Slow Cooker Cheesy French Onion Soup

Who doesn't love a super cheesy, oniony hot soup on a cold winter day? Or any day for that matter. And this french onion soup is easy to make - in your slow cooker! Be sure to serve it with crusty french bread to dip in that cheese! And that cheese pull though... amazing!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 6 TBS butter

• 4 large yellow onions (the sweeter the better), sliced and separated into rings

• 1 TBS granulated white sugar

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup cooking sherry

• 7 cups reduced-sodium beef broth

• 1 TSP sea salt (if you don't like salty food and use salted butter you can omit this)

• 1/4 TSP dried thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• 8 slices of French bread (or any crusty bread of your choice!)

• 3/4 cup gruyere cheese, shredded

• 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated

• 2 TBS mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Heat the butter in a large, heavy pot (dutch ovens work great) over medium-high heat.

2. Add the onions and stir until they become translucent, about 10 minutes.

3. Sprinkle the onions with sugar and reduce the heat to medium.

4. Stir the onions constantly until they are soft and browned, at least 30 minutes.

5. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

6. Stir the cooking sherry into the onion mixture and scrape the bottom of the pot to dissolve any small browned bits.

7. Transfer the onions into your slow cooker and add the beef broth. Season to taste with the sea salt (skip this if you don't want the extra salt),

8. Stir in the thyme and bay leaf. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or on high for 4 to 6 hours.

9. About 10 minutes before serving, set your oven rack on the second rack position and preheat the oven's broiler. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. TIP: You can add butter and roasted garlic, or garlic powder, to the bread before baking for extra deliciousness!

10. Broil the bread slices for 1-2 minutes, and turn over and broil another 1-2 minutes

11. Place all of the cheeses (save about 8 TBS for later) in a bowl and lightly mix them with your hands.

12. Fill 4 oven-safe soup crocks about 3/4 full of onion soup and place a bread slice in each bowl. Top with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture per serving.

13. Place the filled soup crocks onto a baking sheet and broil until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Enjoy and don't forget to get video of that cheese pull!

Did you make this? Share pics in the comments!