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If you love French onion soup for its rich and robust flavor plus the melty cheesy goodness on top, then you’ll love this French onion chicken skillet that is made in one pot on the stovetop. Chicken breasts are seared and smothered with sweet, caramelized onions, gooey cheese, and immensely flavored au jus!
Oui, Oui: French Onion Chicken
French onion soup is known for its intensely rich, flavorful broth thanks to caramelized onions and seasonings. This French onion chicken skillet emulates the classic French onion soup with similar preparation and flavors, but in a protein-rich weeknight meal. Chicken breasts are seared in butter then thinly sliced onions are caramelized in a pot to create that depth of sweet flavor you can only get with slowly cooked onions.
When everything is added back into the pot, it is topped off with Gruyere cheese then broiled to create a melty, gooey topping. This French onion chicken is wonderful paired with garlic herb rolls or honey butter rolls. In addition, serving this chicken over mashed potatoes would be so tasty! The au jus from the chicken can serve as a gravy.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- There are a variety of onions out there and I typically like to use Vidalia onions for their extra sweetness and/or Spanish onions. Of course, regular white or yellow onions work just as well.
- Chardonnay or sauvignon blanc would be the type of white wine I would use. If you cannot have alcohol, you may omit this and just use more beef stock. It may alter the flavor a bit. They also sell non-alcoholic white wine now if you want to give that a try!
- Using chicken thighs in place of chicken breasts will work. Just make sure to adjust cooking time if using bone-in or skin-on, etc.
- The best type of cookware for dishes like French onion chicken is a cast iron braiser or Dutch oven. It can go from stove directly to the oven and because of the cast iron elements, it retains heat really well and cooks everything evenly.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Allow leftovers to cool completely before storing in an airtight container and in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, use a microwave-safe dish to reheat leftovers until heated through or use a skillet on the stovetop to warm leftovers through.
French Onion Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4-6 thin cut chicken breast cutlets, about 1 ½ – 2 pounds
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, divided
- 2 large sweet onions, peeled, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- ½ cup (118 ml) dry white wine
- ½ cup (118 ml) beef stock
- 1 cup (132 g) shredded Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Season both sides of chicken cutlets with the desired amount of kosher salt and black pepper.4-6 thin cut chicken breast cutlets, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet add 2 tablespoons (28g) of unsalted butter and set over medium heat. When the butter has melted add in the chicken cutlets and cook for 3 minutes per side. You’re looking to just lightly brown the chicken as it’s thin and won’t take too long to cook.4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and place onto a plate.
- In your same skillet add the remaining 2 tablespoons (28g) of unsalted butter. Add in the onion and sauté for at least 15 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.2 large sweet onions
- Add in the garlic, thyme, white wine, and beef stock. Stir to combine. Let the mixture simmer until the majority of the liquid has cooked off, about 5 minutes.2 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, 1/2 cup (118 ml) dry white wine, 1/2 cup (118 ml) beef stock
- Taste and season with more kosher salt if needed. Remove the skillet from heat.
- Nestle the cooked chicken into the onions and top each cutlet with a little bit of onion from the skillet.
- Top the chicken and onions with shredded Gruyere cheese.1 cup (132 g) shredded Gruyere cheese
- Place skillet in the oven under the broil and broil for a few minutes to just help melt the cheese. Remove from broiler and garnish with additional fresh thyme leaves if desired.
So delicious and fast.
This popped up on one of my social media feeds and I knew I needed to make it the same night I saw it. I was not disappointed at all! My little town store didn’t have Gruyère, which is fine as it’s not a cheese I like, but using Swiss worked out perfectly. My 4 year old even loved it (once she took the onions off). I brought leftovers into work and my coworker was drooling as she smelled it. Will definitely make it again and again and again!
thank you so much, kate, for the glowing review!! i really appreciate it.
If I use chicken thighs – are they fillets or bone-in? What’s the approximate weight? Thanks!
boneless skinless, and about 1ish pounds
Made this for dinner tonight and it was so good! Served it with homemade bread. Can’t wait to make it again!
Absolutely delicious!!!