I don't have any right now, but I usually would put it in hamburger meat.

Can't remember ever not having it in pantry?? Often have several boxes... thought I was running out? Doesn't have to be Lipton's either... store-brand is just fine.

BUT I agree about REAL onion soup needing caramelized onions. Once discovered a 5 lb bag of onions that got "lost" in my impeccably organized kitchen. Didn't find them with my nose, nothing rotting, but a LOT of sprouting. I'm not one to toss food very easily. I peeled, sliced (use for inexpensive mandolin), and salvaged most of the bag. Just let them do their thing for a LONG time in Dutch oven. Then put in freezer containers (measured/marked) for future soup.

With one cup of the finished soup (1/4 packet) containing close to 800 g of sodium.......not in my house! Yikes!

I love onion soup, too.

I usually have some brand of it in the house for cooking with but no never made soup from the packet. I have used it to make French onion dip with sour cream.

I've used it with a pot roast for a quick throw-together dinner, in small curd cottage cheese years ago as a dip (California Dip), but I'd have to say I've never made soup from it. And I love onion soup, but you're right, it needs those caramelized onions which I'll do in large batches and freeze for later when I have a bag of onions.

Never had made soup with it. But have made dip with it. Have also used it in a potato recipe.

I mix it with cream cheese and then mix the cream cheese with chopped cooked spinach.

I always have a box in my cupboard. I use it to put in ground beef. I also use it on chicken (remove the skin, fry them up in butter, add a package of soup mix add water and pepper and garlic put a lid on and simmer until cooked.) YUM! I've also used it on pork roast in the slow cooker (brown the roast in butter first, put in slow cooker, top with soup mix and a can of mushroom soup. Slow cooker about 10 hours. To die for pork roast, and I HATE mushroom soup. Makes the best gravy ever.

I make the meatloaf recipe from the box, it's delicious! That's pretty much all I use it for.

I used some of the packet once........just the onions, not the powder at all, in some meat. And even that was too salty.

"Name Brand" cookbooks always had lots of recipes using Lipton Onion Soup Mix, the age-old pantry favorite. I always used a homemade mixture (to control the ingredients - especially the sodium content) and used it in a meat marinade, and another recipe for Oven Roasted Potatoes. My mother-in-law used it in her pot roast. It was a popular add-in to ground meat for making hamburgers, and the ever-popular onion dip recipe.

Here's a slew of recipes: http://www.liptonkitchens.com/recipes/category/1060902/beef

Ironically, the one thing I never made with it was - onion soup! ;-)

I use it for beef and pork roasts.

Debby, I'm so surprised that you use the onion soup and cream of soup. You follow that strict diet and don't use processed foods, yet you use this?

Thank you for all the responses. I pretty much knew the answer but interesting to hear the responses. I "try" to keep to a pretty clean diet but admit that is one of my helpers. Grainlady can I get your mix recipe? The Sandra Lee semi-homemade use lots of stuff in packets makes me sick to think of but that is one packet I buy. I would never buy a taco seasoning packet or gravy packet but somehow I make the onion soup mix ok. I could never imagine using it for actual soup but it comes in handy.

BTW if anyone wants to know how I make my French onion soup.....

Tons of onions....no matter how many I start with it never seems to be enough.

I like sweet onions. Le Creuset dutch oven on stovetop with half stick of butter and olive oil, cook sliced onions on medium and then turn to low. After a while I put lid on put. Let them get brown and sweet smelling. Add beef stock. I sometimes actually put beef in my soup so then I have homemade stock. Otherwise stock in a box and supplement with either Better Than Bouillon or the other brand I can't think of that comes in a white container and water if needed.

Season to your own taste and simmer for at least an hour.

I add sherry or red wine and then simmer another half hour. Put into individual crocks. I have both those old handled ones and these cute Rachael Ray ones.

Add croutons I make from a french loaf. Olive oil and garlic and parm. in the oven to dry. Lay cheese over the crock. (I switch up the cheeses) and put under the broiler.

If you have leftover soup you can turn it into a fantastic gravy. I add in mushrooms and make a gravy that I serve with Roast Beef and Smashed potatoes and asparagus.

I only use it for making burgers and meatballs.

Sounds wonderful, Anne.

Anne I can't wait to try it. TY.

Anne-

I've used many different recipes over the years and you can find any number of them on-line. Our EHU group, back in the 70's, put together a booklet of mixes, and that was the start of making my own "convenience" foods. I generally use Herb-Ox Beef Bouillon (sodium free).

This one was shared with me recently by a low-sodium friend, if you only need a small amount.

Onion Soup Mix

http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/OnionSoupMix.htm

You
can use this the same as you would a one serving envelope of one of the
commercial brands (some brands make multiple servings per envelope). Mixed with
a pint of sour cream, it makes a good low sodium dip. Make sure you read the
sour cream labels though, the amount of sodium varies widely.

1 T Minced [Dried] Onion
1 t Sodium Free Beef Bouillon
1/2 t Onion Powder
1/8 t Black Pepper
1/8 t Paprika

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight jar or bag.

Yield: 1 Servings

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: The Tightwad Gazette II

Onion Soup Mix

3/4 c. instant minced onion

4 t. onion powder

1/3 c. beef-flavored bouillon powder

1/4 t. celery seed, crushed

1/4 t. sugar

Mix all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container. To use: add 2 T. mix to 1 c. boiling water. Cover and simmer for 15-minutes. This makes a stronger soup than the store-bought mix, so you can use less.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I would also suggest using the recipe from "Miserly Meals" by Jonni McCoy - page 208. You also make your own "Broth Powder" using nutritional yeast flakes - page 213 - for a vegetarian version.

Free of charge....

Onion Soup Marinade

1 envelope onion soup mix

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/4 c. apple cider vinegar (or any kind you like)

1 t. sugar

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

(Yield: 1 c. marinade)

Grain lady, how would you compare the quantity of any of your recipes to 1 packet of Liptons? I have a delicious chicken recipe that uses 1 packet for 6 breasts. Because of the sodium I rarely make it.

This thread made me make my chicken cooked in onion soup. :) It's simmering on the stove. YUMMERS!

Jasdip, I use it for flavour. The juice from the "soup" goes down the drain. The amount of anything that goes into my body is close to nil. As for the mushroom soup, I haven't touched that since long before we started Keto. It's a big no no. I was just giving a recipe for how I *did* make my pork roasts.

Low carb and maybe only up to one tablespoon might be in my chicken. We don't eat it daily. Maybe every couple of months.

I don't know how to edit out one of these two pictures. Oopsie!

Carmelized sliced onions (which take forever to do but add so much flavor and sweetness) are essential for onion soup intended to be eaten like soup. Also sherry, croutons, and browned cheese on top.

Anne's recipe looks good to me and is similar to a few that Cooks Illustrated has. Using a Le Creuset or other enameled cast iron dutch oven works very well.

I don't cook with so-called Sweet Onions because their mild flavor tends to weaken even more when exposed to heat. They're fine for eating raw.

Wow, SnidleyWhiplash said something nice to me! (No offense I hope) I am honored.

I've simmered onions all day in the slow cooker, with just butter and a splash of broth. I then freeze them in bags and use in whatever recipes I want. Top burgers with them, simmer for french onion soup and put in meatloaf.

Nah, anne, I try to give credit where credit is due. No offense taken at all. I like to point out opportunities to use common sense and offer fairness to others plus fight the never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way. But I'm no Superman, far from it.

if we have onion soup mix in our beef stew, it's the only added "salt"...(other than fresh celery which is sodium high)

Boyfriend loved onion soup and so I used it way back in the '60s. Now he orders it at a favorite restaurant. If I have any of the mix in the cupboard, I might throw it into a lasagna recipe I have.

It's good over sliced potatoes when baking and drizzled with some melted butter.

Glenda you do magic with food, I swear! Whatever you make always sounds so good.

Just tonight I opened a can of progresso french onion soup, and it looked so disappointing and sparse I decided to doctor it up. I thinly sliced an onion, and sauteed it in butter for about 15 minutes (not nearly enough to caramelize it) I then added some brandy (because I was out of madeira) and let it cook off, I added 1 1/2 tsp of better than bouillion beef base, another slug of brandy, and then 1/2 cup of water. I brought that to a boil, and added it to the simmering can of soup.

The result was divided into two soup bowls, topped with a slice of honey wheat bread, and a pre-shredded mozerella/provolone mix that I happened to have. After three minutes under the broiler element in the microwave.

Anne or Snidley's recipes both sound like they'd would be better, but for being made quickly from what was on hand, it was pretty good.

I ordered French onion soup at Outback, the other day, and sent it back. Not good!

There are a number of good local places in your area, glenda, there must be better choices than to go to a chain like Outback.

If I recall correctly, I think not too long ago I had onion soup at Chez Fonfon. You may know the place, it has a bistro format and most everything is good.

It was a group choice. I am quite familiar with all the fine dining restaurants.

Again, another negative response.