Cheesy French Onion Chicken

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Guys, this recipe for French Onion Chicken is just plain exceptional. Promise! Now, I love pretty much any one-pan dish, but my french onion chicken skillet is so tasty that it makes repeated appearances throughout the entire year.

Sometimes referred to as French onion soup chicken, this dish successfully mimics the flavors in the soup, additionally, it leaves you full and satisfied. My family welcomes it at the table every time. And leftovers…. are gone, pronto.

Possibly one of the best things you’ll ever do with one pan—but if you’re looking for more easy, flavor-packed chicken dinners, my Chicken Florentine, Balsamic Chicken, and Creamy Lemon Chicken are all fantastic too. And if you want even more family-friendly meal ideas, be sure to browse my full Chicken Dinner Recipes—it’s packed with recipes you’ll make again and again. ♥

What I Love Most About This Recipe:

• It’s one of my favorite chicken recipes!
• The flavor combo is amazing.
• One pan Baby!!! Easy cleanup!!
• Oh The Saaauce…

What Is French Onion Chicken?

A recipe that has grown in popularity recently thanks to media outlets like Facebook, it’s a one-skillet dish that’s devastatingly flavorful. It’s tender, tasty, and really easy to put together.

Can you say weeknight dinners? Chicken breasts are nestled into a punchy onion broth sauce (no soup packets here!) and topped with Gruyere cheese. The French onion chicken Tasty recipe puts out is a lot like this one.

French Onion Chicken Ingredients

The major players here are chicken, onions, and cheese! They are covered in a sauce that will have you wanting to lick your plate!

• Olive Oil: You can use any neutral flavored oil.
• Chicken Breasts: I use boneless, skinless chicken breast. If you prefer thighs, they’d be delicious!
• Salt + Pepper: Table salt and black pepper.
• Italian Seasoning: I like McCormick perfect pinch Italian seasoning.
• Onions: Yellow onions.
• Butter: Salted or unsalted.
• Flour: All-purpose flour. This will help thicken the pan sauce.
• Beef + Chicken Broth: I like to use both. Each adds its own flavor.
• Sherry: This is a typical ingredient in French onion soup. If you want, you can omit it, but it really gives it an authentic flavor.
• Thyme: I used the dried leaves. If you only have ground thyme, cut back the amount.
• Cheese: Gruyere is the cheese of choice for all things French onion!

How Do You Make French Onion Chicken?

1. Generously season chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
2. Heat oil, add chicken breast, and brown on each side – set it aside.
3. Saute onions in butter, and add salt. Reduce heat and sprinkle with flour. Add the beef broth, chicken broth, sherry, and thyme. Bring to a boil until the sauce is thick.
4. Place the chicken breasts back into the onion mixture, et viola‘ a French onion chicken Delish recipe…. don’t forget to pile that Gruyere on top. Then, bake until the cheese is bubbly and the chicken is cooked through.

Recipe Notes

Cheese: The cheese in this dish plays a starring role. Like authentic French Onion soup, our recipe calls for Gruyere cheese but you can substitute the Gruyere with Swiss and still have great flavor.

• Gruyere cheese: If you aren’t familiar with this cheese, it’s a fairly dense, semi-soft cheese that originated in Switzerland. It has a brownish rind that I remove. Because it’s on the firmer side, I find it’s easiest to shred it, rather than slice it. The flavor is really wonderful and adds fabulous complexity to the flavor of this recipe. This is the brand I use most often.
• Swiss Cheese: I love the flavor of Swiss, and I can buy it pre-sliced at the supermarket. Using sliced cheese rather than shredded produces a neater appearance to the finished dish.

Oven: If you’d like to try a French onion chicken bake in the oven, this is a great recipe version to try it with. Preheat the oven to 350, and make the sauce in a skillet on the stove top as directed. Pour it over the seasoned chicken breast and bake until cooked through. Top with cheese and put back in the oven until bubbly.

Crunchy French Onion Chicken: You can make a crispy, crunchy version of this chicken that is super fun and really yummy. Before you put the chicken in the skillet to brown it, crunch up a bowl full of store-bought fried onions. Beat an egg. Dip the chicken into the egg and then into the onions. Coat it well and place it in the pan. Follow the rest of the recipe as is. So good!

French Onion Chicken Thighs: A wonderful option. Simply sub the chicken breasts for the thighs and PRESTO! The flavor is great, and the thighs add a different consistency to the meal. Boneless thighs are better, and the cooking time will not vary as much.

Serving Recommendations

French onion chicken is packed with flavor, and bathed in a delicious sauce. I like to serve buttered egg noodles or make ahead mashed potatoes. If you have the time, my homemade crusty no knead bread, crescent rolls, or yummy Lion House rolls to make sure I have a side that will soak up all of that sauce.

Other than that, I generally add easy roasted broccoli, simple roasted peppers, garlicky sautéd asparagus, or cheesy roasted Brussels sprouts!

How To Make French Onion Chicken

1. Dry chicken breasts with a paper towel. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian Seasoning.
2. Brown the chicken for 4-6 minutes each side. Remove to a plate and set aside.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet. Add onions and cook until tender. Add salt.
4. Reduce heat and continue to cook stirring often until the onions are soft and mushy.
5. Sprinkle the onions with flour and toss to coat.
6. Add beef and chicken broth, sherry, and thyme to the onions. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add chicken back to the pan. Spoon some sauce over the chicken. Top with Gruyere. Place skillet in preheated oven and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Add seasoning if needed. Top with fresh thyme or parsley.

***See the full instructions below.

Storing and Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Leftovers will be kept for up to 4 days in the fridge.
• How Do You Freeze French Onion Chicken? The best way to freeze French onion chicken is to wrap up your leftovers and toss them in the freezer. I like to portion them out into freezer-safe containers! Take one out, heat it through, and poof, you have dinner. Of all chicken and onion recipes, this one freezes rather well. Just be sure to follow those trusty food safety guidelines!
• Make-Ahead: This tasty onion chicken is definitely one that you can throw together ahead of time. You’ll want to follow every step of the recipe right up until you’re supposed to put it all in the oven. Cover it tightly and place it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it. Take it out, top it with cheese, and pop it in a preheated oven. Using all the food blogger honesty I can muster, this is really a recipe that tastes best when it’s all made at once. If you’re in a pinch, and simply must make it ahead, this is the best method.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.

More Chicken Recipe Favorites…

• Pesto Chicken
• Chicken Lombardy
• Honey Balsamic Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe
• Bacon Wrapped Chicken
• No Peek Chicken
• Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken
• Chicken a la King

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French Onion Chicken

Our French Onion Chicken skillet is cheesy, packed with flavor and it’s a cinch to make. Leftovers (if any) have a very short lifespan...

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 4 chicken breast, boneless, skinless
• ▢ salt
• ▢ black pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ 2 large yellow onions, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 3 tablespoons flour
• ▢ 1 cup beef broth
• ▢ 1 cup chicken broth
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sherry
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• ▢ 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Pat chicken breast (4) dry with paper towels to remove any moisture from packing. Generously season both sides with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning (1 teaspoon).
• Heat oil (2 tablespoons) over medium heat in a high-sided, oven-safe skillet. When oil begins to shimmer, add chicken breast. Brown on each side, 4-6 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside. 
• Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet and melt. Add the onions (2) to the melted butter and cook, stirring until the onions begin to soften. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• Reduce heat to medium-low (lower heat as needed so onions don't burn) and continue to cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft but not mushy. Sprinkle the onions with flour (3 tablespoons) and toss to coat.
• Add the beef (1 cup) and chicken broth (1 cup), sherry (2 tablespoons), and thyme (1/4 teaspoon) to the onions. Bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Boil for 1-2 minutes or until sauce is thick.
• Add chicken back to the pan and nestle into the onion mixture. Spoon some sauce over the chicken. Top with Gruyere (1 cup). 
• Place skillet in preheated oven and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly. It's better not to brown the cheese, just allow it to melt. Adjust seasoning if needed. Spoon a little onion mixture and sauce over the chicken, top with fresh thyme or chopped parsley(optional), and serve.

Fans Also Made:

• 
  Chicken Francaise
• 
  Chicken Lazone
• 
  Italian Dressing Chicken
• 
  Sheet Pan Italian Chicken Dinner (Easy Oven Recipe)

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Notes

1. Cheese: The cheese in this dish plays a starring role. Like authentic French Onion soup, our recipe calls for Gruyere cheese but you can substitute the Gruyere with Swiss and still have great flavor.
   1. Gruyere cheese: If you aren't familiar with this cheese, it's a fairly dense, semi-soft cheese that originated in Switzerland. It has a brownish rind that I remove. Because it's on the firmer side, I find it's easiest to shred it, rather than slice it. The flavor is really wonderful and adds fabulous complexity to the flavor of this recipe. This is the brand I use most often.
   2. Swiss Cheese: I love the flavor of Swiss, and I can buy it pre-sliced at the supermarket. Using sliced cheese rather than shredded produces a neater appearance to the finished dish.
2. Oven: If you’d like to try a French onion chicken bake in the oven, this is a great recipe version to try it with.
   1. Preheat the oven to 350, and make the sauce in a skillet on the stovetop as directed.
   2. Pour it over the seasoned chicken breast and bake until cooked through.
   3. Top with cheese and put back in the oven until bubbly.
3. Crunchy French Onion Chicken: You can make a crispy, crunchy version of this chicken that is super fun and really yummy. Before you put the chicken in the skillet to brown it, crunch up a bowl full of store-bought fried onions. Beat an egg. Dip the chicken into the egg and then into the onions. Coat it well and place it in the pan. Follow the rest of the recipe as is. So good!
4. French Onion Chicken Thighs: A wonderful option. Simply sub the chicken breasts for the thighs and PRESTO! The flavor is great, and the thighs add a different consistency to the meal. Boneless thighs are better, and the cooking time will not vary as much.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the recipe | Calories: 442kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 734mg | Potassium: 634mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 500IU | Vitamin C: 10.7mg | Calcium: 370mg | Iron: 1.3mg

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