French Onion Cheese Bread

Onions. You either love ‘em or leave ‘em. I’ve always been a fan of melty, gooey cheese with a side of soup so of course my French Onion Soup recipe is my downright, most craveable shhhlurp.

So when I was assigned with coming up with a craveable appetizer recipe, I set my sights on an alteration of caramelized onions, cheese and bread.

They are the three main food groups, right?

While I clearly have a love for the hearty broth that my caramelly onions usually swim in, this time around I left the idea of soup to its own devices in my favorite tortellini soup recipe.

This time, the onions topped crusty halved pieces of melty white cheese topped french bread. The melted cheese pulled from nose to nose ala Lady and the Tramp, with plenty of crunching in between.

About the recipe:

This recipe makes a great appetizer for guests. Do all of the cooking and prep hours before your guests arrive, keep in the refrigerator and pop into the oven for a hot treat.

To make the bread easier to serve, I cut the bread into serving sizes by slicing ¾ of the way through the loaves before topping with the onion and cheese, making for an easy pull-apart or cutting option.

I use a melty Gruyere or fontina cheese but if you have mozzarella or monterey jack on hand, that will work too, they just won’t delivery the tasty nutty flavor.

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4.67 from 9 votes

French Onion Cheese Bread

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 onions peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves only
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• 4 French rolls split in half
• 2 cups Gruyère or Fontina cheese shredded

Instructions

• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower heat to medium low, cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Add sugar, kosher salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add balsamic vinegar and cook for another 10 minutes or until onions are caramelized.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Place bread halves on a baking sheet, cut side up. Sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese then spoon caramelized onion on top.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese has melted and bread turns golden brown.
• Cut into pieces and serve immediately. Garnish with extra thyme leaves if desired.

Last year I created another French Onion round-up last year with some totally terrific FOS variations. I liked them so much, I figured there’s always room for more.

No need for napkins, or heck, even a spoon when Lauren puts her twist on classic FOS flavors in a cute little cup with French Onion Soup Wonton Bites by Climbing Grier Mountain.

Caramelized in a bath of beer, according to Laurie, the cheese bombed onion deliciousness in Simply Scratch’s French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are totally legit.

What’s it gonna take? Teamwork! Carrie masters french oniony flavors in Bakeaholic French Onion Soup Macaroni and Cheese recipe, and keeps the recipe moving when she guest posts it on Jen’s blog Savory Simple.

Cheese toasts, beefy steak and sauteéd onions made even more savory because they’re simmered in red wine and broth for a truly decadent French Onion Soup Salisbury Steak from Brandy of Nutmeg Nanny.

A french onion mash-up isn’t necessarily in Ashley’s lunch plan until she happens to combine her favorite sammy dipped into a slurp of soup in Baker by Nature’s French Onion French Dip Sandwiches. Pass the napkins please.

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