French Onion Chicken

This one-pan dinner is the perfect recipe to start the end of a long day with. Getting home after working hard through the day, sometimes the last thing I want to do is start cooking a lengthy, prep-heavy recipe, but I still don’t want to settle for delivery or a subpar dinner. This French onion chicken is the perfect solution. While a traditional French onion soup is a classic for a reason, this riff is heartier, quicker, and requires less cleaning without compromising on any of the rich, cheesy flavors.

The secret to this, and any French onion recipe, lies in those delicious, jammy caramelized onions. The secret to caramelized onions? Patience. But don’t worry, just follow our guide on how to get the perfect caramelized onions every time, and you'll be set for countless French onion variations.

What People Are Saying:
“LOVE this recipe!! I make it for my family all the time, we usually pair it with some crusty french or Italian bread, it's delicious!!” - WalkingForMyles

How To Make French Onion Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• Onion: The classic French method calls for yellow onions, but what's truly important is how you slice them. It's important that the onions cook and caramelize evenly, so you'll need even slices. To achieve this, remove the top and bottom of the onion, halve from root to stem, peel, and cut each half into vertical 1/4"-thick slices.
• Thyme: This lovely woodsy herb adds a bit of green and floral freshness to this rich recipe. Thyme is a perfect herb for warm, savory dishes that just seem to wick away the cold weather outside.
• Chicken Breasts: While a traditional French onion soup doesn’t call for any meat, for this spin we are using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You could substitute out for chicken thighs, but for this recipe, I really do think the light meat of the breasts works best.
• Oregano: Another classic herb, oregano adds an earthy, pleasant bitterness that helps bring out more flavor and aroma in the dish as a whole.
• All-Purpose Flour: Much in the way that flour is used to thicken a French onion soup, here it will serve to both thicken the sauce and also to create a golden brown coating to the chicken. This helps enhance the texture and flavor of the dish.
• Beef Broth: While some recipes will call for a mixture of beef and chicken broth, here just beef will do the trick. The rich flavor and dark color will help keep this chicken-prominent dish more reminiscent of a classic French onion.
• Gruyère: For any French onion recipe, Gruyère is the go to cheese. Melty, nutty, and rich, Gruyère really is hard to beat, but really any melty, more subtle cheese like Swiss or Parmesan will work as well.
• Parsley: With all of the rich, savory flavors in this French onion chicken, a little bit of green, almost peppery, parsley cuts through for a bit of freshness.
  

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

We’re going to start out by caramelizing the onions. Start them out in a large skillet with hot oil and then season them with salt, black pepper, and thyme. Reduce the heat slightly and stir the onions to combine all the seasoning, then cook for about 25 minutes until fragrant, jammy, and caramelized. Stir occasionally through this process to ensure even caramelizing. Once caramelized, add in the garlic and stir, cooking until fragrant for about 1 minute. Then turn the heat off and remove the onions, setting aside.

Then, in a large bowl, season the cut chicken with salt, pepper, and oregano and toss in flour to coat evenly. In the same skillet, heat remaining oil to medium-high heat and add in the coated, seasoned chicken. Cook the chicken for around 8 minutes until golden on all sides and mostly cooked through, but not quite finished, as we will continue to cook it in the broth.

To do so, add in the beef broth and return the onions to the skillet as well. Stir the mixture to combine well and allow it to come up to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through and the broth has reduced slightly and thickened.

Add in the cheese and cover the skillet with the lid to allow it to melt properly. Cook for about 2 minutes until the cheese is fully melted and incorporated into the dish. Then remove the mixture from the heat, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve alongside toasty bread.

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• The ingredients matter. While there are several varieties of onions and cheeses, the yellow onion and Gruyère cheese called for here really do make a difference, and shouldn’t be hard to find at your local grocery store. If you really can’t find Gruyère though, take care to find a suitable substitute in another creamy, melty, subtly nutty white cheese like Swiss.
• Don’t forget the browned bits. The browned-on bits at the bottom of your pan are your best friend. They take in all of the flavor of the onions, chicken, and seasoning, and also help to thicken your broth. So once you add your broth in and allow it to come up to a simmer, scrape the bottom of the pan with your spatula and stir the mixture to fully incorporate.

Storage

This dish can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days, though you may want to add fresh cheese on when reheating for better texture.