Beef Short Rib French Onion Soup

Beefy French onion soup gets a hearty addition of tender short ribs in this variation of the classic favorite soup. It's a meal in a bowl. If you like, make the soup ahead of time in a slow cooker and finish it up when you get home.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 3 hr 10 mins
• Total Time: 3 hr 40 mins
• Calories: 1162 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 12 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
• 2 quarts beef broth
• 2 tablespoons salt, or more to taste
• 8 meaty beef short ribs
• 8 sweet onions (such as Vidalia®), sliced and separated into rings
• 1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, thinly sliced
• 0.5 cup butter
• 0.5 cup sherry

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven broiler.

Step 2

Mix together flour, 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder in a bowl. Dredge beef short ribs in seasoned flour mixture. Reserve 3 tablespoons leftover seasoned flour.

Step 3

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook beef ribs in hot oil until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove ribs and set aside.

Step 4

Reduce heat to medium and melt butter in the pot. Cook and stir sweet onions in butter until soft and slightly browned, about 15 minutes; reduce heat if onions begin to burn.

Step 5

Stir 3 tablespoons reserved seasoned flour into onions. Cook and stir for 10 minutes. Pour in beef broth and sherry; bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until soup is slightly thickened. Season with salt and black pepper.

Step 6

Strip leaves from thyme sprigs and add leaves to soup. Return short ribs to the pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer until ribs are tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Stir soup every hour or so.

Step 7

Place crocks under the preheated broiler until cheese is browned and bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 8

Ladle soup into oven-safe soup crocks. Carefully place a short rib into each crock. Top each soup with 2 slices French bread and sprinkle about 1/4 cup Gruyère cheese over each crock.