This French Onion Chicken is baked with caramelized onions, seasonings, and a layer of ooey-gooey cheese. A delicious and easy weeknight meal.

French Onion Chicken in in white baking dish with melted cheese and parsley.

Chicken has always been one of my go-to recipes. I love chicken probably more than I love any other meat honestly.

There is so many different things and ways you can make chicken it’s crazy! This French Onion Chicken is one of my absolute favorite ways ever.

I adore French Onion Soup, so adapting that recipe to fit a chicken recipe is absolutely delicious. I could eat the caramelized onions by themselves, but over chicken with cheese is so much better.

This recipe has made it on our dinner menu rotation at least once a month and everyone in our family loves it. It is delicious and filling and just a unique and fun dish over all.

All the flavors just work so well together, the piles on cheese on top really make this what it is, you do not want to skip that!

If you are looking for a fun and tasty chicken recipe, you absolutely have to make this French Onion Chicken.

Some of my other favorite chicken recipes include: Whole Roasted Chicken, Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches and Air Fryer Chicken Tenders.

Spoon holding up a slice of the chicken out of pan showing melted cheese and onions.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

Minimal and easily available ingredients help this dish come together easily.
You can double this recipe to serve larger families or more people.
You can use any cheese that you like as long as it complements the dish.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

Olive oil
Butter
Onions
Salt
Black pepper
Garlic
Chicken breasts
Dried thyme
Dried oregano
Chicken or beef broth
Gruyere or mozzarella cheese
Parsley

Overhead finished picture of French Onion Chicken topped with parsley in baking pan.

HOW TO MAKE FRENCH ONION CHICKEN, STEP BY STEP:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a skillet, over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and melt the butter. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and caramelized. If the skillet gets dry, add a splash of water.
Add minced garlic to the onions, and cook for 1 minute or until it’s fragrant. Remove from heat.
To an 9×11-inch baking pan, add the chicken and season with thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add ¼ cup of chicken broth to the pan without washing off the seasonings on the chicken.
Top the chicken with the caramelized onions followed by the shredded cheese.
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a kitchen thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken breast registers at least 165°F.
To crisp up the cheese, place under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve.

Step by step photos on how to make French Onion Chicken.

HOW DO I CARAMELIZE ONIONS?

The best way to caramelize onions is in butter and olive oil and a little sugar which is optional, the sugar naturally draws out the sweetness of the onions which helps them caramelize.

We don’t use sugar in this recipe but you can if you like. You’ll want to sprinkle with salt to draw out the moisture in the onions themselves.

You will want to cook on a low or a medium low so you don’t burn the onions, this can take anywhere from 20-40 minute occasionally stirring the onions every 5 minutes or so they don’t burn until they caramelize.

CAN I USE ANOTHER TYPE OF CHEESE?

Yes, while we usually use gruyere or mozzarella or both in this recipe, other great cheese that we have used are provolone and swiss!

WHAT CAN I SERVE FRENCH ONION CHICKEN WITH?

Since this has soooo much flavor in each piece of chicken, you might want to go lighter on the sides. Some of our favorite sides to serve with this include:

Salad
Steamed Vegetables
Buttered Noodles
Garlic Bread
Soft Garlic Breadsticks
Crockpot Ranch Mushrooms

Serve this chicken with whatever you think would compliment the dish!

WHAT ONIONS SHOULD I USE?

We use yellow onion in this recipe, it really gives that onion flavor. You can use a white onion, it will give more a sweet flavor.

Just use what you have on hand, or that you can get your hand on. Either will come out great.

French Onion Chicken slice on plate with caramelized onions cut open showing the inside.

HOW TO STORE:

This can be stored in airtight container and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

You can also freeze this dish! Place the chicken and onions in an freezer container and it will keep frozen for up to 3 months.

To reheat, let defrost in the refrigerator until defrosted and then you can reheat this dish in the microwave or in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

Caramelizing onions takes time, please see my tips above on how to caramelize onions.
You can use technically any cheese with this dish but we find gruyere or mozzarella to be the best.
This recipe can be frozen, see my tips above on that.
Easily double this recipe in a larger pan or two pans for more guests or larger families.
Serve with any lighter side dishes that you desire.
If your chicken breasts are too thick, slice them in half and use each half.

Close up of a cut piece of chicken with fork holding it open.

Want a delicious dish that will wow your guests and your family you need to make this French Onion Chicken, you’ll be hooked!

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If you’ve tried this FRENCH ONION CHICKEN or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!

ORIGINALLY POSTED JANUARY, 2021

French Onion Chicken