This French Onion Soup from Famous & Barr in St. Louis, MO is my all time favorite. The restaurant may be long gone but I’m so grateful this recipe was saved!
I grew up in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. While I was in my late 20’s I moved with my then husband to Raleigh, North Carolina where we lived for 10 years and had a family, our children Emily and Lauren. We moved from Raleigh to Denver, Colorado and have called Colorado home ever since. But home has lots of memories, including the one for this French Onion Soup from Famous & Barr in St. Louis, MO.
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While I’ve been away from St. Louis for such a long time that I no longer call it home, it will always be my hometown and I’m not sure we ever get beyond some memories that resonate with us forever. Before any mention of food is the love I will always have for the St. Louis Cardinals. My dad and I were fervent fans and as a young teen I knew every player, every stat, every home game. I’ll die a Cards fan.
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My most recent trip down memory lane might be due to the fact that a St. Louis icon, Steak & Shake, just opened near me that I’ve been thinking of some of the memories that I have where food measures most predominantly.
One of my favorite memories has always been the French onion soup that was served at the Famous & Barr department store. St. Louis had two well known department stores. One was Famous & Barr and the other Stix, Baer & Fuller.
Both stores had restaurants in them and they always had great food; some of which is still synonymous for me with the city. My fondest memory from the downtown Stix store was a Gold Brick Hot Fudge Sundae but for myself and many other St Louisians…nothing is as reminiscent or as famous as this iconic French onion soup.
My first job after college was with Western Electric (eventually AT&T) in an office building in Clayton, MO. It was sort of a mini downtown area but more upscale and I loved working there. The buildings weren’t as tall, the streets were immaculate, and I thought the shopping more to my tastes…and the restaurants too.
My friends and I would walk somewhere close most days to grab lunch and not a week went by that one of those trips wasn’t to the Famous & Barr store for this soup. How long ago; hmm, think lunch was about $1.25 – that long ago!
The soup was thick and rich, and came from the kitchen in a McCoy pottery brown drip soup bowl (similar to these) bubbling with melted cheese atop two slices of French baguette.
As the stores closed their restaurants, it was fortunate that many years ago the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published the recipe in their Food Section so fanatics of this soup could recreate their obsession at home!
Famous Barr may be no more, but I’m grateful this recipe still exists. Although it is certainly edible the day it is made, it is well worth planning and letting it sit overnight so the flavors have time to meld together. I’m certain it’s one of the reasons this particular French onion soup is so stellar and remains coveted by residents of St. Louis, past and present, near…and far!
More French Onion Soups!
- The Ultimate French Onion Soup
- French Onion Soup – Italian Style
- French Country Short Ribs and Onion Soup
French Onion Soup from Famous and Barr
A truly iconic soup from St. Louis and the old Famous & Barr retail store.
4.57 from 50 or more votes
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Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 4 hours hrs
Total Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Course Side Dishes, Soups and Stews, Vegetables
Cuisine American, French
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 656 kcal
Ingredients
- 5 pounds white onions medium size
- ½ cup butter
- 1 ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tablespoons paprika
- 1-2 bay leaves
- ¾ cup flour
- 96 ounces beef broth (3-32 oz containers)
- 1 cup white wine
- Salt to season
- 1 loaf French Baquette (sliced)
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 16 ounces Gruyère cheese (can substitute Swiss which I often do)
Instructions
To Prepare the Soup
Slice the onions 1/8″ thick. Melt butter in a large pot and sauté the onions over low heat for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
Add seasonings; pepper, paprika and bay leaves. Mix well and saute on low for 2-3 minutes; stirring frequently.
Add 2/3 of the broth to the pot and stir well. And the flour to the remaining broth and mix thoroughly and then add to the pot, stirring in. Add wine and simmer 2 hours.
Refrigerate overnight.
To Serve
Turn on oven to broil.
Brush bread slices with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Lightly brown bread using the broiler watching very carefully so not to burn.
Heat soup on stove top.
Layer soup, then Parmesan toasted bread, then cheese in ovenproof bowls.
Broil until cheese melts; 3-5 minutes. Watch carefully!
Let cool for a couple of minutes before eating.
Notes
As iconic as this recipe is, I still made a couple of revisions. I like it better with the addition of some white wine and I eliminated one of the ingredients in the original recipe. It calls for Kitchen Bouquet which is basically a caramel coloring, an artificial ingredient. I never saw the need for it!
Some readers have asked for smaller portions. These proportions will produce half as much soup; follow same directions for cooking.
- 2 1/2 lbs yellow onions
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 3/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp sweet Spanish paprika
- 1 bay leaf, broken in half
- 1/3 cup flour
- 6 cups prepared beef bouillon
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 8 oz Gruyere or Swiss cheese
- 1/2 French Baquette
- Olive Oil
- Parmesan Cheese
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
French Onion Soup from Famous and Barr
Serving Size
8 Servings
Amount per Serving
Calories
656
% Daily Value*
Fat
31
g
48
%
Cholesterol
93
mg
31
%
Sodium
810
mg
35
%
Carbohydrates
63
g
21
%
Protein
27
g
54
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Calories
656
Keyword dinner, Famous & Barr, French, lunch, onion soup
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
From Famous and Barr Restaurant and found in the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper.
