French Onion Soup in Instant Pot vs Dutch Oven, recipe inspired by Julia Child

By request of my followers today I am making another famous french dish called - French Onion Soup which is inspired by a Julia Child’s recipe.  

As you know I am a big fan of simple and fast cooking, using modern appliances such as Instant Pot and Airfryer. So today I will try to make this amazing French Onion Soup using Instant Pot and compare it to a more traditional method of cooking this soup in the Dutch Oven. I am very curious to see which option is better, testier and easier. 

I will also slightly modify an original recipe to simplify it a bit without sacrificing the taste. 

Step#1 Caramelizing onions 

Start by cutting your onions. I have quite a few onions to cut, so let’s make sure we are using the right strategy to minimize onion tears

1. Cut onions outside - if such option is available 

2. Chill your onions in the fridge or under cold water before cutting  

3. Make sure you have a very sharp knife

4. Wear goggles  

I am slicing onions parallel to the root. 

Instant Pot: 

Now, start your Instant Pot on Sautee mode. Melt ¼ stick of butter and then add sliced onions.     

Turn off the Saute function, set Instant Pot to high manual pressure for 2 minutes. After the 2 minutes cycle is over, keep it for another 2 minutes and do manual release. Now, turn Instant Pot to Saute mode. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of brown sugar, cook for 10 minutes or until onions get golden brown color, remember to stir in the process. 

Dutch Oven: 

Hit up ¼ stick of unsalted butter, add sliced onions and cook on low-medium for 25 minutes. Onions should reduce in size. Now raise the heat to medium high, add ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of brown sugar and cook for another 30 minutes or until onions are golden brown color. 

Caramelizing onions in Instant Pot is a super convenient feature which allows us to save a significant amount of time.  

Instant Pot: 6 min to come to pressure + 4 min ( 2+2 ) under pressure + 10 min to get golden brown = 20min

Dutch Oven: 25 min on low medium + 30 min on medium-high = 55min 

Step#2 Soup preparation 

Instant Pot: 

Leave the instant pot on Saute mode and stir in 2 tablespoons of flour and ¼ stick of butter, cook it for 3 minutes, stir it well in the process.  It will give soup a nice texture. Then add beef stock, red wine, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Seal the lid, set Instant Pot for 8 minutes at manual high pressure and do a quick release at the end. When the dish is ready add 3 tablespoons of cognac to bring more flavor. This step is optional. 

Dutch Oven: 

Process is pretty much the same. 

Follow the same process of adding flour and butter and cook for 3 minutes. Then add beef stock, red wine, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper to taste, bring it to simmer on medium high. Then simmer under the lid for another 30 minutes on a low heat. When the dish is ready add 3 tablespoons of cognac.   

Soup cooking time is also quite a bit faster in Instant Pot. 

Instant Pot: 10 min to come to pressure + 8 min cook time under pressure = 18min

Dutch Oven: 30 min

Step #3 Serving

Normally you serve onion soup with french bread. Slice bread, put on the baking sheet, brush with some oil and bake at 350°F for 10 min on each side. Unfortunately I forgot to buy one, so I am using store bought parmesan crisp as a nice substitute, alternatively you can also use croutons. 

So for serving, add some grated Swiss Gruyere cheese in the serving bowl, put a few parmesan crisps and cover it up with grated parmesan cheese. Make sure your serving bowls are oven safe. Bake it in the oven on the metal tray on a broil setting 450°F for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese melts and turns slightly brown.

So for this recipe, my preference goes to Instant Pot, because it saves me about 30-35 minutes in cooking time. 

Thank you for watching and bon appetit!