French onion soup is one of my favourite foods! There is just something magical about the combination of sweet caramelized onions topped with the savoury melted cheese! Yum! French onion soup is a soup where the star of the show is onions. Normally onions are pungent but when you slowly cook them they become sweet with caramelized undertones and they are irresistible! The caramelized onion soup is often served topped with toast and cheese that’s melted under a broiler. The combination of the sweet caramelized onion soup topped with the crunchy toast and melted cheese is simply amazing!
This baked chicken dish is a simple take on the flavours of French onion soup as a meal for dinner. Onions are caramelized and placed on top of the chicken before sprinkling on cheese and then it’s all baked in the oven until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese has melted. This recipe is super simple to make but caramelizing the onions takes some time. (I sometimes like to caramelize the onions ahead of time and store them in the fridge until I am ready to use them.) Part of the magic of the French onion soup is all of the caramelized onion flavoured broth and so I like to add some broth to the baking dish to absorb the flavours from the onions and cheese while it bakes and it’s amazing to serve it with crusty bread on the side to dip into the broth!
French Onion Baked Chicken
Chicken topped with sweet caramelized onions and cheese that’s baked until the cheese has melted!
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter (or oil)
- 2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme, chopped (or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded (or mozzarella)
- 1 cup chicken broth (optional)
directions
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, add the onions and cook until a deep golden brown, about an hour, stirring frequently, adding a bit of water (or broth) to deglaze the pan as needed.
- Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another minute while stirring.
- Place the chicken in a baking pan, season with salt and pepper to taste, divide the caramelized onions between the chicken, sprinkle on the cheese and pour the broth into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until the cheese is melted and the chicken is cooked through, about 25-35 minutes.
Option: Add 1 chopped chipotle chili in adobo sauce to the caramelized onions along with the garlic and thyme for some smoky heat!
Option: Use a different kind of melty cheese such as mozzarella!
Tip: Enjoy with crusty bread to soak up the broth!
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Made this tonight and it was incredible! Thank you!
Oh this sounds so good! How would a lazy person’s cheater version using Lipton’s onion soup mix come out, do you think? Not that you’ve ever done that of course!
The flavour would be a little different but I’m sure it would be good!
Do you cover the dish while baking?
You don’t need to cover it, but you can. Covering it will help trap in some of the moisture, but the cheese will not get golden brown. If you do cover it, you can remove the cover for the last 10 minutes to let the cheese get golden brown. Enjoy!