French Onion Chicken
Recommended by Susan Maddock from a 12 Tomatoes recipe
Remember that wonderful aroma, beefy taste and gooey cheese of French Onion soup? This recipe is Susan Maddock’s “go-to” casserole gift for anyone who needs a little pick-me-up. Simple to prepare and easy to reheat, serve this tasty chicken over rice, and add your own vegetable side dish. —EH Stafford, Managing Editor
Ingredients – Serves 4 to 6
(Depending upon the sides and your appetite!)
2 pounds Vidalia Onions (or any sweet onion), sliced
2 pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs
2 cups Beef Broth
1 cup Swiss Cheese, grated (the packaged shredded works well)
1/3 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, divided
2 Tbsp. All Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dried Thyme
1/2 tsp. Dried Sage
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
NOTE: You need an oven-proof pan or skillet for this recipe. My cast iron skillet worked beautifully. — EH Stafford
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sauté onions until caramelized
Using 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, place your sliced onions in the skillet, season with salt, and cook until the onions are soft and caramelized. You will need to stir the onions frequently. (Have patience here, it can take 15 minutes or more. They should be brown but not burnt.)
Add the balsamic vinegar
Stir and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until nicely browned.
Remove the onions from the pan and place in another bowl.
Season, then brown the chicken on both sides
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Then sear until golden brown on both sides. The original recipe said to place the remaining olive oil into the pan (nearly 1/3 of a cup), raise the heat to medium high, and sear the chicken until golden brown on both sides. (I ended up with oil spattered all over the stove and a very small but alarming fire when the oil burst into flame. It was quickly out, and no harm done.) BUT, unless you are practiced with cooking chicken in a large amount of very hot oil, I would add about 4 Tablespoons to start, and then more as needed.
Making the gravy
See directions on the captions below.
Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake in your oven at 350F for 20 minutes or less
Use a meat thermometer to confirm that the chicken has reached a temperature of 165F.
Easy and Delicious!
I sautéed some spinach and garlic as a side dish. Serve over rice (I made the 90 second package kind).
Enjoy!
Preparation and photos by EH Stafford
Printed version of this recipe
In the Kitchen series – French Onion Chicken
WANT MORE?
Click here to explore LKNConnect’s Cookbook. See all of our published recipes.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our writers belong solely to them
and do not represent LKNConnect.com, its publisher or its staff.
