Is French Onion Soup Vegan?
The answer is that it depends. Recipes and products for french onion soup vary greatly.
Many big brands (like Campbell’s or Progresso) will use beef stock as part of the recipe. Obviously, this isn’t suitable for us vegans.
Here’s an example of the Progresso recipe for their French Onion Soup…
Ingredients: Beef Broth, Water, Onion. Contains less than 2% of Modified Food Starch, Corn Protein (Hydrolyzed), Sugar, Salt, Apple Juice Concentrate for Color, Butter, Potassium Chloride, Yeast Extract, Toasted Onion Powder, Natural Flavor, Hibiscus Juice Concentrate for Color, Beef Fat, Beef Extract, Dried Parsley, Spice, Paprika.
Not only does it have beef broth, but it also has beef fat, beef extract, and butter!
Let’s also take a look at Campbell’s French Onion Soup…
Ingredients: Beef Stock, Onions, Water, Dehydrated Onions, Potato Starch, Contains Less Than 2% Of Salt, Yeast Extract, Vegetable Oil, Sugar, Monosodium Glutamate, Flavoring, Caramel Color, Beef Flavor (Contains Beef Stock, Yeast Extract), Hydrolyzed Yeast Protein, Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese (Cheddar Cheese [Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Calcium Chloride], Water, Disodium Phosphate, Enzymes), Natural Flavoring (Milk), Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Beef Fat, Citric Acid, Potassium Chloride, Dextrose, Lactic Acid, Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten.
Beef stock, beef flavor, beef fat and milk! Definitely not a vegan product!
See Also: Our Guide to Freezing Onions
Is Restaurant French Onion Soup Vegan?
Check out this vegan starter kit
Most French onion soups at restaurants will also not be vegan. Most traditional recipes call for carmelizing the onions in butter and using beef stock, just like the big brands do.
Not to mention, it usually comes with a slab of bread with cheese melted on top!
There’s always a chance at a restaurant that it might be different, so it never hurts to ask!
Vegan French Onion Soup Mix Options
So even though most French Onion Soups aren’t vegan, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find soup mixes that are!
Frontier Soups
This is one of our favorite options for making vegan french onion soup right at home! You can then top it with all the vegan cheese you want.
We’re also making a complete list of Vegan French Onion Soup Mix Brands!
So check back to see it…
Related Articles…
- Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup Brands
- Vegan Tomato Soup Brands
- Vegan Campbell’s Soups
- Vegan Progresso Soups
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
Want to take all of the guess-work around going vegan?
Click here to check out the Vegan Starter Kit.
