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Home / Main Dishes

French Onion Baked Chicken

4.82
/5
1 hour hour
47 Comments
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By: The Chunky Chefpublished: 10/23/2019

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Juicy chicken breasts absolutely smothered in saucy caramelized onions and loads of gooey cheese! Easy to prep ahead, and a great family dinner option when you just can’t handle another boring meal.

Searching for other easy family dinner recipes?  Check out my One Pot Spaghetti, Italian Wedding Soup, Crockpot Meatloaf, and Chicken Parmesan Pasta!

French onion baked chicken in baking dish

FRENCH ONION BAKED CHICKEN

It’s no secret that I love comfort food, and french onion flavor is one of my all-time favorites.  A few years back I combined french onion flavor with pork chops and it’s been a reader-favorite ever since!

The French Onion Smothered Pork Chop recipe doesn’t use traditional caramelized onions, and I knew I wanted to share a recipe that would use true caramelized onions, in all their jammy goodness!

Enticingly sweet and savory, this baked chicken recipe is absolutely amazing and so easy to make.  The onions take a long time to cook, but they can be prepared days ahead of time.

HOW TO MAKE FRENCH ONION BAKED CHICKEN

  • Caramelize the onions.
  • Add part of the onions and beef broth to baking dish.
  • Top with chicken breasts (raw).
  • Top with remaining onions and cheese.
  • Bake.

In terms of steps, it’s very simple!  The hardest part is caramelizing the onions, and that’s really just a test of your patience.

Caramelized onions on french onion baked chicken

COOKING TIPS FOR FRENCH ONION CHICKEN

  • Don’t salt the onions – if you add salt right away to the onions, they’ll release their liquids too early and won’t caramelize properly.
  • Be patient – I know, it’s hard for me too.  Caramelized onions take time, plain and simple.  There’s no secret way to instantly get gloriously brown and jammy onions.  Trust me, it’s SO worth the wait!  If you’re looking for a great visual representation of the stages of caramelizing onions, this is a great resource!
  • Shred your own cheeses – it’s the best way to get amazingly gooey cheese.
  • Get some crusty bread – there will be plenty of saucy onion broth after the chicken cooks, and there’s nothing better than soaking it up with amazing bread!  We love this easy  no-knead artisan bread.

VARIATIONS OF FRENCH ONION BAKED CHICKEN

  • One Pan – if you have an oven-safe skillet, you can make this dish entirely in one pan!  See the recipe notes section below (after the written recipe) for details.
  • Seared – if you prefer, you can sear the chicken breasts before or after cooking the onions.  This adds extra flavor, but isn’t necessary.
  • Other protein – this recipe is fantastic with pork chops or even steak!

French onion baked chicken on white plate

MAKING BAKED CHICKEN AHEAD OF TIME

I think this baked chicken recipe tastes best when made fresh, however, you can prep a couple things ahead of time to make the cooking time considerably shorter.

  1. Trim chicken breasts of any extra fat and keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
  2. Caramelize onions and garlic and keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
  3. Combine salt, pepper, thyme and garlic powder and keep on the counter in an airtight container.

This will cut your cook time in half, since the onions are already done!

Slicing into french onion baked chicken

STORING FRENCH ONION CHICKEN

Leftovers should be refrigerated and consumed within 2-3 days for best flavor.

Leftover caramelized onions should be refrigerated and consumed within 1-4 days.  They can also be frozen, for up to 2 months.

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AND DON’T FORGET, IF YOU’VE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING!

Melted cheese on baked chicken

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!

Juicy chicken breasts absolutely smothered in saucy caramelized onions and loads of gooey cheese!  French onion baked chicken is easy to prep ahead too! #bakedchicken #frenchonion #chicken #comfortfood #dinnerrecipe #easyrecipe 

French Onion Baked Chicken

4.82 from 32 votes
Author: The Chunky Chef
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour
Calories: 544
Servings: 4 servings
(hover over # to adjust)
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Juicy chicken breasts absolutely smothered in saucy caramelized onions and loads of gooey cheese!

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 4-5 large yellow or white onions peeled, sliced in half then cut into thin half moon shapes
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (or red wine or sherry)
  • 2/3 cup reduced sodium beef broth divided
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella or gruyere
  • 1/3 cup shredded parmesan (fresh is best)

Instructions

  • Heat a large skillet over MED/MED-HIGH heat. Add butter and olive oil and sliced onions. Season with 1/4 tsp pepper. Add thyme sprigs and cook 8 minutes, stirring very occasionally.
  • While onions are cooking, preheat oven to 400 F degrees and butter a 9x13" baking dish. Set aside.
  • After 8 minutes, reduce the heat on the pan of onions down to MED/MED-LOW, and cook another 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
  • Stir in garlic, cook 1 minute. Stir in balsamic vinegar and 1/3 cup of the beef broth. Stir and cook another minute or so, until onion mixture is thick and jam-like in consistency.
  • Add about a 1/2 cup of the caramelized onions to the prepared baking dish and add the remaining 1/3 cup beef broth to the dish. Stir.
  • Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt, black pepper, dried thyme and garlic powder. Arrange chicken in prepared baking dish and top each breast with a generous spoonful of caramelized onions.
  • Top chicken and onions with mozzarella and parmesan.
  • Bake 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F degrees.

Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!

Chef Tips

  • Caramelized onions can be made 1-3 days ahead and kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
 

ONE PAN VERSION

You will need an oven-safe skillet for this version (such as cast iron)
  1. Complete steps 1 - 4.  Transfer all but 1/2 cup of the onions to a plate.  
  2. Add remaining 1/3 beef broth to the skillet.
  3. Arrange seasoned chicken breasts on top of the onions in the skillet.
  4. Top with caramelized onions and cheese.
  5. Bake as directed, in skillet.

Video

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

Did You Make This?Tag @the_chunky_chef on Instagram and hashtag it #thechunkychef so I can see what you made!
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Juicy chicken breasts absolutely smothered in saucy caramelized onions and loads of gooey cheese!  French onion baked chicken is easy to prep ahead too! #bakedchicken #frenchonion #chicken #comfortfood #dinnerrecipe #easyrecipe 

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Meet The Chunky Chef

Hey there! I'm Amanda. Wife, mother, photography nerd, and bacon lover! I believe that delicious meals should be easy to make. Now that you’re here, stay a bit, browse a few recipes, and let’s get cookin’!

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4.82 from 32 votes

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Recipe Rating




  1. Amy Goldberg says

    Posted on 4/21 at 5:30 pm

    Hi, your recipe calls for 3 tbsp of butter. And you have two places to add butter. The pan and the dish. How butter goes into each one?

    Ive made it before but i have short memory loss so i don’t remember what i did. But it was above delicious and yummy!!! We love onion soup and chicken and this is perfect.

    Reply
    • Amy Goldberg says

      Posted on 4/21 at 5:57 pm

      Soery i misread. It frustrates me when do thst. Soryh. I had two bab to back strokes. So it messes with my words.

      Reply
  2. DogMomx2 says

    Posted on 3/24 at 7:59 pm

    I had been wanting to make this dish for a while so I googled many recipes and this one seemed the easiest as well as most flavorful. I’m a pretty experienced cook but I like to follow a new recipe as written. All was good except it was way to “soupy.” The next time I will reduce the beef broth to a total of 1/3 cup.

    Reply
  3. Barbara Karr says

    Posted on 11/10 at 2:11 pm

    There are some recipes you just know are going to be great. Yours are those kinds of recipes!! I have never been disappointed yet. I’m on my way to the kitchen to start the onions now. I drooled the whole time was reading. I just want to thank you for ALL the great recipes you have shared. Dinner tonight is going to be awesome.

    Reply
  4. L. Gail says

    Posted on 9/29 at 8:21 pm

    Excellent. I made it in one cast iron skillet.

    Reply
  5. Janet Gritter says

    Posted on 8/22 at 6:01 pm

    This is so excellent! I made it twice in two weeks. I do take the time to caramelize the onions for about an hour and a half on med-low heat. Its worth the wait!

    Reply
    • Barbara Mersinger Skirtun says

      Posted on 3/9 at 8:03 pm

      After reading all the reviews I had to try this. I have to say, I was extremely disappointed. I don’t know how your sauce got so dark .. but mine was light and all I tasted was thyme. Needed beef boulion and maybe bay leaves. Did not taste like French onion soup at all.

      Reply
  6. Stephanie says

    Posted on 7/7 at 12:13 am

    It was so easy to make, and is a family favorite!

    Reply
  7. Lauren says

    Posted on 5/29 at 10:47 pm

    Made this for my fiancé and I this week! He was the first to eat it leftover and he was even more impressed with it once all the flavors were able to blend. I love French onion soup so this one is definitely going to be a staple in our house! 

    Reply
  8. Diane says

    Posted on 5/8 at 2:39 pm

    Made this last night. Soooo delicious! My husband said it is his new favorite chicken dish…which says a lot!! The only down side was that I made the caramelized onions earlier in the day and had a very difficult time keeping my hands out of them!! lol

    Reply
  9. Shawnae says

    Posted on 4/28 at 12:03 am

    The French Onion Baked Chicken is the bomb dot com!!! My sister and I served this dish with Mashed Potatoes. Our kitchen smelled amazing when I was cooking the onions and while it was baking in the oven. Unfortunately, I didn’t have shredded Parmesan cheese, so I used grated instead since that is what I had on hand. I will definitely make this dish again. Thank you so much for sharing!!

    Reply
  10. Ali Davis says

    Posted on 4/27 at 12:17 am

    Another wonderful recipe. I made it tonight and my VERY picky fiance loved it again. Very tasty for both of us!!

    Reply
  11. Trim Wells says

    Posted on 4/1 at 9:39 pm

    Can’t wait to try this ,sounds good.

    Reply
  12. Shannon says

    Posted on 3/2 at 9:41 pm

    Made this tonight and WHOA!!!! I used boneless skinless thighs, harvarti and mozzarella cheese I had on hand and it turned out amazing!!! I made the caramelized onions last night which made this a pretty quick weeknight meal! Definitely adding this to the rotation!  Sooooo good!!! 

    Reply
  13. Suzie B says

    Posted on 2/4 at 5:30 pm

    Made this and loved it !!!!! So easy and the chicken is moist and full of flavor. Trying a beef recipe later this week and have tabbed 3 more.

    Reply
  14. Michelle L says

    Posted on 11/24 at 7:54 pm

    I’ve never thought about making this but yeah, it’d be amazing! Adding to my grocery list for the week!

    Reply
  15. Lori says

    Posted on 10/28 at 10:47 pm

    Love it very moist and tasty

    Reply
  16. Beks says

    Posted on 10/28 at 10:36 pm

    I meal prepped this recipe for my dinners this past week and it was SO GOOD! My husband and kids LOVED it as well and asked me to make it again. Trying two more of your recipes for this coming week’s meal prep.

    Reply
  17. Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says

    Posted on 10/25 at 7:13 pm

    I know for sure this would be a huge hit in my house!

    Reply
  18. Beth says

    Posted on 10/25 at 1:20 pm

    This is literally the best chicken around! the flavor is so good!

    Reply
  19. Demeter says

    Posted on 10/24 at 8:20 pm

    This looks amazing! Such great flavors all blending into one dish. 

    Reply
  20. Sara Welch says

    Posted on 10/24 at 12:58 pm

    This is my kind of dinner recipe! I will definitely be making this for my family tonight; looks too good to pass up!

    Reply
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