French Onion Chicken Skillet
This cozy French Onion Chicken Recipe has big flavors from smart ingredient choices like white wine and Worcestershire sauce. Impressive enough for a special occasion, but straightforward to make.
French Onion Soup Chicken is an entree with all the flavors of a favorite soup!
If you’re looking for a dinner with big flavors but a relatively simple ingredient list, this French Onion Chicken Recipe is what you want.
With big flavors from smart ingredient choices like white wine and Worcestershire sauce, this skillet dinner is the best cozy choice for when the weather starts to get cold.
Why you will love this French Onion Chicken
- Simple yet special. While this dish tastes impressive enough for a special occasion, it’s actually quite straightfoward to make.
- One pan wonder. All the components come together in a single skillet, making cleanup a breeze. Add a bag of microwave rice to round out the meal.
- Turns boneless, skinless chicken breasts into a flavor explosion.
French Onion Baked Chicken ingredients
- chicken – boneless, skinless chicken breasts are the lean protein of choice for this recipe.
- salt and pepper – for seasoning everything to perfection.
- olive oil – for searing the chicken breasts and sauteeing the onions.
- onions – two yellow onions are the foundation of this dish. Caramelization brings out their natural sweetness.
- garlic – enhances the depth of flavor of the onion mixture.
- butter – adds richness and flavor to the onion mixture.
- granulated sugar – just a small spoonful of sugar is my trick to getting onions to caramelize perfectly.
- all-purpose flour – helps thicken the onion mixture into a nice sauce.
- dry white wine – adds acidity to the sauce and deglazes the pan.
- Worcestershire sauce – adds a savory, umami-filled kick.
- thyme – fresh thyme leaves add an herbaceous note. You can also use half the amount of dried thyme.
- beef broth – beef stock or broth is what is traditionally used in French onion soup, so that’s what I’ve used for this recipe. If you’d prefer to use chicken stock, you can, but the dish won’t taste as rich.
- cheese – Gruyere is my cheese of choice to make the gooey, irresistible topping, but Swiss cheese also works great.
How to make French Onion Chicken
1. PREP CHICKEN. Gently pound the chicken breasts out so they’re at an even thickness, and season them with salt and pepper.
2. SEAR. Sear the chicken in a bit of oil until it’s golden brown on both sides, then transfer it to a plate.
3. CARAMELIZE. Cook the onions and garlic with butter, sugar and a bit more oil until the onions are deep golden brown.
4. SAUCE. Stir the flour into the onions. Then, add the wine, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until most of the wine evaporates.
5. ADD CHICKEN BACK. Stir in the broth and heat to simmering, then add the chicken back to the skillet, nestling it into the onions.
6. FINISH. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and transfer the skillet to the oven to bake until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted.
Home Chef Tips for this French Onion Chicken Recipe
- Use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken. Make sure it reaches 165 degrees F and no higher.
- If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, you can transfer the chicken and onion mixture to a baking dish before baking.
How to serve French Onion Soup Chicken
My favorite way to serve this French onion baked chicken is over basmati rice. I usually just use a microwave pouch because it’s so easy.
If I’m feeling motivated, I’ll also make a side of balsamic green beans or my glazed carrots, too.
Serving this dish with a pile of quick yeast rolls is never a bad idea, either.
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Skillet French Onion Chicken storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
French Onion Skillet Chicken FAQs
To make moist chicken breast, it’s very important not to overcook it. Use an instant read thermometer to cook it to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and no higher.
The cooking time for chicken breast depends on the thickness of the breast, your oven temperature, and whether you’ve seared the chicken on the stovetop first or not. In this skillet French onion chicken recipe, with a pounded out chicken breast that has been seared, the chicken takes approximately 14 to 16 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
The calorie content of French onion chicken can vary depending on exact ingredients used, but this dish contains approximately 563 calories per serving.
French onion refers to the flavor profile of caramelized onions, usually combined with beef broth. You can make onion soup without caramelizing them the same way, which is a different soup.
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French Onion Skillet Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 yellow onions thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup beef broth
- 6 ounces Gruyere or Swiss cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pat chicken breasts dry and use a meat mallet to gently pound them to an even thickness. Sprinkle chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Transfer chicken to skillet and cook 8 minutes or until golden brown, turning once halfway through cooking. Transfer chicken to plate.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, onions, butter, sugar and remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Cook 35 to 40 minutes or until onions are deep golden brown, stirring occasionally.
- Add flour to skillet and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Stir in wine, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook 1 minute or until most of the wine is evaporated.
- While stirring constantly, gradually add broth until all broth is incorporated. Heat to simmering over medium-high heat, then remove from heat. Add chicken back to skillet, nestling the chicken into the onion mixture.
- Sprinkle cheese over chicken and transfer skillet to oven. Cook 14 to 16 minutes or until cheese is melted and internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees F.
Notes
- Use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken. Make sure it reaches 165 degrees F and no higher.
- If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, you can transfer the chicken and onion mixture to a baking dish before baking.
