Guinness and Onion Soup with Irish Cheddar Crouton
March 16, 2011 in soup

If you haven’t bought your Guinness yet, you may just be out of luck! Yesterday morning I ran to Target for ingredients for this soup and they had one package of Guinness left! One! I really had no idea that so many people celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day. And by “celebrate” I obviously mean “eat corned beef and drink Guinness”.
If you already have some Guinness in your fridge, you need to set aside a can for this soup! It is the best onion soup ever and that’s saying a lot because I’m very picky about my onion soup. Most of the time it tends to be too onion-y or too beefy for me or not onion-y enough or not beefy enough. This one is just the right amount of onion, beef, thyme, and garlic with an extra layer of flavor from the Guinness. I’m very mad at myself for only making half a batch!
I had some people on Twitter tell me that they’re scared of how involved onion soup seems but let me tell you, it’s really not. Yes, it does take awhile but most of the time is spent waiting for onions to caramelize or waiting for the broth to boil. It’s not difficult and all, I promise.
from Food Network
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a 6 quart Dutch oven over high heat. Stir in the garlic and cook until just fragrant. Add the onions, season with salt and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium-low and saute the onions for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are a deep amber color.
- Add the thyme, vinegar and beer. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, then add the beef stock and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for 20 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the broiler and set out individual oven-proof soup bowls. Discard the bay leaf, then use a ladle to transfer the soup to the individual bowls. Top with toasted bread slices, then 3-4 slices of the cheddar cheese. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Serve piping hot.





O my goodness… I think I will wait till after the stores restock the guiness and make this soup after st pats day .. it looks FANTASTIC!!!!! Irish cheddar would give it a sharp kick… MMMMMM cant wait!
This looks absolutely yummy! I love onion soup, and this just looks more indulgent!
My mouth was watering the whole time I was reading this recipe. Good thing I have got plenty of Guiness on hand…I have a feeling this will become a regular in our household.
This looks so delicious. Since I don’t like corned beef this is a great way to still celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I love onion soup, so I guess I am on the search for some Guinness. Thanks for the recipe.
Ooh what a fab idea! I did a big project a while back to find the ultimate French Onion Soup but didn’t try stout (cos I was trying to stick to the classics), but I can see that it would really work, and would be particularly good for ‘beefing up’ a soup if your beef stock isn’t the most powerfully flavoured. Thanks for the idea!
Wow! I always make onion soup with red wine, but adding Guinness is a fab idea! Love it!
My Goodness, My Guinness!!! This looks divine. You’re totally right… most of the time is spent waiting for the onions! It’s SOOOOOooo worth the wait if you do it right though, and don’t rush it. I must try this. Love the Irish spin on it.
…and I can’t believe you can buy Guinness at Target! Nice! Soup looks great.
I have Guinness in my fridge now…i think I need to set one aside to make this soup! This looks fabulous! :)
This soup sounds like a great alternative to the standard French Onion soup- Can’t wait to give this Irish twist a try!
I was on vacation last week and am now catching up on blogs…and need to make this next March!! :)
This looks so good and I can’t wait to make them. I shared this recipe on my Must Try Tuesday post last week.
http://therickettchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/03/must-try-tuesday-march-22-2011.html
Thanks!
Can you clarify what you mean by Guinness Draught (not Stout) listed in the ingredients. Isn’t Guinness a stout? Thanks.
It’s this one: http://www.guinness.com/en-us/thebeer-draught.html I’m not really sure of the difference but apparently that one is better for cooking. Thanks for reading and commenting! :)