Japanese-Inspired Clear Onion Soup
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Clear onion soup is a light and flavorful soup that typically features a clear broth infused with sautéed onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. Whether you choose to strain the vegetables or leave them in the soup is up to you. This soup can be garnished with green onions and mushrooms, offering a comforting and aromatic option, especially as an appetizer or when you’re feeling under the weather.
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
Clear Onion Soup offers a comforting and aromatic experience, making it an ideal choice to kick off a meal, especially on a chilly day. Additionally, it’s a go-to recipe for when you’re feeling under the weather. This light soup boasts simple flavors that are easy on the stomach. It can also be ready in under 30 minutes and is super simple to make! And if you love this soup, be sure to try my Salsa Verde Chicken Soup.
Ingredients Notes
See the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below.
- Sesame Oil: I used sesame oil for Asian flavor, however, you can use avocado or olive oil if needed.
- Vegetables: carrots, celery, onions, and garlic
- Ground Ginger: adds additional Asian flavor
- Broth: you can use a mixture of chicken, beef or vegetable broth. I like to mix chicken and beef broth together.
- Garnish: thinly sliced mushrooms and and sliced green onions. For additional flavor or spice you can add a little soy sauce/coconut aminos and sriracha.
Recipe Step By Step
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté the onions and garlic with 1 tablespoon of sesame seed oil.
- Add the carrots, celery, onions, and ginger. Sauté together until tender.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and add in the chicken and beef broth.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
- Strain the veggies from the broth. Don’t throw them away, you can pop them in the fridge and use them for another meal or recipe.
- Ladle the soup into a bowl and add a handful of green onions and thinly sliced mushrooms
- For additional flavor you can also add a splash of soy sauce and sriracha to taste.
Mac’s Pro Tip
Recipe Tips
- Don’t Throw Out The Veggies: I always strain out the veggies and store them in the fridge. Serve them as a side with protein of choice. You can also opt to leave the veggies in the soup. I prefer my clear onion soup as a broth and not filled with veggies.
- Simmering Time: Allow the soup to simmer for a sufficient amount of time to extract flavors from the ingredients. The longer you simmer, the richer the taste will be.
- Storage: If you have leftovers, store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It often tastes even better the next day.
FAQs
Clear onion soup is a light, flavorful soup made from a clear broth and sautéed onions, often with added vegetables and seasonings for depth of flavor. Garnished with mushrooms and slied green onions.
You can opt to leave them in. However, I prefer my soup to be more of a broth. The veggies are simmered in the broth to give it a ton of flavor.
When serving, add soy sauce, coconut aminos or siracha. You can also garnish with your favorite herbs and spices.
Clear onion soup has variations in various cuisines, including French, Japanese, and American cuisine.
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Japenese-Inspired Clear Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 large onions diced
- 2 carrot peeled and chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 8 cups broth chicken, beef or vegetable
- salt/pepper
- 2 cups mushrooms
- Optional: sriracha and coconut aminos
- green onions for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté the onions and garlic with 1 tablespoon of sesame seed oil.
- Add the carrots, celery, onions, and ginger. Sauté together until tender.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and add in the chicken and beef broth.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
- Strain the veggies from the broth. Don’t throw them away, you can pop them in the fridge and use them for another meal or recipe.
- Ladle the soup into a bowl and add a handful of green onions and thinly sliced mushrooms
- For additional flavor you can also add a splash of soy sauce and sriracha to taste.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My husband was under the weather over the weekend and I saw this on Instagram. I whipped it up and it was one of the best easy soups. I will keep this in my recipe box.
It is such a favorite when I am sick to. I am happy he enjoyed it.
Just wanted to add that I added a dash or Worcestershire sauce for some added depth and added a dash of tomato paste for some undertones of sweetness to match the sriracha. Nice recipe! Excited to taste.
Love this. Thank you for sharing!
I’m currently fasting before a medical procedure, and needed clear soup that filled the strict criteria, and this did just that. So full of flavour especially when a good glug of soy sauce was added just before serving. The recipe made enough for 3 servings, exactly what I needed. Also I made it in the slow cooker for 3 hours which worked a treat.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m glad to hear the soup met your needs during your fast and that it was full of flavor. It’s great to know that the slow cooker method worked well for you too!
Is this supposed to read 21 calories per serving?
Yes, it’s included in the nutritional facts.
Could I pressure can the soup broth then when I would like a couple bowls warm it and just add the mushrooms, scallions, soy sauce or Sriracha?
I’ve never tried that myself, but it sounds like it would work! Just make sure to store it properly. Let me know how it turns out!