French onion soup is comforting and divine, but definitely not finger food. In comes this bite-size appetizer that borrows all the best parts of the beloved classic.
Melty Gruyere cheese and jammy, savory onions live in a tender, custard-like mixture that makes every nibble of these French onion soup bites a flavor explosion. Store-bought phyllo pastry shells take the fuss out of preparing these for a crowd, leaving you to simply caramelize onions, whisk together a mixture of eggs and cream, and assemble these delectable bites before baking them off to crispy perfection.
How to Caramelize Onions
The key to this recipe is properly caramelizing the onions, which form part of the rich filling in these French onion soup bites. Caramelized onions are much sweeter than raw onions, and have a wonderfully jammy texture. They take some time to cook, but if you’ve ever enjoyed caramelized onions on top of a hamburger or in a grilled cheese, you know they are worth the wait.
To caramelize onions, begin by sautéing chopped onions (yellow, white, or red work) for about 10 minutes over medium heat with a generous amount of butter. Stir the onion mixture frequently. This recipe calls for a pinch of sugar and salt at this stage, but you can skip the sugar if you like, as the onions will be sweet enough on their own. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the onions to continue to cook. Stir the onions occasionally, until they are golden brown and jammy. This step should take approximately 35 minutes, but may require more time.
Cooking the onions low and slow is key to perfect caramelization. Turning the heat up to high will cause the onions to burn and develop a bitter taste. You’ll know the onions are perfectly caramelized when they are super soft and most of the butter has evaporated. You can also take a taste—if the onions are very sweet with a soft, jammy texture, they are ready.You can cook and refrigerate caramelized onions up to 3 days in advance.
Photographer: Kelsey Hansen, Food Stylist: Annie Probst, Prop Stylist: Natalie Ghazali