Easy At-Home French Recipes
A selection of delicious and simple recipes including French bread, French onion soup, potatoes Lyonnaise, coq au vin, and green beans with shallots.
Intro to French Cuisine
Few nations boast a culinary reputation as storied as that of France. Famous for both its comforting traditional dishes and cutting-edge innovations, French cuisine is served at many of the most exclusive and refined restaurants in the world. And while French cooking at its height is well worth experiencing, you don’t need to be a trained chef to enjoy a bounty of French recipes. These quick and easy recipes are a great way to get started.
Staple Ingredients
French cuisine draws from a dizzying variety of ingredients, including diverse fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. However, a few particular ingredients have historically formed the heart of French meals. These staple items will cover the basic demands of many French recipes:
Butter
Olive oil
Garlic, onions, and shallots
Dijon mustard
Herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay, basil, marjoram, parsley, and tarragon
Beef or chicken stock
Cream
Sea salt
All-purpose flour
Easy At-Home French Recipes
You don’t need to be a professional chef to explore the many joys of French cooking! These simple recipes will get you started.
French Bread
While there are many kinds of French bread, French loaves are typically recognized by their long, thin shape and crackling crusts.
Ingredients:
2 cups water, warm but not hot
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt or sea salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
Instructions:
Prep the yeast in a mixture of the warm water and sugar. Set aside away from direct light and allow to stand until the yeast forms a foam, 5-15 minutes.
Make the dough by combining 3 cups of flour, salt, olive oil, and the yeast-filled water. Mix thoroughly. Gradually add more flour until the dough is smooth and doesn’t cling to your fingers or the side of the bowl, typically 2 or 3 more cups. Use remaining flour on a flat surface to turn out and vigorously knead dough, about 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer to knead the dough in about 8 minutes.
Allow the dough to rest for one hour under a cloth cover.
Turn out the dough on a flat surface and divide in half. Gently flatten each half into a long rectangle, about a foot long. From the long side, roll each rectangle into a skinny cylinder. Tuck in the ends and use your fingers to pinch the seam closed. Turn the loaves, seams facing downward, onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Allow these loaves to sit, covered, until their size has roughly doubled, at least one hour.
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees while the loaves rest.
Make three diagonal cuts along the top of each loaf. This helps them hold their shape and also looks nice. Place the baking sheet with loaves in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the loaves’ crusts are crispy and golden brown.
It’s traditional but not necessary to brush the finished loaves with melted butter before serving.
French Onion Soup
French onion soup is so famous that you can buy it dried in most stores, but the powdered version pales in comparison to the real deal.
Ingredients:
6 large onions, traditionally yellow, sliced thin
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons flour
8 cups beef or vegetable stock, traditionally beef
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
1 tablespoon fresh or dried thyme
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Crusty bread, such as the french bread listed previously, sliced
2 cups grated cheese, such as Gruyere
Parmesan cheese to taste
Instructions:
Add olive oil and butter to a large pot over medium-high heat, such as a Dutch oven. Once the butter is melted, add sliced onions and stir.
Continue sautéing the onions until caramelized, around 25 minutes. Increase stirring frequency toward the end to avoid burning. The onions should be tender and brown, but not blackened.
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.
Stir in garlic and sauté briefly, about 5 minutes.
Add the white wine and flour. Use a wooden spoon to scrape (deglaze) the sides of the pot until they are free of residue.
Add in the beef or vegetable stock, the bay leaf, and thyme. Allow to simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf and thyme, if fresh.
As the soup simmers, place your bread slices on a lightly greased baking rack and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 6 minutes.
Once the soup is ready, arrange these toasted slices on its surface, then cover with your grated cheese and parmesan. Set the oven to broil and briefly place the entire pot in the oven. The cheese should be melted and just beginning to brown, around 3 minutes. Remove and serve.
The more traditional serving method is to ladle out the soup into oven-safe bowls before adding bread and cheese, broiling each serving individually.
Green Beans and Shallots
This quick side-dish adds a little flair to otherwise staid green beans.
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh green beans with ends trimmed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large shallots, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
¾ cup water
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Combine butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat
Add shallots and garlic, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes
Add the water and green beans and bring to a boil; reduce heat and allow to simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.
Remove the cover and increase heat, allowing the water to boil and evaporate while stirring constantly, about 8 minutes. Once the liquid has mostly evaporated, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Coq au Vin
Coq au vin, or “rooster in wine,” is a favorite chicken stew that looks more complicated than it really is. This somewhat simplified version is easy and still delicious.
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
4 chicken legs
2 cups red wine, traditionally Burgundy
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoon thyme, fresh or dried
1 cup chicken stock
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 to 6 strips of thick bacon, cut into ½ inch squares
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, diced
8 ounces brown mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon flour
Instructions:
At least four hours before cooking, marinate the chicken pieces in the red wine and chicken stock with 1 tablespoon thyme and bay leaf.
Add olive oil to a large pot and cook the bacon pieces until they are crispy but not crunchy. Set bacon aside.
Remove the chicken, while retaining the marinade, and sear on high heat in the same pot, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the pieces and cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Set chicken aside.
Using the same pot with chicken and bacon grease, add your carrots and onion, cooking on medium heat until tender and just beginning to caramelize. Add garlic and tomato paste, stir together and let simmer another 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the wine marinade, chicken, bacon, mushrooms, and flour, and stir together. The chicken and vegetables should be just covered by the broth; add more chicken stock if necessary.
Allow stew to simmer while covered on medium-low heat about 60 minutes, until the chicken has cooked. Uncover and increase the heat to medium-high, cooking until the broth has reduced by about half, or around 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle remaining thyme over the finished stew. Serve and enjoy.
Lyonnaise Potatoes
Credited to the city of Lyon, this potato dish is quick, easy, and always delicious.
Ingredients:
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thin
4 onions, sliced thin
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
Fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and white pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.
Cover potato slices with water and boil until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Melt 1 tbsp. butter and add 1 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions and saute for about 6 minutes, then add garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Continue to saute until the onions are caramelized, about another 5 minutes. Remove to bowl.
In the same skillet over low-medium heat, melt remaining butter and cover surface with layered potato slices, about ⅓ total amount. Spread ½ of the onion and garlic mixture over the potato slices. The potatoes should be crisping and browning while this occurs. Add another layer of potato slices, another layer of the onion and garlic mixture, and then a final layer of potato slices. Season with salt and white pepper.
Place the skillet in the preheated oven and cook until potatoes are tender and browned, about 12 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Slice and serve.
Alternate method: Skip the layering and simply sauté the cooked potatoes and onions together until crispy and browned. Garnish with parsley and serve.
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