What to Eat with Onion Soup – Salads, Sandwiches, Mains

How it works

What to eat with onion soup? Something crisp, sharp or plain, because the bowl is rich on its own. These 43 ideas cover lunch beside the bowl and dinner after it: breads, salads, sandwiches, main dishes and a sweet finish.

Read the full guide

A starter with its bread on top

French onion soup is made of onions that are sautéed, then cooked in meat stock or water. It usually comes gratinéed, with croutons or a larger piece of bread covered with cheese floating on top; the cheese is usually Gruyère, Comté or Emmental. It is a starter, served hot.

Lunch or dinner

For lunch, one bowl with a salad or a sandwich is a meal. For dinner, keep the bowls small and follow them with a main dish that has no cheese and little sauce.

Dress the salad just before the bowls come out from under the grill.

Questions and answers

What goes with French onion soup?

For lunch, a green salad with mustard vinaigrette and a grilled cheese sandwich. For dinner, steak with fries or roast chicken, with toasted baguette slices on the table throughout.

What sandwich goes with onion soup?

One that can be dipped: a roast beef sandwich on a roll or a steak sandwich. A toasted ham and cheese sandwich, a tuna melt and a BLT are the other choices.

What salad goes with French onion soup?

One with a sharp dressing and some bite: endive and walnut salad, leeks in vinaigrette, or frisée salad with bacon and a poached egg. A Niçoise salad makes the soup a full meal.

What dessert goes with French onion soup?

Fruit, or something cool and soft: apple tart, poached pears, cherry clafoutis or crème caramel, each in a small portion.

All 43 ideas

Bread and cheese toasts 6

Crusty sourdough Thick slices, torn and pushed under the broth.
Garlic croutons Rub the toast with a cut clove while it is still hot.
Gruyère cheese toasts Grill the cheese on the bread until it bubbles, then float one on each bowl.
Puff pastry lid Bake a round of pastry over each bowl in place of the bread.
Small cheese puffs Warm from the oven and passed round with the soup.
Toasted baguette slices Keep a basket beside the bowls for when the bread on top is gone.

Salads 8

Endive and walnut salad Bitter, crisp leaves with toasted nuts and a light dressing.
Frisée salad with bacon and a poached egg Enough beside a bowl of soup to make a whole lunch.
Green salad with mustard vinaigrette Cold leaves and a sharp dressing after a rich, cheesy spoonful.
Leeks in vinaigrette Soft, cold leeks under a mustard dressing, made ahead.
Niçoise salad Tuna, egg, green beans and olives make it the main course.
Raw mushroom salad with lemon Sliced thin and dressed at the last minute.
Spinach salad with warm bacon dressing Pour the dressing on at the table so the leaves only just wilt.
Warm goat cheese salad A grilled round of goat cheese on toast over dressed leaves.

Sandwiches 8

BLT Toasted, with ripe tomato, for a soup and sandwich lunch.
Grilled cheese sandwich Cut it into strips and dip them in the broth.
Ham and butter baguette Plain and salty, which suits a sweet onion broth.
Roast beef sandwich on a roll Dip each bite in the broth, as you would a French dip.
Steak sandwich Thin slices on a toasted roll, with a spoonful of onions from the pot.
Toasted ham and cheese sandwich Crisp outside, melted inside, cut in halves beside the bowl.
Tuna melt Open-faced and hot from the grill, with a pickle beside it.
Turkey and Swiss sandwich On toasted bread, with mustard and crisp lettuce.

A main dish after 8

Buckwheat crêpes with ham and egg Fold the edges in and serve one to a plate.
Cold roast beef, thinly sliced With bread and pickles, for a supper that needs no more cooking.
Herb omelette Soft and quick, cooked while everyone finishes the soup.
Pork chops with mustard A plain pan sauce is enough after a rich starter.
Quiche A warm slice with salad. Choose a filling without much cheese.
Roast chicken Carve it at the table once the bowls are cleared.
Sausages with lentils Brown the sausages well and spoon the lentils underneath.
Steak with fries The bistro plate. Keep the soup bowls small so there is room.

Small plates and vegetables 5

Baked stuffed tomatoes Filled with herbs and breadcrumbs and baked until soft.
Cornichons A few small sour pickles to cut the richness of the cheese.
Country pâté on toast A thick slice, with mustard on the side.
Green beans with shallots Cooked until just tender and served warm or cold.
Ratatouille Warm or cold with bread, for a meal without meat.

Something sweet after 5

Apple tart A thin slice, warm, with nothing on it.
Cherry clafoutis Spoon it from the baking dish while it is still warm.
Crème caramel Cold, soft and turned out onto a plate.
Madeleines With a cup of tea, when nobody wants a full dessert.
Poached pears Cool and light after cheese and broth.

Drinks 3

Lemon verbena tea A hot cup after the meal.
Sparkling apple juice Chilled, in a tall glass.
Sparkling water with lemon Cold and plain, to rinse the salt of the broth.