This is a great family dinner “simmer all day” meal to enjoy before cozy season is officially over!! I made this during a cozy, snowy Sunday with my family and just had to post it. The house smells like heaven afterwards and omg its like eating a hug. If you have any leftovers, serve with some cooked egg noodles or pappardelle. My son LOVED this braised short rib meat and french onion soup flavors with some egg noodles.
French Onion Soup Braised Short Ribs with Baby Potatoes
Ingredients
For the Short Ribs:
- 3 lbs bone-in beef short ribs
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 large yellow onions thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp Dijon or whole-grain mustard
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 lb peewee or baby yellow potatoes halved if large
For the Cheese Topping:
- 4-8 slices crusty bread 2 per person if using a baguette, 1 per person if using sourdough
- 4-8 slices Gruyère cheese
Equipment
- Dutch oven or heavy bottom cast iron pot
Directions
- Start by seasoning the short ribs generously with salt and black pepper. Heat avocado oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the short ribs on all sides until deeply browned—this step builds the foundation of flavor. Once they’re golden, remove them and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter in the same pot. Add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt and let them cook down, stirring occasionally and deglazing with splashes of white wine when golden brown bits are forming on the bottom of the pan until they’re deeply golden and caramelized, about 30-40 minutes. The patience here is worth it—the onions should be rich and jammy.
- Once the onions are perfectly caramelized, stir in any remaining white wine, scraping up all those delicious browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the wine reduce by half to concentrate the flavor, then stir in the garlic and mustard, cooking for about a minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the beef broth and add the Worcestershire sauce. Stir and taste to ensure you like the levels of seasoning in the liquid. Adjust if needed. Then return the seared short ribs to the pot. Nestle in the bay leaves and thyme sprigs for an extra layer of depth. Bring everything to a gentle simmer, cover, and either let it cook low and slow for about 2 1/2 hours on the stove top, stirring occasionally, or place in a 250 degree oven and let it sit, covered, for at least 3 hours until ready to serve.
- 30 minutes-1 hour before serving , add the potatoes to the pot, making sure they’re nestled into the broth. Cover and continue simmering for another 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the short ribs are fall-apart perfect.
- While the short ribs finish cooking, preheat the broiler. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet, top each one with a slice of Gruyère, and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly, just a couple of minutes.
- To serve, remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves from the pot. Ladle the rich onion broth, tender short ribs, and potatoes into bowls. Top each serving with the cheesy bread, letting it soak up all that savory goodness.
Rate & Review
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS RECIPE?
I saw Skyler’s dish recommended to me on instagram and it looked so good I had to try it! I’ve never cooked anything like this before and the steps were very easy to follow. My favorite feature on this recipe page actually is the counter at top to adjust your recipe to the exact amount of people you’re serving. I cooked for a family of 6 and made 2 extra servings for leftovers. Those leftovers barely survived because we all loved how rich and deep the flavor was in this soup! And the meat came out so incredibly tender, it hit the spot on the chilly day we were having. I’m following her now because this recipe was such a big hit, I want to try more 🙂
thank you so so so much!
I saw this on instagram and made it for my family. we loved it and will definitely be making it again