Gordon Ramsay’s French onion soup is rich, aromatic and built on a kilo of onions cooked low and slow for 40 minutes until they’re meltingly soft, then finished with dry cider, chicken stock and a drizzle of cream. It’s topped with Lincolnshire Poacher cheese melted on sourdough croutons.
Ramsay doesn’t make a classic French onion soup in any of his cookbooks. What he does in Bread Street Kitchen is take the concept in a completely British direction with his Cider and Onion Soup, swapping wine for dry cider and Gruyère for Lincolnshire Poacher. He says it’s “really heartening on cold wet days,” and it’s been on the BSK lunch menu since the restaurant opened.
The biggest difference from what you might expect is that Ramsay cooks his onions without any colour at all. Most recipes tell you to caramelise them dark brown, but he keeps them pale and soft for 35 to 40 minutes so the cider and stock do the flavour work instead. Then he blends the whole thing smooth, which gives it a silky body that chunky versions can’t match.
Gordon Ramsay’s French Onion Soup
Course: Soup, Starter4
10
minutes1
hour5
minutes340
kcal75
minutesEasy
Gordon Ramsay’s Cider and Onion Soup from Bread Street Kitchen. A kilo of onions cooked without colour for 40 minutes, reduced with dry cider, blended smooth and topped with Lincolnshire Poacher croutons on sourdough. His British take on the French classic. Serves 4.
Ingredients
50g (2 oz) butter
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1kg (2.2 lb) white or yellow onions, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
300ml (1¼ cups) dry cider
800ml (3⅓ cups) chicken stock
2 tbsp double cream, plus extra to garnish
Sea salt and black pepper
1 tbsp finely snipped fresh chives, to garnish
- For the Croutons:
4 slices of sourdough bread, each cut in half
100g (3.5 oz) Lincolnshire Poacher or mature Cheddar, grated
Directions
- Cook the onions: Melt the butter and oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Cook uncovered over a low to medium heat for 35 to 40 minutes until the onions are very well reduced and meltingly soft, but without colour. Stir often for the first 20 minutes, then occasionally for the next 15 to 20.
- Reduce the cider: Pour in the cider, increase the heat a little and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all of the liquid has disappeared. This takes 15 to 20 minutes and concentrates the flavour.
- Build the broth: Stir in the chicken stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Make the croutons: Preheat the grill to high. Toast the sourdough slices for 2 minutes on one side. Flip, brush with oil, toast for another 2 minutes. Scatter the cheese on top and grill until melted and golden.
- Blend and serve: Remove the bay leaf and thyme stalks. Stir in the cream, season to taste, then blitz until smooth. Pour into warm bowls, place two cheesy croutons on the side, drizzle with extra cream and scatter the chives on top.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay cook the onions without colour?
Because he wants the cider and stock to carry the flavour, not the caramelisation. Dark brown onions give a sweet, jammy taste that dominates everything else, but keeping them pale means each ingredient stays distinct.
It takes patience because 35 to 40 minutes is a long time to stir without seeing any browning. But that restraint is what makes the final soup taste clean and layered rather than one-note sweet.
How do I make this more like a traditional French onion soup?
Keep cooking the onions past the 40 minutes until they turn deep golden brown, which takes another 15 to 20 minutes on slightly higher heat. Swap the cider for 300ml dry white wine or sherry, and use beef stock instead of chicken. Ramsay recommends brown stock specifically for “hearty soups such as French onion” in Ultimate Cookery Course.
Skip the blending step so the onions stay chunky and stringy. Swap the Lincolnshire Poacher for Gruyère and float the croutons directly on the soup instead of serving them on the side.
Why cider instead of wine?
It’s a deliberate British twist. Cider has a dry, appley sharpness that works with chicken stock in a way wine doesn’t, and it’s lighter and less acidic so the finished soup tastes clean rather than heavy.
Ramsay serves this at Bread Street Kitchen in London, so the British angle isn’t accidental. He could have used wine, but he chose cider for a reason.
What’s the difference between this and the white onion soup?
Ramsay has two onion soups in his books and they’re completely different. His white onion soup from Great British Pub Food is quicker: 10 minutes cooking, Montgomery Cheddar melted straight into the broth, no cider.
This BSK version takes four times longer, reduces the cider for 20 minutes and blends everything smooth. One is a quick cheesy lunch, the other is a slow, layered starter.
Why blend a French onion soup?
Most people expect it chunky, but Ramsay’s version is designed to be silky. Blending after the onions have reduced with cider gives the soup a thick, velvety body that coats the spoon.
The cheesy croutons on the side give you the texture contrast, so you get crunch from the bread and smoothness from the soup in every bite. If you’d prefer it chunky, just skip the blending.
Serve it before a cheese soufflé for a proper French-inspired dinner.
