The Missing Lokness

Easy Everyday Recipes

French Onion Chicken

By 47 Comments

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. 

French Onion Chicken 3| The Missing Lokness

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 1| The Missing Lokness

French Onion Chicken 2| The Missing Lokness

Print Pin

French Onion Chicken

Course Dinner
Keyword chicken thighs, French Onion, French onion chicken, French onion soup
Servings 2 people
Author Lokness

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

  1. If you are love lots of meats, add 1 extra chicken thigh.
  2. 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.
  3. I like my baguette toasted. I cut them and toast them in a large pan over high heat.
  4. 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.
(Adapted from Closet Cooking)

Related Post

Baked Smoked Paprika Chicken Wings
Aguadito de Pollo (Peruvian Chicken and Cilantro S...
Sweet Tea-Brined Chicken
Honey Mustard Soy Sauce Chicken Wings

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. 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.

    Reply

    • 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. 😉

      Reply

  5. 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 🙂

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  7. 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!

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  20. 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?

    Reply

    • 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. 😉

      Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.