French Onion Chicken Bake Recipe

French onion chicken bake is perfect for a simple dinner, and it can be variegated by adding your favorite sides. Recipe developer and food photographer Stephanie Rapone simplified this delectable dish. In less than one hour and through eight simple steps, you can prepare a decadent dish to nourish your family. This meal is loaded with succulent chicken and savory onion — it doesn't get much better than that!

Simply put, Rapone's inspiration was onions. "We love French onion soup, so I was looking for a way to make a more complete main dish and this works great," she explains. This culinary masterpiece is filled with healthy macros your body needs to thrive. VeryWell Fit experts write that chicken is basically all protein, and boy does this dish have plenty of chicken!  "This is a great dinner," Rapone says, especially when it's balanced out alongside a nice carb and maybe a vegetable. Let's get into the details of how to master this French onion chicken bake!

Bring these items together and make this dish great. Start out with yellow onions, butter, garlic cloves, salt, fresh ground black pepper, and a couple sprigs of fresh thyme. You'll be adding in some low sodium beef broth and balsamic vinegar. The main ingredient is, of course, the chicken, so be sure to have four chicken breasts. Lastly, you'll add even more decadence to the dish with some shredded Gruyere cheese.

Your very first step is to preheat the oven to 400 F. Be sure you begin with an oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven. If neither of those are available, you may use a casserole dish to bake the chicken for the last step. As the oven preheats, slice the onions to about ¼-inch thick slices. Thinly slice the garlic. If the Gruyere cheese is not shredded, now is the ideal time to shred it. If you're new to the cheese scene, Rapone described its flavor: "Gruyere is nutty, savory, and rich. It really makes the dish decadent." 

Drop the butter into your skillet and set it over medium heat. Once the butter melts, add the sliced onions and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for flavor. Cover the onions with a lid and allow them to cook for seven to nine minutes. Take care to stir them every two to three minutes. After three minutes, remove lid and let the onions cook until the moisture has evaporated fully. Stir them periodically during this process. The onions will turn golden after about eight to 10 minutes time.

Toss in the chopped garlic, sprinkle in the black pepper, and set two thyme sprigs into the onions. Cook to combine these components, stirring for one full minute. Drizzle in the balsamic vinegar to cook for a quick 30 seconds. Stir the beef broth into the onions and cook for about 10 minutes. It should reduce to a jam-like consistency. Then, remove and discard the thyme stems. Turn the heat off and spoon about ⅔ of the onions into a side dish. Evenly spread the remaining onions across the bottom of the skillet.

Season the chicken on both sides with the remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and place them on top of the onions. With a spoon, transfer the remaining onions over top of the chicken. Lastly, sprinkle the Gruyere evenly over each onion-coated chicken breast. Next stop, French onion chicken bake! "The recipe calls for chicken breast, which is white meat. I don't actually use chicken breast that much because it needs a lot of help in the flavor department and dries out so quickly," Rapone says. "But, in this recipe it actually gets a lot of flavor from the onions and cheese and cooks perfectly."

Bake the chicken breasts for 15 to 20 minutes. The final internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 F. To brown the cheese on top, set the oven on broil briefly before serving. Rapone reminded us that boneless chicken takes less time to cook, therefore, "For bone-in chicken, you would need to cook it longer — just make sure to cook until it reaches 165 internal temperature. It would be delicious with bone-in chicken!"

This protein will pair perfectly with a number of side dishes. We suggest garlic smashed potatoes or honey roasted carrots and quinoa. Our developer recommends, "Of course, just like the soup, crusty baguette is yummy with this dinner. We also like roasted asparagus as a simple side that cook in the oven right along side the chicken." Doesn't that sound simply phenomenal? This entree makes a perfect dinner for date night or a small family gathering. If you're serving more than four guests, you can scale the ingredients as needed. Storage is simple, "Just store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to four days," Rapone told us. This French onion chicken bake will not disappoint!