Kreacher’s cooking vastly improves once Harry is nice to him, and this easy, delicious French Onion Soup is a testament to his good cooking.
Jump to RecipeIn Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry gives Kreacher the locket that belonged to Sirius’s brother, Regulus Black. Kreacher becomes much more amicable towards the trio and his cooking skills vastly improve. He makes them meals such as breakfast rolls and coffee, a promise of steak-and-kidney pie (which never gets eaten), stews, treacle tarts, and French Onion Soup.
When I was looking for food to make for my Harry Potter Club, there was no way I was making a steak-and-kidney pie. That just sounds horrible. And we meet in the evening, so I didn’t want to do breakfast. But French Onion Soup sounded like a great recipe to work on.
Kreacher came bustling to the table with a large tureen in his hands, and ladled out soup into pristine bowls, whistling between his teeth as he did so.
…
He [Harry] began to spoon soup into his mouth. The quality of Kreacher’s cooking had improved dramatically ever since he had been given Regulus’s locket: Today’s French onion was as good as Harry had ever tasted.-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Would you believe, before making this recipe, I’d never had French Onion Soup before? Justin gets it almost every time we go to Panera, but I never have. I don’t know why it just never sounded appetizing. But Justin was anxious to try this, so we gave it a shot.
I was worried about the soup having too much onion flavor. I like onions, but I don’t want it to be an overwhelming flavor. Luckily, the way we made this soup, all of the flavors balanced and I didn’t taste one thing over another.
Surprisingly, the soup was easy to make. It always looks like a fancy soup. I would have thought it was more complicated. The only reason it takes an hour is that it has to simmer for 30 minutes.

French Onion Soup Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (unsalted)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 48 oz beef broth
- 2 tbsp cooking sherry
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 6 slices French bread
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Preparation
Start by melting the butter and olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.

Add the onions and stir continuously until they are soft and translucent in appearance. This will probably take about 5 minutes.

Pour in the beef broth, cooking sherry (Professor Trelawney would be proud!), thyme, salt, and pepper. Let this simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.


Set the oven broiler to low and ladle the soup into one-safe serving bowls.

Top it with either a full slice of bread or chunks of bread, whichever you prefer. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. We made this with homemade white bread from the bread machine.

Place your serving dishes on a baking sheet. Broil for about 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and starts to brown.

French Onion Soup Leftovers
Storage: Let the soup come to room temperature. Then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Reheating: For best results, reheat the French Onion Soup in a medium saucepan over medium heat until just warmed through. Stir often so the cheese doesn’t stick to the pan.

Recipe
Originally Published On: June 20, 2018
Last Updated On: July 25, 2023

French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (unsalted)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 48 oz beef broth
- 2 tbsp cooking sherry
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 6 slices French bread
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil
- Add the onions and stir continuously for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and translucent
- Add the beef broth, cooking sherry, thyme, salt, and pepper
- Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes
- Carefully ladle the soup into serving dishes
- Set the broiler to low
- Top each soup with a full slice of bread, or cut the bread into chunks, whichever you prefer
- Sprinkle the bread with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses
- Broil for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and starts to brown
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
More Harry Potter-Inspired Recipes to try
- Butterbeer: A Harry Potter Party Essential
- Harry Potter’s Birthday Cake
- Crystallized Pineapple: A Sweet Treat with Only 3 Ingredients
- Harry Potter’s Treacle Tarts Recipe: Sweet and Vegan
- Canary Creams from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes
- Sorting Hat Cupcakes
- Sweet and Creamy Butterbeer Ice Cream
- Soft and Sweet Treacle Fudge
- Rock Cakes that Won’t Break your Teeth
- Paczki: Polish Doughnuts
- Pumpkin Juice
- The Welcoming Feast Roast Beef
- One-Pot Goulash
- Kreacher’s French Onion Soup
- Nearly-Headless Nick’s Deathday Cake
- Chocolate and Caramel Cockroach Clusters
- Dumbledore’s Apple and Sage Pork Chops
- Pumpkin Pasties from the Hogwarts Express
Other Mozzarella Recipes
- Super Easy Homemade Fried Mozzarella Sticks Recipe
- Fresh Mozzarella-Topped (Not So) Flatbread
- Crispy Fried Mozzarella Cakes Recipe with Fresh Cheese
- Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatloaf
- Super Easy Pizza Dip
- Cheesy Meatball Skillet
- Homemade Pizza Burgers: The Best Combo of Two Recipes
- Five Cheese Pull-Apart Bread
- Chicken and Spinach Alfredo Bake Casserole
- Thai Basil Pesto Flatbread
- Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Super Easy Pizza Flatbread
- Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Shells
- Fresh Caprese Salad
- Spinach and Artichoke Quesadillas
- Easy Chicken Parmesan
- Kreacher’s French Onion Soup
- Hearty Sausage and Kale Pesto Pizza
- Classic Stuffed Shells
- Quick and Easy Homemade Pizza Bagels Recipe
- Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Chicken and Spinach Casserole with Cream Cheese
- Baked Ziti
- BBQ Chicken Melt with Only 5 Ingredients
- Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Stromboli
- Cheesy Baked Crab Casserole
- Pizza Hot Pocket
- Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Stromboli Ring
- Hawaiian Chicken Wraps
- Cheesy Caper-Stuffed Tomatoes
Other Soup Recipes to try
- One-Pot Potato and Cream Cheese Soup
- Slow Cooker Soups and Stews: Over 50 Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Red Lentil Soup
- Zesty Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Sausage Potato and Kale Soup
- Lazy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
- Lasagna Soup
- Creamy Artichoke Soup
- Pasta Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
- Green Chicken Soup
- Roasted Tomato and Cheddar Soup
- Leftover Turkey Tortellini Soup
- Easy One Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)
- Immunity Soup
- Kreacher’s French Onion Soup
- Easy Slow-Cooker Potato and Cheddar Soup
- Seafood Gnocchi Soup
- Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup
- Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Minestrone Soup: The Perfect Warm Vegetarian Soup
- Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
- Tomato Soup (Vegan and Dairy-Free)
I absolutely LOVE French Onion Soup! I’ve never made it myself though so maybe it’s time I did…
Making it for myself was the first time I had ever eaten it! So now I don’t know if I just like how I make it or the soup in general!
I love onions soup, which reminds me that I have not made some for a while. I will try your recipe soon. Thanks for sharing.
This was my first time having it, so I can’t personally say how it compares to other places. But my husband has eaten it out many times and really enjoyed this version, too!
This recipe looks new from me. I really want to eat this someday. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I will try do my own.
It was new to me in the way that I had never tried the soup before. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would!
So did you like it? I’ve had french onion soup twice and have never been a fan but I always think with the right recipe and prepare I might enjoy it. Also this sounds way better than steak and kidney pie!
I did like it! Definitely different making it yourself since I could control the ingredients and amounts myself.
Thank you for posting this recipe with pictures. They make reading so much easier. I’ll try to make French onion soup this week.
I am a visual learner most of the time, especially in the kitchen. It helps to know what you are doing the whole way through to make it correctly. I’m glad it’s helped you, too!
I have a serious weakness for French Onion Soup and yours looks amazing. Pinning!
I understand now, it’s such a delicious soup!
oh my gosh cheese!! I love cheese. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’d love to eat the soup for breakfast or any time of the day
I love cheese, too. I knew I had to top the soup with a lot of cheese!
Yummy! This looks perfect. I am hungry just reading your post! Definitely going to make this recipe!
It’s such a delicious soup. And perfect for the cooler weather, too.
Can you please stop making me hungry haha…this looks super yummy a bowl of comfort for sure x
I get so hungry writing these posts sometimes! I know what you mean 🙂
This makes me miss home! My dad loved French onion soup. I’m personally not a soup gal, but I love the smell…weird I know.
Definitely not weird. Food can bring up so many memories, even the smell. There are quite a few foods that I love the smell of but won’t eat/drink.
This looks incredible! I absolutely love French Onion Soup so I will definitely be trying this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This was my first time having it, so now I understand why so many say they love the soup!
That looks amazing! I love French onion soup but have never tried making it myself. Will try now, though!
It wasn’t too hard at all. I think it’s one of those that looks more intimidating than it really is.
Wow! Looks amazing Steph! I love to cook so I have to try this recipe for sure!
Agustina
Thank you, I hope you enjoy the soup!
One of my favorite fall soups to make! So good and so comforting!
It really was. I was a bit surprised, honestly, because this was the first time I had eaten the soup!
I’ve never tried french onion soup but this looks amazing! Now I want to make it!
I hadn’t either until deciding to make it for my Harry Potter group. It’s definitely got a strong flavor, but I liked it!
I love French onion soup! Mostly because of the bread and cheese. Lol. This recipe looks delicious.
I won’t lie, that’s my favorite part, too! 🙂
French onion soup is literally one of my favorite foods!!! So yum! I will have to try making it at home with your recipe!
I hope this one is as good as others that you’ve had!