Chicken breasts get a comforting twist in this decadent French Onion Chicken. Tender, juicy chicken breasts smothered in a savory French onion gravy then topped with melted provolone and Gruyere cheese is a quick, easy and satisfying weeknight dinner!
You can never have too many awesome chicken recipes and this one does not disappoint. A bonus is that it’s ready in just 35 minutes!
If you love French onion soup, this MUST be on your chicken dinner menu rotation. One of the many things I love about this recipe is that it’s quick and simple for busy weeknights, but elegant enough for a weekend dinner to serve to guests.
French Onion Chicken Ingredients
- Chicken – Use two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are sliced in half horizontally.
- Onion – Sweet or yellow onion can be used.
- Gruyere – I love the combination of this sweet and salty cheese combined with provolone, but it can be omitted (but the provolone is a MUST!).
A Helpful Tip for Slicing the Chicken
Place your chicken in the freezer about 30 minutes before slicing. This firms the meat a little, making it easier to slice.
How to Make It
This recipe moves fast, so I recommend having all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go. Following are the simplified instructions:
- Brown onions in an OVEN SAFE skillet in butter (I love my Lodge cast iron skillet). Add garlic the last 30 seconds of browning.
- Remove onions and cook chicken in olive oil. Transfer chicken to the plate with the onions.
- Return onions to skillet and prepare the gravy.
- Return cooked chicken to the skillet, top with cheeses and broil in the oven until cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
More Easy Chicken Dinners
French Onion Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds) sliced in half horizontally
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1 large sweet onion sliced in half, then thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups beef broth low sodium
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 2 ounces Gruyere cheese shredded (½ cup)
Instructions
- Season both sides of sliced chicken breasts with ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- Melt butter in a large OVEN SAFE skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and thyme.
- Cook, stirring often, (using a wooden spoon) until onions are browned and softened (about 10 to 11 minutes).
- Add garlic to onions and cook (while continuing to stir) until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Transfer onions with garlic to a large plate.
- Heat olive oil in the same skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, cooked through and no longer pink in the middle (about 4 minutes on each side depending upon thickness).
- Transfer chicken to the plate with the onions.
- Return onions with garlic to the skillet and sprinkle with flour. Stir well, while scraping any browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet for 1 minute.
- Add beef broth and bring to a boil while stirring constantly.
- Lower heat to maintain a simmer (medium low). Simmer until slightly thickened (about 1 ½ minutes), stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and turn your oven broiler on high.
- Carefully return chicken to the skillet and spoon gravy and some of the onions over the chicken.
- Top each chicken breast with 1 slice of provolone cheese and sprinkle with shredded Gruyere.
- Place under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Notes
- Sweet or yellow onion can be used.
- To help with slicing the chicken, place in your freezer for about 30 minutes before slicing to firm up the meat.
Nutrition
If provided, nutritional info is a courtesy, is not guaranteed and should only be considered as a guideline.
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Hey Amy, from Southport, NC: Tried the recipe tonight and it was an absolute hit! I followed the recipe completely and no need to vary it. Easy to prepare, terrific flavor, and enough leftover for dinner tomorrow night! Rather than go through the hassle of slicing up two large chicken breasts, I used Perdue’s 24 ounce, individually packaged, 5 pack of breasts. Each sealed package has a thin breast of around 5 ounces and the 5 of them fit perfectly in the iron skillet. Thanks for the recipe…we will use it often.
Hi Chuck, Thanks so much! So glad to hear you and your family enjoyed the chicken, thank you for sharing! 🙂
Just made this tonight with fried green tomatoes. Fabulous. Next time I’m making mashed potatoes because the onion gravy on the chicken is to die for. It was great on the tomatoes. This recipe is a keeper.
Thank you so much, Erin! Fried green tomatoes sounds delicious with this. So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. It sounds delicious. I hope to try it this weekend.
Thank you, Jane – I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Thank you so much for all the delicious recipes!
I am a big fan. Excited to try out this french onion recipe soon!
Have a great week!
Mona.
Thanks so much, Mona – I hope you enjoy it! 🙂