French Onion Chicken is like the soup but even better! Seared chicken thighs cooked in beef broth and caramelized onion, and top with gruyere cheese. Comforting and satisfying.
When it comes to soup, French onion soup is on the very top of my list. Just the crunchy toast and bubbly cheese are enough to make me cry. Then, there is the savory light broth and the sweet onions. Perfectly balance!
So now, what if we combine the amazing French onion soup with some meaty chicken thighs? You didn’t hear it wrong! Let me present you this French onion chicken. Kevin from Closet Cooking shared this recipe a few months ago. I have been waiting for the weather to cool down, so I can make it. These two weeks have been pretty nice and cool (around mid 70’s). I was craving for something hearty and comforting. This chicken dish is definitely the one! It is also pretty easy to make, but it does require some times for the onions to get tender and caramelized. If you have a busy schedule, this would be a wonderful dinner for your weekend.
To start, gave the onions a good hour of low and slow cooking until they were sweet and browned. Brought in the beef broth and some seasoning. A flavorful soup was ready. Moving onto the chicken, seared them until golden brown on both sides. Tucked them into the thick soup. Baked in the oven until cooked through and bubbly. Topped off with cheese for that gooey cheesy goodness. Dipped the toasted bread into the onions and enjoyed. Sweet, savory, little tangy, cheesy… Best thing on earth!
French Onion Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 pounds onion (sliced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups low-sodium or unsalted beef broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound bone-in chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 cup gruyere (grated)
- salt
- ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or ovenproof pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and cook until a deep golden brown color is reached, about 1 hour, stirring every 5 – 10 minutes. If the bottom starts to burn, turn the heat down to medium-low and deglaze the pan with a little water. Lightly season with salt.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C).
- Add the garlic, thyme and flour into the onions. Stir and cook for a minute. Add half of the broth. Deglaze the pan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. In another large pan over medium-high heat, add the oil. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and sear for 3 – 4 minutes until golden brown. Turn over and sear for another 3 – 4 minutes.
- Back to the onions, add the remaining broth, balsamic vinegar and mustard. Bring to a boil and simmer to reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the chicken in the onions. Cover with a lid or foil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn up the oven to 425˚F (220˚C). Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and onions. Return to oven until the cheese is melted, about 3 – 4 minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve with baguette.
Notes
- If you are love lots of meats, add 1 extra chicken thigh.
- The onions will start to turn golden at around 40 minutes. You maybe tempted to stop and move on to the next step. But don’t stop there. You really want deeper and richer flavors for your broth. Keep cooking until almost 1 hour.
- I like my baguette toasted. I cut them and toast them in a large pan over high heat.
- If there is onion leftover, don’t throw it away. I like to save them for lunch the next day. I served them with leftover baguette and salad on the side.
This sounds delicious, and cozy, and satisfying all in one pot! Your photos make me wish I had time to make this for dinner tonight! I wonder if the onions could be cooked in advance one day, and the rest of the recipe finished the next? I may give that a try.
Thanks Wendy. You should really make this. SO GOOD! I would finish the soup part, so I can get all the caramelized onion goodness into the broth. Then cover and refrigerate. Next day, sear the chicken, bring the soup to a boil and bake. 😉
Wow, what a great flavor combination! It looks gorgeous and the photos are fabulous. 🙂
Thank you Ramona! My husband and I really enjoyed the dish. I had the onion leftover for lunch today. Still dreaming about them. 🙂
I totally pinned this earlier. That looks so good.
Perfect for Fall!
Hahaha! I know things get repeat sometimes. Thanks for sharing. And yes, this is just the dish for this season. Enjoy!
So so sooooo sinfully good. Oh my god!
It was so good that I was eating the leftover for the next 2 days for lunch. 😛
So funny when I saw this I had to come read about it. I made a French Onion Baked Chicken back in ’14 a year before he did and I have the same name! Small world!
I love yours here with the grated gruyere. Delicious 🙂
It is funny that we bloggers always come up with similar ideas. The flavors of the caramelized onions and meaty chicken go so well together. Definitely one of my favorite recipes!
This looks amazing! I love French Onion soup and the fact that you used thighs over breasts makes this a big winner for me! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Felesha! I always choose chicken thighs over breasts. Thighs are much more tender and flavorful. 🙂
This is going on the menu this weekend! It looks so good! French onion soup is one of my favorite cool weather meals, and the temps are forecast to drop in the next couple of days. I’m excited to try it!
Hope you give this recipe a try over the weekend! Bryan and I love French onion soup, so this dish was a huge hit at our home. Just too good!
What a yummy idea! Looks hearty and delicious especially is this cool weather. I need to make this soon.
I know! Whoever decided to combine the soup and the chicken is brilliant! This is a very comforting dish to enjoy during fall and winter time.
This is such a great idea. need to add this to my to do list.
Thanks Peter! Hope you will like it as much as I do!
Cool idea combining chicken with a classic onion soup flavours!
Right? The flavors were just incredible! This dish was a huge hit in my house. 😉
Holy moly, does that look good! I don’t even need to read a word…just seeing the pics, I’m salivating and totally sold!
Just wait until you tried it! Oh man, you would not want to stop eating! I kept some of the leftover onions for lunch. I ate them 2 days in a row, because they were that GOOD!
You had me at onions and gruyere! This looks really delicious, I’m pinning it to try soon. Thanks for sharing!
Haha!!! Thank you so much, Amanda! I know you will enjoy the dish. Have a great week!
Oh yea. This looks silly good. I’m seriously going to make this.
It really was that good! I wish I have tried it earlier! Enjoy!
I love braised onions and I especially love them in French onion soup, what a wonderful combination with the chicken, a must make! Thank you
You are very welcome. These flavors go so well together. Hope you will like it.
What a delicious idea! This looks so comforting…perfect for winter. Yum!
It is the ultimate comfort dish for this time of the year. Easy and very tasty! Thanks!
Looks like a great recipe for winter. So warming to my little boys’ tummies. Thanks for sharing
If your kids love sweet caramelized onions, they would enjoy this dish. It is a dish that would make you and your family very happy. 😉
Gorgeous photos….OMG it looks so good!!
Thank you very much, Bonnie! It tasted even better! If you are a fan of French onion soup, this is the dish not to miss. 🙂
Your photos make me want to dig in right now!
Thanks a lot Maureen! Bet you won’t be able to stop eating once you get a smell of this. 😉
I just saw this on Pinterest and dived in to check it out. French Soup makes me want to cry too 🙂 This is so clever! How have I never thought of this! Sharing!
Hahahaha! I’m glad you are with me! Thanks for sharing, Nagi!
Wow, this has got my mouth watering–just look at all those strands of melty cheese…! 0_0 I’m hungry and this is wonderful, haha. And nice to meet you Lokness! I’m a fellow LA blogger and I’m always always excited to meet individuals around the area. 😀 I agree that LA is amazing in the sense that we get to experience the whole world within a few miles distance. I used to hate living in socal but it wasn’t until maybe, 2 years ago I began to appreciate it. Have a blessed day, and Ps: you look so familiar as in, I feel like I’ve seen you while walking around somewhere? And if so, it was probably a restaurant?
Hi Ellie, very nice yo meet you too! I also love to get to know food bloggers in the area. By the way, your blog looks gorgeous!
HAHA! There is a good possibility that we may have bumped into each other before in restaurants! Bryan and I love going around town and hunting for some of the best foods. It is really a blessing to be able to get to many authentic food in LA. I am sure that won’t be easily to come by in the middle of the country. 😉
Really awesome! This makes me soooo hungry let me tell ya!
Can this be converted to a slow-cooker?
Hi Judie, I don’t own a slow cooker, so I have never tried that method. Altering doing some research, it looks like it will take 10 hours to make caramelized onions in slow cooker. I think it is probably easier to cook this on the stove, but do it in 2 days. For day 1, caramelize the onions and add the broth. Then cover and refrigerate. The next day, sear the chicken, bring the soup to a boil and bake. Hope this helps!
Thank you ma’am 🙂