Instant Pot French Onion Soup Recipe

This delicious Instant Pot French onion soup embodies comfort food. Add melted gruyere for a perfect bowl. If you like this, use my affiliate links that earn me a commission if you purchase.

One of my favorite dishes to enjoy in restaurants is a bowl of rich French onion soup. I love scraping all the melted gruyere cheese off the sides, doing my best to have it last until I eat my last drop of soup.

I don’t make it at home as often as I should. Comfort food as its best, this Instant Pot French onion soup is easy to make and tastes fantastic.

I always finish up the presentation with a crusty slice of day old bread atop the soup, covered in freshly grated gruyere cheese. Just stick this in the broiler for just a couple quick minutes, and immediately I feel like I’m in a restaurant.

I love that I can make the entire recipe in the Instant Pot – except for that last quick broil. Of course, sometimes I prefer to caramelize my onions on the stovetop like the good old days.

Low and slow wins when it comes to caramelizing onions. If I know I want to make French onion soup, I sometimes make my caramelized onions ahead of time.

Or I’ll make extra to use in other dishes. Add them to a large pan with a tablespoon of oil and turn the heat between medium low and medium.

For the most part, let them sit. This is what’s so hard for me. Stir them periodically, and let them cook slowly for 20-25 minutes until they’re all golden brown.

When I want my soup quickly, however, everything goes into the Instant Pot, and it works nicely!

How to Make Instant Pot French Onion Soup

Use yellow onions rather than a red onions for this recipe. With a knife, slice off the two ends. Peel the remaining onion and discard those pieces.

Using a sharp knife, slice the onion head to root as thinly as you can. You want to create beautiful thin rounds of onion. Don’t worry about separating them now. They’ll come apart as you cook.

Turn your Instant Pot to saute. Once the pot is hot, add the oil. This helps create a nonstick surface rather than adding the oil immediately.

Add sliced onions and stir periodically for 7-10 minutes until caramelized. You want them nicely browned and soft without burning. They will reduce in size significantly as you cook them.

Turn off your Instant Pot, and add sherry to deglaze. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any stuck on bits.

Add beef stock, thyme, one half teaspoon salt, and one quarter teaspoon pepper. Place lid and seal. Turn vent to closed and set to cook for six minutes.

Once complete, let Natural Pressure Release for ten minutes, then open vent to release any remaining pressure. There will likely be a little steam that releases, but it won’t be much and no liquid should spew out.

Never ever cook a soup and immediately release the pressure. You’re likely to make a huge mess and potentially burn yourself with the hot liquid.

Ladle soup into large ramekins or soup bowls. Make only as many servings as you plan to eat now. Top each with a slice of day old French bread and one ounce grated gruyere.

Place bowls under broiler 2-3 minutes until cheese bubbles and just begins to brown. Serve immediately.

Store any remaining soup in a tightly sealed container in the fridge once it comes down to room temperature. To serve leftovers, heat the soup first, then add the bread and cheese and broil.

My husband forgot to heat his soup first and couldn’t understand why broiling it for a couple minutes didn’t make everything hot. Oops!

Have you ever tried Instant Pot French onion soup? What’s your favorite recipe?

Looking for more great Instant Pot recipes? If so, check out some of my favorite Instant Pot recipes:

• Mashed Potatoes
• Wisconsin style cheese soup (stovetop recipe also available)
• Corn chowder
• Spanish rice (one of my most popular recipes!)
• Creamy chickpea tomato soup (with adaptation to make on stovetop)
• Easy peasy tomato soup
• Homemade chicken stock
• Updated (healthier) honey bourbon chicken
• Chicken curry
• Pulled pork
• Broccoli cheddar soup
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Lentil Soup

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