Freezer French Onion Soup

Onions are on sale this time of year, a this is a great soup to freeze for when the weather turns cold.  You can freeze it in individual servings or family size servings.

French Onion Soup


10 pounds onions, peeled and cut in half
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 9 cloves)
1 tablespoon black pepper
5 cups shredded Swiss or Gouda cheese (about 1- 1/4 pounds)
20 small slices French bread, toasted
10 one-gallon freezer bags, label 5
5 sandwich bags
4 cups boiling water (on hand for cooking each batch of soup)

Place onion halves cut side down and slice into 1/2 -inch stripes. Heat oil and butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 1 hour. Reduce heat if onions begin to brown. Add bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and pepper; cook, stirring, 10 minutes longer. Cool.

Divide cooled onion mixture among the unlabeled 1-gallon freezer bags. Seal bags. Into each of the sandwich bags, measure 1 cup cheese. Seal bags. Into each of the five labeled 1-gallon freezer bags, place one bag of onion mixture, one bag of cheese and 4 slices of French bread. Seal and freeze. To cook one batch of soup:

Completely thaw one set of ingredients in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven broiler. Place four ovenproof bowls on a rimmed baking sheet and divide onion mixture among them. Add 1 cup boiling water to each bowl. Top each soup a slice of French bread. Divide the cheese evenly over the bread slices. Broil just until cheese melts and browns. Take care when serving the soup: the bowls will be very hot. Serves 20.