.
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If you don't have a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, you will want to soak your cashews overnight or soak in boiling water for about 20 minutes. Drain the soaked cashews before adding to the blender.
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Start at a low speed and increase to high. Blend until very smooth.
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Pour into a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat. Stir constantly. It will start getting lump...keep stirring. It will get thick and become stretchy. Cook for another minute or two, constantly stirring. Remove from heat.
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If not using right away, place in an air-tight container (I like glass) and let it cool down before putting the lid on it. Store in the refrigerator. I find it lasts a week or so, if you take the top off every day or so and wipe out any moisture that has accumulated.
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Spread cheese onto your bread, toast in a toaster oven or broiler until cheese gets golden.
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Ladle soup into small bowls, top with crusty cheese bread and serve immediately.
- I have used corn starch in place of tapioca. It works, but tapioca is best.
- You can re-heat this to get it soft and gooey for dipping. Heat it on low and stir constantly so it doesn't stick to the pan and burn.
- This spreads nicely on toast or crackers, so add herbs and spices to it before cooking if you want a tasty spread.
wow! I can’t believe I found someone with the same diet as me!!!! I’m excited to try your recipes..but
one question: I’ve recently thought that nuts were too oily, fatty, and that they were bothering me..
but you use them a lot? do they not affect you? I am going to make the french onion soup first! but
without the cashews.
thanks so so much! Denice..
Hi! It’s always nice to connect with people who eat the way we do, isn’t it? As for the nuts, I only avoided them when I had weight to lose. Dr. McDougall recommends avoiding nuts and seeds if you are not at your ideal weight and/or you are dealing with any diseases like heart disease, diabetes, or kidney disease. Because I reached my goal weight several years ago, I do eat nuts fairly regularly in sauces or baked goods. I would say that if you find nuts to bother you in any way, you should avoid them! The French Onion soup is delicious on it’s own, so I hope you do try it and like it. Let me know how it goes!