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Homemade French Onion Soup Mix

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Homemade French Onion Soup Mix

I grew up with a dad who hated both the taste and smell of onions so we didn’t eat them very often. In high school, I discovered my love of onions, but the closest we could get to having them at home was dried French onion soup mix. So French onion soup it was.

I made it as a soup to eat plain or used it to season foods or roasted vegetables. Sometimes I’d sneak fresh onions into the house (contraband onions… lol), but I definitely developed a love for the French onion soup mix during this time.

Once I went to college, I started adding onions to a lot of my own cooking. And once I had my own home I really started using onions in most of my cooking (along with garlic).

When we switched to real food, we stopped using most products that came from a box or a can, so I didn’t buy French onion soup mix anymore. However, I missed the flavors and the convenience of the mix.

French Onion Flavors

Like pre-mixed French onion soup, this combines the flavors of onion, garlic, celery, salt, and pepper. You get the same flavor without the cornstarch, soy protein, and yeast extract. Plus homemade onion soup mix is naturally gluten-free.

I like to buy all of my herbs for this recipe and all of my other herb and spice blends online in bulk. It saves money and I’m not always running out of a spice that I need. Simply store unused herbs and spices in the freezer or a cool dark place until you’re ready to use them.

How to Use Dry Onion Soup Mix

Onions make almost anything savory taste better. You can add some of this seasoning mix to your favorite soup recipe or just make French onion soup with it. I add 1/4 cup of the dry onion soup mix to 2 cups of beef broth and add thinly sliced, caramelized onions. The soup also tastes really good with some Gruyere cheese melted on top!

Here are some more ideas:

  • Add 3 Tablespoons of onion soup mix to 2 cups of sour cream to make French onion dip. Let the flavors marinate for several hours or overnight before serving.
  • Add a few Tablespoons to homemade meatloaf.
  • Add 3 Tablespoons of the onion soup mix to a pot roast and veggies and cook in the slow cooker.
  • I also like to season the meat with this mix when I make shepherd’s pie.

French Onion Soup Mix Recipe

Homemade French onion soup mix with herbs, spices, and salt is a great alternative to store-bought onion soup mix. Use it in a variety of recipes.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Calories 3kcal
Author Katie Wells

Servings

46 teaspoons

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake to mix.
  • Store in your jar or an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
French Onion Soup Mix Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 tsp)
Calories 3
% Daily Value*
Fat 0.01g0%
Saturated Fat 0.002g0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.003g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.001g
Sodium 76mg3%
Potassium 13mg0%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 0.1g0%
Sugar 0.2g0%
Protein 0.1g0%
Vitamin A 0.3IU0%
Vitamin C 0.5mg1%
Calcium 2mg0%
Iron 0.04mg0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

  • To make French onion soup, use about ¼ cup onion soup mix per 2 cups of beef stock. Add 3-4 very thinly sliced, caramelized onions for extra flavor.
  • To use as a mix, you can add ½ cup soy-free and MSG-free beef bouillon granules and use as you would a packet of French onion soup mix (¼ cup=1 package). It is excellent on roasts or for making French onion soup. I also use it as the seasoning for the meat in shepherd/cottage pie.

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Ever used French onion soup mix? Ready to try a healthy version?

This french onion soup mix replaces the store bough version with a simple recipe of onion flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, salt and pepper.
Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

46 responses to “Homemade French Onion Soup Mix”

  1. Nicole Avatar

    5 stars
    I apologize if I skimmed past it, but do you have a recipe posted on how to turn the mix into an actual french onion soup? I really enjoy your tips and tricks, and in our transition to becoming a more sustainable household and family, you have been a wonderful inspiration!

  2. Melita Miller Avatar
    Melita Miller

    3 stars
    For all those people asking about how much equals a standard packet of Onion Soup Mix, Katie says in the post that you’d use 1/4 cup of the mix in place of a packet of store bought.

  3. Amy Avatar

    5 stars
    I cannot wait to try this recipe! I just sat here eating the boxed stuff and went to go look at the packaging. At first I was thinking–I don’t want this to go to waste from the holiday. Now, it’s a bit unnerving how much crap is in it. Could you figure out one of those veggie mix ones as well? Like the lipton veggie? I am hoping to get a dehydrator in the near future, but I am now even more inspired by this recipe!

  4. Carla Avatar

    The packaged onion soup mix is 1/4 cup (or 4 Tbsp.). I’m assuming it’s the same amount for this as well.

  5. Beth Avatar

    4 stars
    One can purchase organic, preservative free natural and kosher beef broth gelatin by Great Lakes and add it to soups or anything for extra mineral and protein benefits, I use the one with no flavor, but they do have flavored broth or people can make their own bone marrow broth using any kind of animal (chicken, beef bones ) for extra flavor and health benefit. I would try the onion soup mixture with it.

  6. Barbara Avatar

    Just wanted to clarify my comments to Lou (and disclosure: I don’t have any affiliation with the company).

    Spices, Etc. https://www.spicesetc.com/ has pure powdered beef and chicken STOCK powder that is completely unflavored. It’s just like if you made and dehydrated your own. Check out their STOCK powder and NOT their soup bases. I have used it and you really do need to add your own salt etc. And as a bonus for those who want to try it, they are having a 15% off sale this week (through Dec 7th).

    And thanks, Tonya, for mentioning that you dehydrate your bone broth. I only cook for myself so I could brew up a BIG batch, dehydrate it, and have it on hand. (That’s why I’m a fan of powdered broth per above).

  7. Leigh Miller Avatar
    Leigh Miller

    thank you! You’ve saved a long-time favorite soup – that has a can of french onion soup as its base. I haven’t made it in such a long time, because the thought of making FOS from scratch is daunting to me. I’ll be using this in its place!!

  8. Laurie Avatar

    Did anyone figure out how much of this dip would equal a packet to make onion dip?

  9. Tonya Avatar

    This is so great. When I was getting my Thanksgiving items, I grabbed some dried minced onions to make this exact thing. I was just going to loosely base it off a random recipe I found, but I’m thankful to have your recipe to follow. Thank you.

  10. Carol Avatar

    I was doing research, and found a page which has DIY vegan bouillon. Another article I read, states that MSG is NATURAL in any animal meat, and therefore is MADE in the body when beef or chicken is eaten. So it can’t be totally avoided unless you are a vegetarian. so, MSG FREE doesn’t exist when consuming meat, but ADDED MSG can be avoided. I still have not found a bouillon product that has : no soy, no ADDED MSG, and no yeast products, (which are GMO)…. so I’m looking at making my own.

  11. Carol Avatar

    Where do you get: soy-free and MSG free beef bouillon powder (hopefully without HFCS and all the other bad, nasty stuff, too!)

    Thank you for this recipe. My daughter LOVES FOS, and this would make a wonderful gift as her now 2 year old son insists: “no cook, mommy”! So she needs healthy quick things to fix!

    1. Tonya Avatar

      I made my own beef bouillon powder and it’s fantastic. I made my beef bone broth and then boiled it down until it was thick and syrupy, but not yet burnt. Then I poured it onto my dehydrator trays that I lined with parchment paper. It took about three days to get all of it completely dry (you don’t want it leathery, but completely crunchy). Then I just ran it through my food processor and store it in a small jar.

  12. Mary F Avatar

    This recipe looks great. I used to love adding onion soup mix to my meatloaf. However I too would like to find a soy free and MSG free bouillon. Any suggestions???

  13. Lisa M Avatar

    5 stars
    Ditto, Nancy Russell

    Can’t wait to get the ingredients to make this mix! Yes, I remember the ol’ onion soup mix – add sour cream for a dip, add to beef broth after browning a roast. REALLY good. Ah, the recipes of the 70ies… Thank you, Katie! Appreciate having this staple without the unhealthy stuff! Lisa

  14. Alissa Avatar

    Thank you so much for this recipe. I don’t think I’ve ever actually made soup from a packet, but pre-wholefoods days, we used to use French Onion Soup mix as seasoning for many things.

    One that comes to mind is French Onion dip – mix a packet of soup mix with 250g cream cheese.

    How much of this homemade mix would be equivelant to a store bought packet?

  15. Lou Avatar

    5 stars
    Fantastic recipe, thank you. Can you recommend a gluten-free, MSG-free beef bouillon powder? I haven’t been able to find one.

    1. Barbara Avatar

      Re: the boullion powder. Try Spices, Etc online. They have both a beef and chicken stock that is pure and unflavored in powder form. I have a corn gluten and soy sensitivity so I always am looking for recipes like this. Thank you so much, Wellness Mama

      1. Lou Avatar

        Thanks for the tip, Barbara, but the bouillon bases at Spices, Etc. all contain hydrolyzed soy protein, which we cannot eat, and sugar, which we try to avoid. I guess I’ll keep looking.

        1. Barbara Avatar

          Lou,

          Check the Chicken & beef STOCK description. I don’t recommend the boullion items. The stock is unflavored, the boullion is.

          1. Barb Avatar

            Barbara
            I too have been looking for boullions with no luck finding a healthy one.
            I don’t understand the point of unflavored boullion…. Isn’t the flavor why we need it?
            Or at least that’s why I need it to replace the boullion cubes I’ve used for 30 years.
            I don’t know how I’m going to make my traditional German Christmas Day meal of Roladen without my “old boullion”
            Don’t want to ruin my family tradition….

        2. Barbara Avatar

          I am also glad you clarified that regarding the soy. I do not have a sensitivity to soy and soy products, including soy lethicin but I do have to take thyroid hormone daily because I had my thyroid removed because of thyroid cancer in 2011 soy I totally avoid anything with any soy, soy products including soy lethicin. You would not believe how much food we normally purchase at the market that contains at least one soy product. I had to throw out so much food in my cupboards and my refrigerator when I saw this and now I am doing my best to replace these things with other soy free products. I even had to get rid of my vegetable oil because it could contain soybeans as one of the vegetable in it. My neighbor appreciated it though. lol.

    2. Amber Avatar

      10.5 Oz cooked ground beef or cooked marinated chicken breast
      5 ounces / 150 g leeks, sliced and well-washed
      7 ounces / 200g carrot, well scrubbed and chopped
      3.5 ounces / 100 g celery
      1 ounce / 30g sun-dried tomatoes
      3.5 ounces / 100g shallots, peeled
      3 medium garlic cloves
      9 ounces / 250g fine grain sea salt
      1.5 ounces / 40 g flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped

      Blend in blender. I keep this recipe in my freezer and scoop as needed. The salt content prevents the from freezing solid.

  16. Erin Avatar

    Could you use dehydrated “minced onion” in place of the onion flakes? I too love onion soup mix to add to my meats and other soups. So happy you took the time to make this! I can’t wait to try it out!

  17. Trish Avatar

    pssst…*whispering* I used to stir French Onion soup mix into sour cream as a dip for potato chips, and then lick the bowl! Talk about a gut nightmare. 😉

    Ya know, I was thinking the exact same thing while reading this article – – that I appreciate what you do in all your culinary creativeness, and more! Thank you for helping us 🙂

  18. Nancy Russell Avatar
    Nancy Russell

    WELLNESS MAMA – YOU CRACK ME UP WITH YOUR INGENIOUS WAYS OF DUPLICATING TASTY PROCESSED FOODS INTO EDIBLE HEALTHY FOODS. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW LONG IT TAKES TO DO THIS AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR DEDICATED WORK FOR ALL OF US.

  19. Michelle Avatar

    What about for onion dip? Would you use it straight with some good quality spur cream amd/or mayo? Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!

      1. Staci Avatar

        Have you tried it as dip yet? I’d be curious about quantities…

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