I love French onion soup. My mom does too. We tend to order it out in restaurants every chance we get.
So, when I received her email, saying "You've pegged it - keep this recipe!" after I had given her some of this French onion soup to try, it was a huge compliment.
I thought it was delicious, but it's always nice when someone else provides confirmation, especially your mom 🙂
Recipe Notes
A bowl of this hearty soup makes a satisfying lunch or supper during the cool fall and winter months.
Gruyere is the classic cheese used in French onion soup, but Parmesan and low-fat Swiss (such as Alpine Lace) or a combination of the two, also works well.
I consulted a few cookbooks including my recently acquired Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book (affiliate link) from 1961, the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (affiliate link), and the cookbook that came with the new Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System (affiliate link) Mom gave me for Christmas, before coming up with this version that I decided to use to christen my new Ninja.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Soup?
Many French onion soup recipes call for putting the cheese-topped soup under the broiler, but I always end up making a mess and/or burning myself, so instead I make melted cheese toasts and float them in the soup.
It's easier to eat this way too. (I added an extra piece of melted cheese toast for the photo since I was willing to "spend" the extra PointsPlus values for dinner.)
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Soup?
According to my calculations, each generous 1 cup serving of this French Onion Soup has about 228 calories and:
6 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
6 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
If you like this enlightened soup, be sure to check out my other WW friendly recipes including Crock Pot French Onion Meatballs, Skinny Slow Cooker Beefy French Onion Soup, , and
Are You Ready To Slim Down With Soup?
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French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1-½ pounds onions (3 to 4, peeled and cut into thin half moons)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup brandy
- 1 quart beef broth (4 cups)
- 1 can (10.75) ounces beef consomme
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 slices French bread, toasted
- ½ cup grated low-fat Swiss cheese, Parmesan or a combination)
Instructions
- Put butter in a large pot set over medium-low heat (I used my Ninja). Add the onions and sprinkle them with the sugar. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are well browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the flour and brandy and stir until they are well mixed with the onions, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the beef consomme, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Scrape up any browned bits from the pan. Lower the heat and simmer, covered 30 minutes. (Or in the Ninja set the slow cooker to low and cook 1 to 2 hours.)
- Divide the shredded cheese evenly among the 6 slices of toasted french bread and broil until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.
- Ladle soup evenly into the bowls and float a slice of cheese toast in each bowl.
Recipe Notes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Weight Watchers Friendly French Onion Soup Recipes You Might Like
- French Onion Soup (SkinnyTaste)
- Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Slender Kitchen)
- Overnight French Onion Soup (Debbie Koenig)
- French Onion Soup Casserole (LaaLoosh)
- French Onion Chicken Pasta Bake (DrizzleMeSkinny)
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Alyssa (Everyday Maven)
How do you like the Ninja 3 in 1? I have been reading about it!
Martha
I'm liking it so far, Alyssa. My mom got it for me for Christmas and I've only used it twice so far. Love the convenience of being able to saute and slow cook all in the same pot. I'm a lazy cook, so it's all about keeping things as easy as possible for me. Am also looking forward to trying it for steam/baking. Will continue to update about it here as I experiment.
Leslie
this is the first recipe I want to try. Thanks for passing on the ideas and recipes.
Suzee
One of my husband's favorites (and he doesn't even need to know it is WeightWatcher friendly!!)
Tami J Berger
I don't use alcohol, so can I leave out the brandy or what can I sub for it?
Martha McKinnon
I'd just leave it out. ~Martha