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Canning French onion soup turns a long, slow-cooked dinner into a heat-and-eat meal you can pull right off the pantry shelf. You do the caramelizing once, fill a canner full of jars, and then a rich bowl of soup is only as far away as opening a lid and warming it on the stove.
Table of Contents
- Notes from My Kitchen
- Quick Look at the Recipe
- Choosing Onions for French Onion Soup
- Ingredients for French Onion Soup
- French Onion Soup Variations
- How to Make French Onion Soup for Canning
- Canning French Onion Soup
- Altitude Adjustments
- Tips for Success
- Serving Ideas for French Onion Soup
- Yield Notes
- French Onion Soup FAQs
- Soup Canning Recipes
- Canning French Onion Soup Recipe
- Meal in a Jar Canning Recipes
This recipe has been reviewed for safety and accuracy by a Master Food Preserver certified through the University of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
French onion soup is low acid, so it has to be pressure canned, and this is a tested soup canning recipe adapted from The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving (pg. 290). It is built on the brothy soup protocol, which means the jars are packed about half full of caramelized onions and the rest is filled with broth, then processed in a pressure canner. Traditionally it is made with beef broth, but you can use vegetable broth to turn it into a vegetarian soup canning recipe instead.
I have written this for a standard canner batch of about 4 quarts or 8 pints, which works out to roughly 16 cups of finished soup, but you can scale the batch up to fill a larger canner.
If you would rather build your own pot of soup from whatever onions and vegetables you have on hand, the choice soup canning recipe walks through the same protocol with room to improvise, and you can find dozens more options in the full collection of pressure canning recipes.
Notes from My Kitchen
I love a good bowl of French onion soup, with the slow-cooked onions and the bubbly cheese and the crunchy bread on top, but I do not love standing at the stove for an hour just to make a serving or two. Canning it solves that for me. I caramelize a huge batch of onions all at once, usually when the storage onions in the root cellar are starting to look a little tired, and then I have soup ready whenever I want it.
What surprised me the first time was how much better it tastes after a few weeks in the jar, since the flavor seems to deepen and round out as it sits. I keep most of mine in quarts for family dinners and a few pints for lunches, and I always finish the bowl the traditional way with a slice of toasted baguette and a blanket of melted Gruyere. The cheese and bread go on at the table, never in the jar.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- Recipe Name: French Onion Soup
- Recipe Type: Soup Canning Recipe
- Canning Method: Pressure Canning
- Prep Time: About 20 minutes
- Cook Time: About 1 hour 20 minutes
- Canning Time: Pints 60 minutes, Quarts 75 minutes
- Yield: About 4 quarts or 8 pints (roughly 16 cups)
- Jar Sizes: Pints and quarts
- Headspace: 1 inch
- Ingredients Overview: Onions, beef or vegetable broth, butter, dry white wine, salt, pepper, and thyme
- Safe Canning Recipe Source: The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving (pg. 290)
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Similar Recipes: Canning French onion soup is much like other brothy soups built on the same protocol, such as carrot soup, split pea soup, and chicken soup. If you are stocking the pantry with full dinners, try other meal in a jar canning recipes like Boston baked beans or white chicken chili.
Choosing Onions for French Onion Soup
French onion soup leans entirely on the onions, so they are worth a little thought. Standard yellow storage onions are the traditional pick and the ones I reach for, since they have the right balance of sweetness and bite once they caramelize down.
Sweet onions like Vidalias will work too and give a milder, sweeter result, while white onions land a touch sharper. Any of them are fine here, so use what you have or what looks good.
This recipe weighs the onions whole as purchased, before peeling, and 4 pounds works out to roughly 12 large onions or about 20 medium ones. That is a real pile of onions, which is exactly the point, because caramelizing a big batch all at once is what makes canning worth the effort.
A consistent slice matters more than the variety, since onions cut to the same thickness soften and brown evenly instead of leaving you with a mix of mush and crunch.
Ingredients for French Onion Soup
The ingredient list for canning French onion soup is short, and most of it is onions and broth. Here is what each part is doing and how to adjust it within the bounds of the tested recipe.
- Onions: The backbone of the soup. Thinly sliced and slow-cooked until caramelized, they bring all the sweet, savory depth. Yellow storage onions are traditional, though sweet or white onions work too. A mandoline slicer makes quick, even work of slicing this many.
- Broth or Stock: The liquid that fills the jar around the onions. Beef broth is traditional and gives the richest, most savory result, and a homemade beef broth is hard to beat for body. Store-bought stock is fine, and vegetable broth makes it vegetarian without changing the process.
- Butter: Just one tablespoon, used to start the onions browning. That small amount of fat is part of the tested Ball recipe. If you need a little more for browning, a neutral oil or olive oil works in its place.
- Dry White Wine: Optional, but it adds real flavor and helps the onions soften and caramelize. You can leave it out and use water or extra broth instead, with a teaspoon of sugar to encourage browning if you like.
- Salt, Pepper, and Thyme: Thyme is the classic herb for French onion soup, and the seasoning here is kept simple on purpose. Spices are not a safety factor, so you can adjust them to taste or add other dry herbs without affecting the canning process.
Notice what is not on the list. The bread and cheese that make French onion soup what it is at the table are added when you serve it, never in the jar. Neither one is safe to can, and they would turn to mush anyway, so they wait until you are ready to eat.
French Onion Soup Variations
This is a tested recipe from The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving, built on the USDA’s brothy soup protocol, where the jars are packed about half full of solids and the rest is broth. The processing time and pressure are what make it safe, so they cannot be shortened, lowered, or swapped for a water bath. French onion soup is low acid and has to be pressure canned, full stop. You can adjust the seasonings to taste, but leave the process exactly as written.
A few things belong in the bowl at serving rather than in the jar. Do not add bread, cheese, flour or other thickeners, pasta, rice, or cream before canning, since all of them block heat from moving safely through a packed jar. Stir or melt them in when you reheat the soup instead.
Swapping beef broth for vegetable broth is a safe change within the protocol, as is adjusting the herbs.
How to Make French Onion Soup for Canning
The soup cooks for about an hour and a half before any jars get filled, so this is mostly a stovetop project with the canning at the very end. Do not start preheating your canner right away. Get the onions going first, and only bring the canner up to a simmer toward the end of the cook, when the soup is nearly done.
You will want a wide, heavy pot for this, like a stainless steel or enameled Dutch oven or a large stock pot, since 4 pounds of onions cook down from a mountain to a manageable amount but need plenty of room to start. A mandoline is the fast way to get there, and the quicker you slice, the fewer tears along the way.
Prepare and Slice the Onions
Start by trimming both ends off each onion and peeling it carefully. The ends and papery skins can go into a bag in the freezer for making onion stock later, or straight to the compost if you would rather.
Either way, get them all peeled before you start slicing so the cutting goes in one smooth run.
Slice the onions thinly and as evenly as you can manage, working in batches by hand or running them across a mandoline. Four pounds of onions slices down in just a couple of minutes with a mandoline, or a good while longer by hand, but even slices are what give you a soup that cooks uniformly.
Once they are all sliced, assemble the rest of your ingredients so everything is within reach before the pot goes on the heat.
Caramelize the Onions and Build the Soup
Melt the butter in your pot over medium-low heat, then stir in the onions along with the salt, pepper, and thyme, and pour in 2 cups of the white wine. Set the remaining cup aside for later.
The wine helps the onions soften quickly and then cooks off, leaving behind a little sugar that helps them brown. If you are skipping the wine, use water or broth here, with a teaspoon of sugar to encourage browning.
Cover the pot and cook for about an hour, stirring often to keep the onions from catching, until they are very tender. Leaving the lid on lets them cook down gently. Then uncover, raise the heat, and keep cooking and stirring until the onions are caramelized and golden.
Pour in the reserved wine, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, and let it cook for two more minutes before stirring in the broth and bringing everything to a boil.
Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat and let the soup simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. This last simmer pulls the flavors together, but its real job is to make sure everything is evenly and thoroughly heated before it goes into the jars.
When the time is up the soup is essentially done, so taste it and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking before you start filling jars.
Toward the end of that hour-long onion cook, get your pressure canner, jars, lids, and bands ready.
While you finish browning the onions and bring the soup to a simmer, the canner should be heating with 2 to 3 inches of water inside, brought up to a low simmer of around 180 degrees F so it is ready when the soup is.
Canning French Onion Soup
This is a hot pack recipe, which means the soup goes into the jars hot and straight onto the heat. The minimum batch for pressure canning is 2 quarts or 4 pints, and this recipe makes about double that, so it fills a standard canner load nicely.
As with many Ball recipes, you may find you get a jar or two more than the stated yield depending on how far your onions cooked down.
To can, prepare your pressure canner, jars, and lids. Ladle the hot soup into hot jars, packing the onions to fill the jars about halfway and then covering them with broth, and leave 1 inch of headspace. A canning funnel with headspace markings makes this part cleaner.
Remove air bubbles, wipe the rims, set the lids on, and apply the bands until they are fingertip tight. Place the jars on the rack in the canner, lock the lid, and vent steam for 10 minutes before pressurizing.
Process pints for 60 minutes or quarts for 75 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a weighted gauge canner or 11 pounds in a dial gauge canner, adjusting for altitude as shown below.
When the time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner cool and return to zero pressure on its own. Use a natural pressure release, and never force cool the canner by running it under water or removing the weight early.
Once the canner has fully depressurized, wait about 10 minutes, then remove the weight and crack the lid away from your face to let the steam escape. Let the jars rest in the canner for another 10 minutes or so, then lift them out onto a towel to cool at room temperature.
After the jars are completely cool, check the seals, label them with the date, and store. Any jar that did not seal goes straight into the fridge to use first.
Altitude Adjustments
With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change. Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning French onion soup:
For dial gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 2,000 feet: 11 lbs pressure
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet: 12 lbs pressure
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet: 13 lbs pressure
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet: 14 lbs pressure
For weighted gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 10 lbs pressure
- Above 1,000 feet: 15 lbs pressure
Tips for Success
Take the caramelizing seriously, because it is where the flavor comes from. Onions that are rushed over high heat will brown in spots and stay raw in others, so the slow, covered cook at the start really matters. The patience pays off in the jar, and the soup keeps deepening in flavor over the first few weeks of storage, which means a batch put up now tastes even better a month later.
Keep your jar sizes consistent within a canner load so the timing is simple, and remember that quarts and pints process for different lengths. If you are short on broth when it comes time to fill jars, it is fine to top off with a little extra, since the half-solids, half-broth pack of the brothy protocol gives you some room.
Just keep that 1 inch of headspace and do not pack the onions in tighter to stretch a batch.
Serving Ideas for French Onion Soup
When you are ready to eat, open a jar and pour the soup into a small saucepan, then bring it to a simmer for about 10 minutes to heat it all the way through. Finish it the classic way by floating a slice of toasted baguette on top, piling on shredded Gruyere and Swiss, and running it under the broiler until the cheese is bubbling and browned. A few fresh thyme leaves over the top and you have the full bistro version straight from your pantry.
The jars are useful well beyond a bowl of soup, too. What you really have is caramelized onions in a rich, savory stock, so it makes a quick base for pot roast, a pan sauce, or a savory casserole, and it works anywhere you would otherwise start with onions and broth.
For more ideas along these lines, browse the full collection of soup canning recipes and other meal in a jar canning recipes.
Yield Notes
This recipe makes about 4 quarts or 8 pints, which comes to roughly 16 cups of finished soup. The exact number of jars depends on how far your onions cook down and how generously you pack them, so do not be surprised by a little variation in either direction. It is a good idea to have an extra clean jar or two ready just in case you end up with more than expected.
The recipe scales cleanly if you want a bigger batch to fill a larger canner, and the times stay the same no matter how many jars you run. If you are scaling down, hold to the minimum batch of 2 quarts or 4 pints so the canner has enough jars to come up to pressure properly. I use a large All-American canner that holds 14 wide-mouth quarts, so I often cook a double batch and fill it in one go.
A few common questions come up when people can French onion soup for the first time, so here are the ones I hear most often.
French Onion Soup FAQs
No. All soup canning recipes must be pressure canned. They’re low acid foods, and there are no safe waterbath canning recipes for meats, vegetables, soups or meal in a jar recipes. Pressure canners are easy to use and it’s worth investing in one to safely stock your pantry shelves.
Yes. The wine adds flavor and helps the onions caramelize, but it is optional. Swap in an equal amount of water or extra broth, and a teaspoon of sugar will help the onions brown if you skip the wine entirely.
Yes. Use vegetable broth in place of the beef broth and the recipe becomes a vegetarian soup. Everything else stays the same, including the processing time and pressure.
Properly processed and sealed jars keep for about 12 to 18 months in a cool, dark place, though they stay safe well beyond that. Refrigerate after opening and use within 3 to 4 days.
There are so many soup canning recipes to fill your pantry shelves, from brothy classics to hearty dinners in a jar. Here are a few more worth putting up.
Soup Canning Recipes
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Canning French Onion Soup
Equipment
- Canning Jars, Lids and Bands
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Butter, or olive oil for a vegan option
- 3 Quart Beef Broth, or vegetable broth for a vegetarian option
- 4 lb onions, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 cups dry white wine, divided
- 1 tsp dried thyme
Instructions
- Trim, peel, and thinly slice the onions, keeping the slices an even thickness.
- Melt the butter in a stainless steel or enameled Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Stir in the onions, salt, pepper, and thyme, then add most of the white wine, reserving a portion for later.
- Cover and cook for about 1 hour, stirring often, until the onions are very tender.
- Uncover, raise the heat, and cook until the onions are caramelized and golden. Add the reserved wine, scrape up any browned bits, and cook 2 minutes more.
- Stir in the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Ladle the hot soup into hot jars, packing onions to fill jars about halfway and covering with broth. Leave 1 inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, set lids, and apply bands fingertip tight.
- Process pints for 60 minutes or quarts for 75 minutes at 10 lbs pressure in a weighted gauge canner or 11 lbs in a dial gauge canner, adjusting for altitude (see notes).
- Use a natural pressure release. Cool, check seals, label, and store.
Notes
- 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure
- 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
- Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Need a few more full meal in a jar canning recipes for busy nights? These pressure-canned dinners reheat as fast as the soup does.
Meal in a Jar Canning Recipes
Question. I’m new to canning but not new to French onion soup… I am researching canning specific recipes and see your recipe still includes butter. Is it safe to can French onion soup that contains butter? And if not, what are the alternatives to make it safe for canning? Thank you.
This recipe is a tested recipe from Ball Canning that includes a bit of butter for frying the onions. The general consensus (Ball/NCHFP/University Extensions) is you’re able to include small amounts of butter in tested recipes when it’s just used for sautéing vegetables. The big no-no comes when you try to can butter alone as a whole jar, or make thick creamy soups with piles of butter. This particular one is a tested recipe and a small amount, so it meets current guidelines. If you feel more comfortable, you can substitute olive oil or another neutral oil in place of the butter. Enjoy!
I made this soup last year and was soooo good! Planning on making a double batch soon. Don’t hesitate; it’s a winner.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Can I double this recipe?
Of course you can. This recipe can be made as large as you like, provided you have space in your pot to cook the onions, and you have space in your canner to can it all. Enjoy!
Hi,
Love your site! Wondering what could be substituted for the wine?
The wine is optional, and for flavor. It adds a bit of acidity to bring out the natural sweetness of the caramelized onions. You can use plain water or more broth in place of the wine, or if you want something with a similar flavor, I’d suggest adding a splash of champagne or cider vinegar to the batch. About 1 Tbsp of cider vinegar, and then the rest broth or water should give you the acidity of the wine and good flavor. Hope this helps!
Hi Amy! I’ve got my canner processing your French Onion soup now. I’m excited to have such convenient jars sitting on my shelf. Thank you.
My question is about the onions. Do you weigh them before or after peeling and slicing? I weighed before and found I had less jars to fill, so I added dehydrated onions and some scalloped squash to get a canner full of jars. I wonder if it’s better to weigh them after preparing them.
The 4 lbs is as purchased, as this recipe from Ball Canning assumes you are making a brothy soup that has a lot of liquid (to soak into that classic french onion bread). Generally, summer squash isn’t recommended for canning due to safety reasons, as it can fall apart and make a thick puck in the jars (doesn’t always, but can).
Just made this today and it’s cooling in the canner now. I had a small bowl extra and it is very tasty. I wasn’t sure about the method you suggested for cooking the onions – usually when I make onion soup I caramelize the onions before adding any kind of liquid – but I followed your steps. The flavour of the onions was great because of the wine but the colour wasn’t as deep and rich as I am used to. I think next time I might caramelize as I usually do but add a splash of wine for flavour without it swimming in it. And then add the full amount of wine at the end like you suggest for the reserved 1 cup and let it simmer off before adding the beef broth. Either way the flavour is good and I’m sure it’ll be amazing out of the jar too. Thanks for the canning instructions.
Glad you enjoyed it. Those instructions are what Ball Canning suggests, but yes, I also generally caramelize the onions fully when I’m making French Onion Soup. I have noticed though, I often find that the onions caramelize in the pressure canner, especially if your canner gets a little hotter than is strictly required for preservation.
I’m not much of a drinker and when I search for “dry white wine” there are so many options, one I know is sweet (which doesn’t sound right for this recipe). Do you have any recommendations?
These types are all generally good choices: Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Blanc.
Thank you.
Hey Ashley, do you think substituting the white wine with a dark stout? We find it gives a really good flavor but not sure if it’s safe for canning.
Thanks.
Yup, that’s perfectly fine for canning. Sounds delicious!
I made this and it looks and tastes delicious. One question: your soup fills the jar nicely, but all of the onions sink to the bottom of mine and there’s a thin layer at the top as well / like a film or fat separation. Does this happen to yours after they sit on the shelf for a bit? I pressure canned according to the instructions and all sealed well.
Yes. That’s totally normal and that happens to mine on the shelf. I gave the jars a quick shake before the pictures to distribute everything evenly so you could see it clearly. But it does naturally settle to the bottom and the oil rises to the top.
My home canned onion soup has a black residue on the lid when I open it. I threw it out since it looked like mold but the jars were sealed. Do you have a possible explanation?
That’s actually normal. Bits of food splash up to the inside of the lid, and then they darken since they’re not under the liquid line. You’ll have that on the lid of a lot of pressure canning batches.
It’s called pinholing. Normal and safe!
Can you use a water bath canner for this recipe?
No, this is not safe for water bath canning. It must be done in a pressure canner.
Hello. This sounds like a lovely recipe. I have made French Onion Soup for many years but from memory. I now own a Nesco Electric Pressure canner and am trying to learn the ins and outs of home canning. I would ask that you help me adapt your recipe and time to this type of canner.
My British husband ( to a Canadian wife ) enjoys Marmite and I have incorporated it into my recipe but don’t know whether it is “cannable”. It is rather like Bovril but an expert opinion would be appreciated.
With a Nesco, you use the same instructions for regular pressure canning. It’s the same canning time (to the best of my knowledge). As to marmite, I’ve never eaten it, and I don’t know much about it. I’d assume it’s similar to adding other umami rich ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, so I’d guess it’d be fine for canning in seasoning amounts…but I have no idea. You might try Worcestershire in place of it, as I often use that in my French onion soup.
I came to the comments to as how to use in my nesco as well. So I guess my question is this is not water bathed, but pressure canning? So still 75 minutes in electric pressure cooker?
This is a pressure canning recipe, yes. Regardless of the appliance, stovetop or electic, the pressure canning times are the same and 60 minutes for pints or 75 minutes for quarts.
Sounds delishious, gonna try it next week, Thank you
You’re quite welcome, hope you enjoy it!