You may know I’m infatuated with onions. Between my French Onion Chicken, French Onion Soup and French Onion Risotto, I know a thing or two about how to make them sing like the Von Trapp Family.
And I love Cream of _____ soups. So a light bulb went off and I said to myself “Yo – what about a Cream of ONION?” And so this recipe I have just breathed life into came to be. But be warned, this is one of the best soups you’ll ever have and may ruin any other onion soup experience going forward.
We’re talking a soup so creamy, oniony (but not overpoweringly so), cheesy and full of a rich and deep flavor, you’ll be a culinary hero to whoever you serve it to. In fact, I’m telling you now, it will soon become one of the most requested soups you’ll ever make. All done with ease in the Instant Pot!
Here’s How I Made It!:
Begin with a variety of onions…
…and then slice them into strands.
Then take some potatoes…
…and peel and cut ’em into chunks.
Go to the Instant Pot, give it heat and add in some olive oil…
…and a bit of butter.
Once the butter’s melted and the oil’s sizzling…
…add in the onions. They may go to the brim of the pot now (I used a 6qt), but as you stir them and let them set for a bit, they will cook down/reduce…
…into a thick, buttery, pasta-like consistency just like this!
Now add in some garlic…
…the potatoes…
…some garlic (and/or chicken) broth…
…some Sherry…
…seasoned salt…
…and thyme.
Stir everything together well, secure the lid and cook at high pressure.
Meanwhile, as soon as you start cooking the soup, cook some other onions in a skillet with some oil until they get really browned/slight charred and caramelized/syrupy.
Once the lid comes off, it’ll look like this. Not quite a soup yet.
Using a slotted spoon, take some of the onions (not the potatoes) from the pot…
…and reserve them and set aside.
Now take an immersion blender…
…and blend until puréed.
Now thicken it up a bit by taking 1/3 cup of flour…
…and whisking it in.
Pour in the finishing touches of some cream…
…Boursin (or cream cheese)…
…and whisk until totally melded.
Give it a few final seasoning touches with some garlic salt…
…onion powder…
…the reserved onions from before we puréed the soup…
…and some chives.
Stir until well combined through and through.
Ladle into a bowl…
…and top with shredded Mozzarella or Swiss…
…topping it off with those caramelized onions from the skillet.
Take a spoon…
…notice how the cheese will have melted into the soup creating an experience that will leave you both excited and dumbfounded.
Slurp the soup…
…but don’t eat it on a date.
CREAM OF ONION SOUP! This one’s a game changeR, folks.
Instant Pot Cream of Onion Soup
Cream of Onion is perhaps the only soup to properly rival a French Onion. This one is incredibly creamy with cheese blended into the soup itself. If you want to really go crazy, you can also give it the crouton and melted cheese top finish as well!
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 tbsp) of salted butter
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 8 onions for the soup, cut into strips (I used 2 Vidalia/sweet, 2 Spanish, 2 yellow and 2 red)
- 2-3 onions for the caramelized topping (I used 2 yellow and one Vidalia/sweet)
- 1 tbsp of crushed garlic
- 2 lbs of Idaho/Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 5 cups of garlic and/or chicken broth (I used 5 tsp of Garlic Better Than Bouillon + 5 cups of water)
- 1/2 cup of Sherry wine (you can use another 1/2 cup of broth if you don’t want to use wine)
- 2 tsp of dried thyme
- 1 tbsp of seasoned salt
- 1/3 cup of flour
- 1 cup of heavy cream or half & half
- 5.2 oz of Boursin Cheese (any flavor of your choice. You can use 5 oz of a brick of cream cheese instead if you can’t find the Boursin which is usually in the fancy cheese/deli section of each market)
- 2 tbsp of onion powder
- 1 tsp of garlic salt
- 1/3 cup of chives, chopped
- Shredded Mozzarella or Swiss cheese, for topping
Instructions
- Place the butter and oil in the Instant Pot and hit “Sauté” and Adjust so it’s on the “More” or “High” setting
- Once the butter’s melted and the oil’s sizzling, add in all onions, coat well with the butter and oil and let cook (while stirring occasionally) for 25 minutes total. (NOTE: This step is important so don’t skip it. Also, since the Instant Pot can only Sauté in intervals of 30 minutes and then turns itself off, it should be be done by then if it does – or you can just turn it back onto “Sauté” for another few minutes)
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute and then add in the potatoes
- Pour in the broth, sherry, seasoned salt and thyme. Stir well, secure the lid and hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” and then hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” at High Pressure for 10 minutes. Quick release when done
- Optional, but worthwhile step: While the soup’s cooking/releasing (which will take a little time to come to pressure and release), heat a skillet on the stove at medium-high heat, add in the other 2 tbsp of oil and sauté another 2-3 onions for 20-25 minutes until caramelized and almost charred on some edges. They should be nice and syrupy when done. Turn the heat off and let cool in the skillet
- Once the lid comes off, take a slotted spoon and reserve about 1.5-2 cups of the onions (not the potatoes) from the pot (not the caramelized ones in the skillet) and place in a pyrex bowl. Set aside and whisk in the flour
- Now it’s time to make this an unforgettable soup. Take an immersion blender (or use a regular blender, but an immersion blender is SO much easier so you don’t have to transfer the soup to a blender and then back into the pot). Blend everything in the pot together for about 1-2 minutes until it’s puréed. The soup will thicken nicely once done.
- Then add in the heavy cream, onion powder, garlic salt and Boursin (or cream cheese). Whisk until the Boursin is totally melded into the soup (you can use the immersion blender again if you wish)
- Lastly, add back in the reserved onions and chives and stir until fully incorporated
- Ladle into bowls and top with the caramelized onion from the skillet and a few sprinkles of shredded Swiss or Mozzarella. Plus it up by serving in a sourdough bread bowl.
- Enjoy!
Jeffrey's Tips
Want it less carb-y? Use a head of chopped up cauliflower instead of the potatoes.
Serve it in a sourdough bread bowl for an even more special experience.
I STRONGLY suggest you do the caramelizing of the additional onions in a skillet for the finishing touch step. It makes it go from being already spectacular to out of this galaxy.
This immersion blender is so incredibly useful for puréeing the soup right in the IP without having to move it, in batches, to a blender. Night & day.
Get the fashionable onion googles here!
Emily
THIS IS THE BEST SOUP I UAVE EVER MADE.
so ya at first I was a little concerned about the onion volume, but they went down eventually and I just added a bit of oil in case it started to burn a little
Darlene
Love creamy onion soup. My recipe doesn’t call for potatoes. Are the potatoes used as a thickener?