Creamy Onion Soup, a copy cat recipe from Outback

I don't know about you, but it seems every time I find something I love at a restaurant, it ends up going away or becoming a special that if you are lucky it happens to be on the menu when you go there for dinner.  One of those was the Creamy Onion Soup from the Outback Steakhouse.  A friend and I both love that soup so much, that we began to get teased after we both did a small cheer after finding out they had it that evening.

Well I decided to do a search and see what I could come up with as far as trying to make it at home.  Thanks to this recipe, I found a copy cat that was so close, it was remarkable.  In fact, if I had a small loaf of bread buttered with a huge steak knife, I might have just have stood up and shouted "G'Day!".

My attempt at the Creamy Onion Soup

Now while this recipe seems a bit involved and the first time you make it, you might find yourself running around to get things done.  But relax while it does take a while, if done in the proper order, should be no problem at all.  Oh and yes I was running around for about half the time on this, even though I had no real reason to.  So let's see if I can help you avoid that.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups yellow sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth (2 cups if you are like me and have a larger box of your favorite)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper, ground
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1/4 cup Velveeta cheese, cubes, diced (compressed in measuring cup)
• 1 1/2-1 3/4 cups white sauce (below)
• cheddar cheese, shredded (for garnish)

Thick white sauce ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk

In a 2 quart pan melt the butter and begin to sauté your onions on low heat.  You want to cook them to where they are quite soft and pretty transparent.  Don't worry this will take quite a while, because you don't want to caramelize them, so you don't want them to brown.  Occasionally stir them and let them go while you begin the other steps.

While your onions are cooking, now it's time to make the white sauce. In a small 1 quart sauce pan, melt the butter on medium heat to medium low.  Add the flour and stir constantly till it begins to thicken some and come away from the sides.

Next while string constantly add the milk a little at a time, then add the salt.  I admit I added it all at once, and you can do this, but it will take a little while longer and it probably took a bit more stirring so the bottom didn't burn, but it can be done. 

While continuing to stir the mixture so it doesn't get lumps or burn, cook it till it thickens up to the about the consistency of pudding.  It can take a while, especially if you are like me, and added it all at once.

Another note as well, I used 1% milk for this instead of whole milk, so I'm sure my white sauce did not get quite as thick, and the final result wasn't quite as creamy either, but it was still quite tasty and maybe a pinch liter than using whole milk.

Once you have reached that consistency, set aside off the heat until ready for the soup.

Hopefully by now your onions are pretty transparent and soft.  Remember also, if you like a little crunch to your onions you don't have to cook them quite as long at this stage.

Now you can add your chicken broth, the chicken bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, and stir completely until completely heated.  

Next you add the Velveeta and the white sauce, stirring constantly until all ingredients are melted and blended together.

**hint:  I tasted it at this point and decided to add quite a bit more pepper, because I always liked it to have a good peppery bite, so season to taste now.

Now that you have it all together, turn the temp down to warm and let cook for about another 30-45 minutes.  Personally I stirred it occasionally, and couldn't help but have some more tastings.

Serve it with a garnish of shredded cheddar cheese, and voila you have your very own Creamy Onion Soup.

I have decided that this is a wonderful creamy base, and personally plan on trying it with potatoes,  broccoli, or any other cheesy type soup you might enjoy.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.