French Onion Hen | Cookies & Cups

By: Shelly
Posted: Jan 12, 2025

That is the perfect French onion hen recipe! It’s a fast and simple one-pan dinner with juicy hen breasts smothered in caramelized onions and melty Gruyère cheese.

I don’t know what I really like extra on a comfy weeknight: French onion soup, or skillet dinners like my creamy garlic parmesan chicken and saucy skillet chicken parmesan. This recipe covers each!

French onion chicken on a plate with a side of mashed potatoes and onion gravy.

This French onion hen is strictly what my week wanted. It’s faster to make than precise French onion soup, and it’s filled with all of the flavors I do know and love: jammy caramelized onions in a wealthy gravy, smothered beneath a layer of broiled Gruyère and Swiss cheese. I prepare dinner the whole lot in the identical skillet, and the hen sears up completely tender, locking in all of the juices and flavors within the pan.

Why I Love This Straightforward French Onion Hen Recipe

One pan. This skillet French onion hen has the whole lot I really like about French onion soup, with hardly any mess. We’ll caramelize the onions, prepare dinner the hen, and pull the whole lot along with a wealthy, beefy gravy and melted cheese, multi functional pan.
Satisfying. Juicy hen breast makes this recipe heartier, and excellent for a household dinner. I serve my French onion hen over a mountain of buttery mashed potatoes. It’s the one consolation meals I would like in my life between now and spring!
Burn up leftovers. When you have leftover baked chicken breasts within the fridge or freezer, this recipe is the proper excuse to take them out. Merely put together the onion gravy, after which nestle the hen into the skillet to warmth by.

French onion chicken ingredients with text labels overlaying each ingredient.

Elements You’ll Want

These are some notes on what you’ll must make this skillet French onion hen. You’ll discover the printable substances listing together with the total recipe quantities within the recipe card after the publish.

Olive Oil – Or your most popular cooking oil, for sautéeing the onions.
Onions – I like to recommend yellow or white onions for this recipe. Crimson onions are too delicate and gained’t caramelize as properly. Minimize the onion into even slices.
Garlic Powder – Together with salt and pepper. You possibly can substitute onion powder for garlic powder if wanted.
Hen – I like to make use of boneless, skinless hen breasts. In case your hen breasts aren’t all the identical measurement, it’s a good suggestion to pound them to a fair thickness utilizing a meat tenderizer (or rolling pin). You might additionally use hen thighs, although they could take barely longer to prepare dinner.
Butter and Flour – You’ll mix and prepare dinner the 2 to make a roux to thicken the sauce the identical method you’d thicken French onion soup. I like to recommend all-purpose flour.
Beef Broth – I like to recommend low-sodium beef broth or inventory. Hen inventory works, too, although the flavour gained’t be fairly as wealthy.
Herbs – Dried oregano and thyme. You might additionally use contemporary herbs.
Cheese – I prime this French onion hen with a mixture of conventional Gruyère (a kind of arduous French cheese) and shredded Swiss cheese. Shredded cheddar or parmesan works in a pinch.

Learn how to Make French Onion Hen

The trick to caramelizing onions is low warmth and persistence – it takes time to scale back your humble onion to candy, buttery goodness, however it’s positively price the additional step. I’ll stroll you thru the way to caramelize onions under earlier than we flip them into probably the most scrumptious French onion hen. It’s straightforward! Scroll to the recipe card for the printable directions.

Sliced onions in a skillet. — Slice the onions and add them to the skillet.

Caramelize the onions. First issues first, get your onions sautéeing in olive oil over medium warmth. Prepare dinner for 10 minutes, or till the onions are golden and caramelized. Afterward, transfer the onions to a plate and tent them with foil to maintain heat.

Seasoned chicken breasts on a plate. — Season the hen breasts.

Prepare dinner the hen. In the meantime, season the hen with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add the hen to the identical skillet you used to caramelize the onions. Sear the hen for 5-6 minutes per aspect till it’s cooked by.

Flour added to melted butter in a skillet, to make a roux. — Make a roux from butter and flour.

Make the sauce. Set the hen apart with the onions. Within the skillet, soften butter after which stir within the flour, adopted by the meat broth and dried herbs. Give the sauce a fast season to style and simmer to thicken for 1-2 minutes.

Cooked chicken breasts in a skillet with onion gravy. — Add the hen again to the pan.

Put all of it collectively. With the sauce nonetheless simmering, nestle the hen again into the skillet and prime that with half the onions. Sprinkle the grated cheese and the remaining onions over prime. Lastly, pop the French onion hen below the broiler for a few minutes. Serve with a giant pile of mashed potatoes, and revel in!

French onion chicken covered with melted cheese in a skillet.

Ideas and Variations

Use the appropriate onions. Conventional French onion soup requires yellow onions, in order that’s what I like to recommend you utilize for this recipe. They’re available in most grocery shops, too. White or brown onions are your subsequent most suitable choice.
In case you can’t discover Gruyère cheese, merely substitute it with extra Swiss cheese as an alternative.
Deglaze the pan. After you pour within the beef broth and get it simmering, use a (not metallic) spatula to softly scrape up any stuck-on bits from the underside of the pan. These stuck-on bits are the place all the flavour lies!

Close up of a French onion chicken breast covered with cheese being lifted from a skillet.

French onion chicken sliced on a plate with a side of mashed potatoes and onion gravy.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Refrigerate. Maintain any leftover French onion hen in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
Reheat. You possibly can reheat this hen within the microwave, oven, or in a skillet. Whichever methodology you select, I like to recommend sprinkling over slightly freshly grated cheese earlier than reheating to refresh the flavour and texture.
Freeze. In case you’d wish to freeze this hen, retailer it in a freezer-safe container to freeze for 2-3 months. Thaw the hen within the fridge in a single day earlier than reheating.

Description

French onion hen is a fast and simple one-pan dinner with juicy hen breasts smothered in caramelized onions and melty Gruyère cheese. Serve this hen with mashed potatoes or crusty bread to sop up the leftover gravy!

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 giant yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon contemporary floor black pepper
4 hen breasts (1 1/2 – 2 kilos)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
8 ounces Swiss cheese, grated
8 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

Warmth the olive oil in a big (oven-safe) skillet over medium warmth. Add within the sliced onions and sauté till caramelized to a deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Take away the ovens to a plate, tent with foil, and put aside.
Season the hen with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add the hen into the identical skillet and prepare dinner for five – 6 minutes on either side or till cooked all through and now not pink. Put aside with the onions.
Soften the butter in your skillet, then add the flour and stir till mixed. Add within the beef broth, oregano, thyme, and extra salt and pepper to style, and let simmer for 1-2 minutes till it begins to thicken.
Scale back the warmth to a simmer, and add the hen and half of the onions again to the dish together with any juices on the plate. High with the grated cheeses and the remaining onions.
Preheat the oven to broil.
Place the skillet within the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes or till the cheese is melted.