Sweet, caramelized onions, tender chicken, fresh thyme and melted Swiss cheese combine to create this incredibly delicious French Onion Chicken Bake. It’s sure to become a favorite!
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I love a dinner that’s super easy to put together but looks and tastes like it took hours to put together. This French Onion Chicken definitely fits the bill.
And who doesn’t love a pile of sweet, caramelized onions and tons of cheese?! This dinner is definitely going to become a regular on your meal rotation.
Ingredients for French Onion Chicken Bake
How to Caramelize Onion
If you’ve never caramelized onions before, don’t be intimidated. It is so easy and all you need is some onions, salt, pepper and a little bit of time.
Start by cutting your onions in half and removing the skins. Then thinly slice the onions into half moon slivers. You are going to have a huge pile of onion but they cook down a ton as they caramelize.
Melt the butter in a large skillet or dutch oven. I love using this shallow dutch oven for this recipe. It will fit all the onions while they are caramelizing and the chicken when it’s ready to bake.
Add the sliced onion and give it a good stir to coat in the melted butter. Season with salt and pepper.
Now comes the time consuming part. But let me tell you, it takes some time, about 30 minutes, but it is almost all passive cooking. Meaning all you need to do is stir every few minutes so there isn’t much thought that goes into it.
Cook over medium low heat. The onion will look like this after about 10 minutes.
Another 10 minutes and they will look like this.
And another 10 minutes will result in this. At this point, it’s time to continue on with the recipe.
Add Worcestershire sauce and beef stock to the onions and cook another 5 minutes until they are rich and soft and dark. Remove from the skillet to a clean plate.
Prepare the Chicken
Season both sides of the chicken with spices. Add the chicken to the same skillet that you caramelized the onions in.
Sear on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.
Assemble French Onion Chicken
Leave the chicken in the skillet. Evenly top each chicken breast with the caramelized onions.
Top each with a slice of swiss cheese. Put it in the oven and cook until the chicken is no longer pink and the cheese is nice and melted.
Perfect for Many Occasions
Not only is this recipe super simple to make, it only requires a handful of ingredients. This makes it perfect for a weeknight meal.
The onions do take some time to caramelize but they only need a stir every once and awhile so it’s not too active of a cooking time.
I love that this is simple but looks and presents FANCY. That means it’s a great option for guests. And because the ingredients may already be in your home, you could even pull it off for last minute guests.
How to Serve
Mashed potatoes are the superior side when it comes to this French Onion Chicken Bake. The two are a perfectly delicious match.
Serve with your favorite roasted veggies to round it out and you have a delicious, fancy and simple dinner on the table.
More Chicken Recipes
French Onion Chicken Bake
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 large sweet onions, sliced in half then into thin half moon slices
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, divided
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 4 thin chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 4 large slices swiss cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large, oven safe skillet over medium-low heat. Add butter and allow it to melt. Add onions and stir to coat in the butter. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Stir again. Cook for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
- Add beef stock, worcestershire sauce and thyme to the onions. Stir to coat. Cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the onions from the skillet and return it to the stove top.
- Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Add to the skillet the onions were cooked in. Sear chicken for 2 minutes per side. Turn off heat.
- Top chicken with the caramelized onions then place a slice of cheese on each one. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
January 24, 2022 at 11:43 am
Where is the actual recipe for this please, with accurate amounts? Melt the butter? What butter? Salted or unsalted? How much butter?
January 24, 2022 at 1:31 pm
Hello! I’m so sorry, the actual recipe wasn’t showing by my mistake on the back end of my site. It has been updated and you can find the recipe card and instructions at the end of this post. Hope you enjoy it!