Video: How To Make Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

The slow cooker has come to the rescue again, this time as an expert onion caramelizer. Normally for French onion soup, you would have to stand over the stove and watch the onions as they sweat out super slowly, making sure that they become the perfect shade of gold.

In our Slow Cooker Double French Onion Soup, the onions just hang out in the cooker for the better part of three hours, getting soft, silky and golden. The shallots, butter, garlic, thyme and bay leaf create the beginnings of a flavorful, rich broth that will reach its full potential when the beef broth is added after the first three hours. All this mingles for another two hours and then transforms into a full-bodied soup, abundant with sliced onions and shallots that tastes good all on its own. That's not to say you shouldn't adorn each bowl with the traditional accoutrements.

To finish, slice up a baguette and toast it well. Layer a piece or two on top of each bowl of soup and then cover them with a very generous dusting of shredded Gruyère cheese. Then find a spoon, a comfy chair and a blanket, and dig in.

Get more slow cooker soup recipes:
- Try This Slow Cooker Moroccan Lentil Soup
- Slow Cooker Minestrone with Pasta and Beans
- Classic Chicken Soup Meets Slow Cooker