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Turn your favorite soup into a complete protein-rich meal with French Onion Chicken. Made with broth, onions, butter, chicken, and cheese, the classic soup is getting a total upgrade!
Your favorite soup is becoming a complete meal
Most of us have found ourselves cozied up before a bowl of piping how french onion soup. It is one of the best comfort soups with its thick bread and top layer of perfectly broiled cheese.
But did you know you can take those same flavors (and many of the ingredients) and turn them into a sauce for using on top of chicken? Today I’m showing you how to make french onion chicken for the ultimate protein-rich meal that’s just as cozy as its soup counterpart!
It’s made by topping the chicken with a thick french onion style sauce. You’ll need many of the same ingredients like onions, broth, and cheese, but we’ll add to the recipe with some chicken breasts and an array of seasonings.
Ingredients in french onion chicken
One of the many great things about this dish is that you likely have everything you need to get started. Chicken breasts are a staple in my kitchen along with onions, seasonings, and of course, cheese! Because gruyere isn’t as frequently used (and therefore not as much of a staple), feel free to use up the mozzarella you have sitting in your meat and cheese drawer!
- Butter: First, you will need 3 tbsp of butter. 2 tbsp will be used for the onions and 1 tbsp for the chicken.
- Onions: Use 2 large onions, sliced very thin. I recommend white or yellow onions.
- Broth: 1 cup of broth will help to make up the french onion portion of the chicken sauce.
- Chicken breasts: As for the chicken, use 4 medium chicken breasts. This will create 4 large portions.
- Seasonings: For flavor, you will need three seasonings. Use 1 tsp each of thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Arrowroot powder: 1 tbsp of arrowroot powder will thicken up the french onion sauce. You can also use cornstarch.
- Cheese: Finally, complete the dish with 1 cup of grated gruyere. If you have mozzarella, that will work too!
Tools needed to make this recipe
To make french onion chicken, you will need a cutting board and chopping knife to prep the onions. From there, grab a skillet, mallet or roller, small mixing bowl, plate, whisk, and spoon! A spatula may come in handy for stirring as well.
For measuring, you will need the following sized cups: 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, 1/4 cup, and 1 cup.
How to make this french onion chicken recipe
French onion chicken is made on the stove by searing the chicken in a bed of butter. From there, it’s topped with a thick and creamy french onion sauce that gives the chicken a world of flavor!
To begin, preheat the oven to 400ºF.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of the butter over medium-high heat.
Once hot, add all of the sliced onions and 1/4 cup of the beef broth. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the onions are browned and softened.
While the onions are cooking, pound the chicken breasts with a mallet or roller until they’re even and thin. They should be about 1 inch thick all around.
Next, season both sides of the chicken with the thyme, salt, and pepper.
Set the finished onions aside in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp of butter to the skillet and then add the chicken.
Sear the chicken for 5 minutes on each side. Once fully seared, set the chicken aside on a plate and reduce the stove heat to medium-low.
Then, mix the remaining 3/4 cup of the broth and the arrowroot powder in a small bowl.
Add the onions back to the skillet, and then add the broth and arrowroot mixture. Whisk together for 2-3 minutes, or until thick. Turn off the heat.
Add the chicken back to the skillet and, using a spoon, cover the chicken with the onions and sauce.
Top each chicken breast with finely shredded gruyere cheese.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF.
Best onions for french onion chicken
I recommend using either white or yellow onions in your recipe. White onions are famously used for french onion soup thanks to their sweet flavor, but yellow onions work too. They offer more of an “oniony” flavor while still contributing a bit of sweetness. For an extra potent flavor, you could use red, though I wouldn’t recommend it.
What to serve with this dish
To add some greens to your plate, I recommend serving up this chicken alongside broccoli, asparagus, or brussels sprouts. You can also go for a leafy salad complete with a light and zesty dressing, like a lemon vinaigrette!
If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!
Adding chicken to a meal is one of my favorite ways to sneak in extra protein. Making a salad? Add chicken! Pasta? Add chicken! It’s so easy to add to almost any type of dish. Here are some more classic recipes that use the protein-rich staple!
- Pesto Chicken Salad Recipe
- Healthy Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Caprese Chicken Quinoa Bake
Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa
French Onion Chicken
Turn your favorite soup into a complete protein-rich meal with French Onion Chicken. Made with broth, onions, butter, chicken, and cheese, the classic soup is getting a total upgrade!
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 large onions, sliced very thin
- 1 cup broth
- 4 medium chicken breasts
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
- 1 cup grated gruyere cheese (mozzarella works as well)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of butter over medium-high heat.
- Once hot, add in all of the sliced onions and 1/4 cup beef broth. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until browned and softened.
- While onions are cooking, pound chicken breasts with mallot or roller until even and thinner that before. Anywhere around 1 inch thick all around.
- Season both sides of chicken with thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Set finished onions aside in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp of butter to skillet and then add chicken.
- Sear chicken for 5 minutes on each side. Once it has been seared on each side, set chicken aside on a plate and turn down stovetop to medium-low heat.
- In a small bowl, mix together 3/4 cup broth with 1 tbsp arrowroot powder.
- Add onions back to skillet, along with the broth arrowroot mixture. Whisk together for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Turn off heat.
- Add chicken back to skillet and using a spoon, cover the chicken with the onions and sauce.
- Top each chicken breast with finely shredded gruyere cheese.
- Transfer skillet to oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until internal temp reads 165F.
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sydney wallace says
This recipe is amazing! My husband and I both ate it up! Very easy and delicious, 10/10 will make again
Erin says
Hi Sydney, so happy you both loved it!!
Alicia C says
SO so good!! Simple and delicious for all onion soup lovers!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Alicia, so glad you loved it!
Lauren says
This hit the spot! Was looking for something a little different to do with chicken and had this bookmarked. Only change was Italian seasoning vs just thyme. Immediately shared with family and friends!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Lauren, so happy you loved it and made it your own!
Erin says
This is so delicious! Go make it ASAP!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Erin, so happy you loved it!
Sarah says
AMAZINg! Husband approved and leftovers were just as amazing! This will be going on our weekly relations. Ate it with Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Sarah, so glad you both loved it and great additions!
Abigail says
Everything I could have hoped for! The recipe seems like it takes quite a bit of time, but everything was so easy step by step. A must make if you’re a fan of the soup!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Abigail, so happy you enjoyed it!!
Kelly says
This was an amazingly simple but delicious dish. It will definitely become a staple in my monthly recipe rotation!!
Erin says
Hi Kelly, so happy you loved it!
Gabby says
Absolutely amazing! Will be making again many times! A nice change from just the soup and great source of protein. Had to turn my onions down to medium low so they wouldn’t burn but overall easy to make!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Gabby, so happy you loved it!
Nicole says
Erin hit it out of the ballpark again with this one! Any recipe my husband likes is a win in my book!🙌 Kids even helped to make it😆
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Nicole, so happy everyone loved it!!
Erin C says
French onion lovers eat your heart out! This recipe was flat out amazing – I can’t wait to make it over and over again! RUN to the store and get the ingredients for this recipe and make it yesterday!!! 🙂
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Erin, so happy you loved it so much!!
Jen says
So delicious! I had extra time to spare and cooked the onions extra long and the flavors were unreal. Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Jen, so glad you loved it!
Kat W says
100000/10 would recommend. So.much.flavor. I am skeptical when it comes to chicken but this is the perfect texture/flavor. We just used a glass dish because we didn’t have a cast iron and it came out just as good!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Kat, so happy you loved it! 🙂
Molly says
I seriously check your blog every single day for recipes so I saw this right before I headed out grocery shopping for the week and had to put it on the menu. It is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS (especially with the gruyere cheese) and tastes so fancy for how simple it is to make! We paired it with french green beans.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Molly, so happy you loved it and great addition!
Amanda says
WOW! So so so delicious! I am usually not a huge fan of making anything with chicken breasts because they always come out dry when I cook them but this recipe helped keep the chicken juicy and tender. I used shredded mozzarella cheese instead of gruyere. The flavors of this dish are incredible and it is relatively easy to make. Can’t wait to make this again!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Amanda, so happy you loved this recipe and great additions!!
Georgeann says
Yum!!! This was a decadent, impressive meal that was so easy to make! I’m already thinking about the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Make this!!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Georgeann, so happy you loved it!!
Nicole says
OMG! This French Onion Chicken is INCREDIBLE! A MUST MAKE!
I easily get “stressed” when following recipes but NEVER with ELW! This recipe is SO EASY and SO DELICIOUS and yes, its in caps because its that good!
Thank you Erin for creating such amazing recipes for us to use and feed the ones we love so well!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Nicole, so happy you loved it! Thanks for sharing!!
Katie says
This was just fantastic! Incredibly easy and so full of flavor. Good work Erin I will work this into my rotation as it makes more sense than making French onion soup in a rotation 🙂 I added some red wine to cook down with the onions and I used Parmesan because it’s all I had. Served with orzo + roasted veggies. Awesome recipe.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Katie, so happy you loved it and great ideas!!
Abby says
Made this for a belated Galentine’s dinner and my friends and I were so impressed!! Served with roasted potatoes and asparagus. Super simple to make, yet looked fancy. Will definitely be making again!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Abby, so happy you loved it and great idea!
Ashley Phillips says
Delicious!!! Will definitely be adding to my regular mix for dinners. I just can’t get enough of the onions and sauce. And oh it’s simple to make!! Paired w some roasted potatoes 😊
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Ashley, so glad you loved it! 🙂
Casey Colodny says
this chicken was to DIE for!! all the goodness of french onion soup without the work!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Casey, so glad you loved it!!