This is a quick and easy recipe for a basic vegetarian french onion soup with just a few simple ingredients. It's not a super fancy recipe, but it really doesn't need to be. If your cupboard is nearly bare and you're wondering what to make for dinner tonight, try this soup along with a side salad and an artisan bread and you'll have yourself a complete meal. Most french onion soup recipes rely on a strong beef broth, but using a strong and good quality vegetable stock will impart plenty of flavor. Any kind of vegetable broth will work just fine, but if you can find a vegetarian beef-substitute broth or vegetarian beef-flavored soup base, you may want to use that. For a vegan version, use a non-dairy soy cheese and vegan margarine (or even olive oil) instead of the butter. Need this recipe to be gluten-free as well as vegetarian or vegan? Just check the ingredients on your vegetable broth, as some are gluten-free and some are not. Or, make your own homemade vegetable broth if you want to be certain.