Vegan French Onion Soup (2024)

You are here: Home / Soups / Vegan French Onion Soup

LAST UPDATED: February 15, 2022 • FIRST PUBLISHED: November 29, 2017

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Caramelized onions simmered with herbs and red wine go into this savory vegan French onion soup that's served with toasty croutons topped with gooey cashew cheese.

There was a time when I thought this couldn't be done, or at least it couldn't be done well and without the use of store-bought vegan cheese, which I try to reserve for those occasions when I'm totally desperate. .

Well, I've learned a bit about vegan cheese over the years spent creating this blog and I was able to come up with a homemade solution that actually works!

I actually tried out a bunch of variations on this recipe and I think what I came up with is the best vegan French onion soup ever.

See, initially I thought I'd do something totally different with the cheese. When I made this lasagna I was pretty impressed at how well the bechamel sauce browned on top but stayed gooey and creamy underneath, and I thought I could make a version of that that worked pretty convincingly as a vegan cheese.

But when I got down to it I had doubts, so I did a side by side smackdown comparison of the bechamel versus vegan cheese with tapioca starch. The tapioca won, big time. And by tweaking the recipe a bit I was able to come up with a cheese that browned nicely but had just the right level of gooeyness. See how good it looks? It tastes just as good!

I've also perfected my basic onion soup recipe: even though the whole cheese thing held me back for a while, I have been making basic cheese-free onion soup here and there, and the recipe has improved and evolved over time. My old recipe used white wine (which is great in a pinch), but red gives it that robustness you thought you could only get in onion soup made with beef broth. Soy sauce intensifies the flavor.

Oh and as for the onions, I recommend caramelizing the heck out of them. I sometimes cheat and crank the burner up to medium (which cuts the cook-time down by half or more), but keeping it in the low to medium low range will give you some intensely savory caramely flavor. It's so worth it.

Print Pin

5 from 7 votes

Vegan French Onion Soup

Caramelized onions simmered with herbs and red wine go into this savory vegan French onion soup that's served with toasty croutons topped with gooey cashew cheese.

Course Soup

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 488kcal

Author Alissa Saenz

Ingredients

For the Soup

¼ cup olive oil or vegan butter
2 pounds yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon organic granulated sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Cashew Cheese

1 ¼ cup water
½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours and drained
1 ½ tablespoons tapioca starch
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt

For Serving

4-8 slices French bread or baguette

Instructions

Begin making the soup by placing the onions, olive oil, and sugar into a large skillet or pot and setting it over medium-low heat. Toss the onions to coat them with oil and allow them to cook until they become very soft and caramelized, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic to the pot and raise the heat to medium. Sauté for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
Stir in the wine, thyme, and bay leaves. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Lower the heat and allow it to cook until the wine is reduced by about half, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and allow the mixture to continue cooking until most of the wine has cooked off, about 3 minutes more, stirring frequently.
Stir in the broth and soy sauce. Raise the heat and bring everything to a simmer. Allow it to cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the soup simmers, make the cheese. Place the water, cashews, tapioca starch, miso paste, lemon juice, and salt into a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Allow the mixture to cook at a low simmer until it become thick and stretchy and begins to pull away from the sides of the pot, about 5 minutes.
When the soup has finished simmering, remove it from the heat. Remove the bay leaves and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Preheat the broiler.
Place the bread slices under the broiler and broil on each side until toasted, watching them closely to avoid burning. Remove the bread slices but leave the broiler on.
Divide the soup it among oven-safe bowls or crocks. Slather the bread slices with a thick layer of the cashew cheese and set them on top of each soup bowl. You can dollop some extra cheese on top if you have it. Lightly brush or spray the cheese with a bit of olive oil, then place the bowls under the broiler until the cheese begins to brown, watching closely to avoid burning.
Serve immediately.

Notes

If you're using a large blending device you may want to double the cheese portion of the recipe and freeze half for later.

Would you like to save this?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

Nutrition

« Butternut Squash Risotto with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Vegan Spinach Puffs »

About Alissa Saenz

Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.

I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

Subscribe for email updates and receive a free copy of my veggie burger e-book!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Indu says
November 30, 2017 at 4:00 pm
This looks so good! You had me at 'vegan' french onion soup. I have been missing this fave of mine ever since I became dairy free! I am going to give this a try soon! thanks for this recipe!
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  December 03, 2017 at 9:43 pm
  Thank you!! I hope you enjoy it!
  Reply
Anne Percival says
December 07, 2017 at 9:10 pm
Is the 1-14 cups of water in the cashew cheese recipe for soaking? or is this added to the food processor?
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  December 08, 2017 at 10:25 am
  It goes in the food processor. I just edited the recipe to clarify. :)
  Reply
Anne Percival says
December 08, 2017 at 1:33 pm
ManyThanks.
Reply
Nancy says
December 08, 2017 at 7:35 pm
I know it would change the taste, but what would you suggest as a substitute for the red wine. I am recovering, and even though the alcohol supposedly cooks off, I wouldn't want to take a chance.
Thank you
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  December 10, 2017 at 9:14 pm
  I think your best option would be to try a non-alcoholic cooking wine if you can find one. If not you could also leave it out - the flavor won't be as intense, but still tasty I'm sure!
  Reply
- Kate says
  See Also
  Instant Pot Crack Chicken | Swanky Recipes
  February 13, 2019 at 10:21 pm
  a good balsamic vinegar works! Congrats on your recovery
  Reply
Paula says
January 03, 2018 at 8:17 am

Ini Alissa,
I made this soup last night and it was delicious. You have absolutely nailed the cheese sauce! The creamy texture and the smooth buttery taste was better than regular melted cheese by a long shot.
Thanks for sharing
Regards Paula
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  January 04, 2018 at 4:51 pm
  Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks Paula!
  Reply
Dacia S. says
January 23, 2018 at 9:38 pm

WOW girl! This is amazing. Grateful to you for sharing your talents with me. A make again and again recipe. Also lends itself to other ideas such a simple gravy using your soup (purée and thicken) or the cheeze on pizzas.
We made this tonight to get a load of onions and garlic in to ward off the many viruses going around. Prevention AND pleasure. So good. Many thanks!
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  January 24, 2018 at 4:18 pm
  Thank you so much Dacia!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I really like the cheese on pizza too!
  Reply
Liz says
February 20, 2018 at 3:20 pm
Is there a substitute for the tapioca flour?
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  February 21, 2018 at 4:27 pm
  I'm not sure! You might be able to get it to work with cornstarch or even all-purpose flour, but it could take some experimentation.
  Reply
Gwen says
September 11, 2018 at 12:38 am
Do you think i could use tahini as a substitute for the miso paste? I know it won’t have the same flavor but my main concern would be messing up the consistency.
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  September 16, 2018 at 3:28 pm
  I'd try something like soy sauce or liquid aminos instead. Even just table salt (though much less - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon). The flavor/texture would be completely different with miso. :)
  Reply
sabrina huddleston says
January 09, 2019 at 11:12 am

Mild Miso or sweet miso paste?
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  January 10, 2019 at 10:26 am
  Either should work, but I'd go with sweet - that's usually the same thing as white miso. :) Enjoy!!
  Reply
  - sabrina says
    January 15, 2019 at 9:47 am
    Thanks, trying this tomorrow night and CAN NOT wait to eat it!
    Reply
    - Alissa Saenz says
      January 20, 2019 at 4:00 pm
      Enjoy!!
      Reply
Christine says
October 15, 2019 at 1:52 pm

This was really delicious! I also added a couples points of nutritional yeast to the cheese, which added a nice flavour. Will definitively make again, thanks for the recipe!
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  October 20, 2019 at 2:32 pm
  Awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
  Reply
Alexandra Jackson says
December 23, 2019 at 10:49 am
Can you make the soup part a day ahead?
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  December 29, 2019 at 3:50 pm
  Absolutely!
  Reply
Jason says
January 23, 2020 at 6:35 pm

bar none one of the most satisfying recipes for anything i've found!!!
THANK YOU
doubled the garlic but otherwise followed the directions carefully and wouldn't change a thing. will definitely make again and again.
(finished off the baguette with some soy based brie from a shop in NYC called Riverdel which i'd recommend to anyone too)
Reply
Teresa says
March 19, 2021 at 10:51 am
Any thoughts on how we would pre-cook and freeze? We like to make a couple of soups on the weekend and pull them out for quick weekday dinners. Do you think to freeze the soup and cheese separately and then assemble once thawed?
Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
  March 21, 2021 at 5:37 pm
  Yup! That's exactly what I'd do!
  Reply