Instant Pot French Onion Soup with White Beans & Gruyère Toasts
French Onion soup is a classic recipe which we first posted more than 5 years ago. The 
reason for a refresh is because we’ve had our heads buried in our Instant Pots over the last few weeks, developing new recipes for our Peapod meal kits.
My recipes always begin in my head before slowly making their way onto paper, with a variety of in season ingredients on my radar, cookbooks, and a laptop at my disposal. I research and scribble notes about ingredients, flavors, twists on existing recipes, and methods to improve the home cooks experience. As with the French Onion soup, once I have basics outlined, I run to the store to buy the ingredients. While immersed in the culinary magic of chopping, stirring, and tasting, a lot of my scribbles are edited over and over again, as I dash between my notepad and the Instant Pot to make changes. It’s a highly productive period, messy in execution but necessary otherwise I forget precisely what I’ve done before I move onto the next recipe.
We’ve added cannellini beans to the French Onion soup before topping it with bubbling Gruyère toasts. A soothing antidote to the polar vortex or “Beast from the East” which we is currently affecting my small Island.
We use our Coq Au VIn Slow Cooker & Pressure Cooker spice blend for this recipe which you can order online at our own website or at Peapod online, Amazon or in a variety of grocery stores such as Whole Foods Markets and Paulina Meat Market in Chicago, and beyond.
- 3 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 8 cups / 4 medium onions, thin half
- moon slices (1/3 cm)
- 2 tsp / 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Coq Au Vin Blend* see below for alternative
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 x 14 oz can Cannellini Beans, rinsed
- and drained
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 bagette sliced
- 6 oz Gruyère cheese, shaved
- heat oil in the Instant Pot on sauté function medium and sauté onion and
- garlic for 4 minutes
- turn off the sauté function and stir in the Coq au Vin blend, salt, sugar, cannellini beans, beef broth
- secure the Instant Pot lid and turn the pressure valve to Sealing
- press the Manual / Pressure button and adjust the cook time to 6 minutes (it will
- take 15 minutes to come up to pressure) and allow to cook
- leave to NPR for 5 minutes
- while waiting for NPR, heat your broiler top the baguette slices with the Gruyere cheese, and broil until bubbling and golden
- turn the dial to Venting and use Quick Pressure Release
- spoon the soup into bowls and top with the Gruyere toasts
- cooks note: perk it up a bit after cooking with a 1/4 cup of sherry
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp oregano, dried
- 1 tsp thyme, dried
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
- 3 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 8 cups / 4 medium onions, thin half
- moon slices (1/3 cm)
- 2 tsp / 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Coq Au Vin Blend* see below for substitute
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 x 14 oz can Cannellini Beans, rinsed
- and drained
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 bagette sliced
- 6 oz Gruyère cheese, shaved
- heat butter / oil in a medium saucepan and add onions and garlic, soften the onions for 5 minutes
- transfer the onions to the slow cooker
- stir in the Coq au Vin blend, salt, sugar, cannellini beans and beef broth
- stir, cover and cook on LOW: 6-7 hours or HIGH: 2 1/2 - 3 hours
- before serving heat your broiler, top the baguette slices with the Gruyere cheese, and broil until bubbling and golden
- spoon the soup into bowls and top with the Gruyere toasts
- cook's tip for the onions, alternative to softening on the stove
- place the onions and butter / oil in a medium microwaveable bowl and cover
- microwave for 2-3 minutes and add them to the slow cooker
- cooks note: perk it up a bit after cooking with a 1/4 cup of sherry
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp oregano, dried
- 1 tsp thyme, dried
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
“Everything about this classic dish works for me – its innate frugality, everyday ingredients and lack of pretension.”
-Nigel Slater, The Guardian February 2010
