Succulent pan-seared chicken thighs smothered in caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese. This French Onion Chicken recipe take the classic soup and turns it into a satisfying keto meal!
I have a lot of wonderful keto chicken recipes, but I am always on the hunt for more tasty ideas. And what could be tastier than French Onion Chicken?
This dish takes all the flavors of your favorite soup and turns it into a full dinner. It’s absolutely luscious! With a wonderful sauce that tastes fabulous on the chicken and spooned over mashed cauliflower too.
It really is the perfect comfort food, with juicy chicken smothered in caramelized onions and melty cheese. My whole family devoured it!
Why you will love this recipe
Caramelized onions always bring something special to a meal. There is really nothing quite like them. I love them in recipes like smothered pork chops and keto quiche. I’ve even stuffed them inside burgers. But they go particularly well with chicken.
You can’t rush the caramelization process, so this French Onion Chicken isn’t necessarily a quick recipe. But it is easy to put together, and the results are absolutely worth it. And even with a full onion in the mix, it clocks in at only 3g of carbs per serving.
Have I mentioned that it reheats well too? I managed to squirrel one serving away from my hungry family and had it for lunch the next day. I simply warmed it up in the microwave and it was as delicious as ever.
Ingredients you need
- Chicken thighs: I like whole thighs for this recipe, with the bone in and the skin on. But you could also do boneless, skinless thighs. They will cook through faster so pan-sear them for only about 3 minutes per side and bake them for 15 minutes or so.
- Onion: Caramelized onions are the hallmark of French Onion soup, so this chicken skillet features them. Onions are higher in carbs than many vegetables, but one onion spread throughout 6 servings doesn’t add too many. And still gives you all the flavor you crave!
- Butter: I used butter to sear the chicken because it helps brown and crisp the skin but you could do olive oil or avocado oil too.
- Onion powder: A little onion powder helps bring out the flavor in this French Onion Chicken.
- White wine: This helps deglaze the pan and create a luscious sauce for the chicken, but you can use chicken broth as well.
- Thyme: A little fresh thyme goes beautiful with the caramelized onions. You can use dried if that’s all you have. Try half a teaspoon.
- Gruyere cheese: French onion soup is usually topped with Gruyere so I used it on this keto chicken dish as well. But other white cheeses like sharp cheddar, gouda, or Swiss will also work.
- Salt and pepper
Step by step directions
1. Pan-sear the chicken: Pat the chicken very dry and sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Add the butter to a medium skillet over medium heat and let melt. Cook the chicken on both sides until golden. Flip over and cook another 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Caramelize the onions: Add the onions to the pan, and sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and caramelize the onions slowly until golden, stirring frequently.
3. Make the sauce: Add the thyme to the pan and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant. Add the wine and bring to simmer. Cook until reduced by half, about 2 more minutes.
4. Bake the chicken: Nestle the chicken back into the pan and sprinkle the tops with the grated cheese. Bake 20 minutes until melted and bubbly.
Expert tips
Take the time to brown the chicken properly on both sides, even if you’re using boneless, skinless chicken. It makes a difference to the overall flavor of the dish.
Caramelizing onions takes time and patience. Don’t be tempted to turn up the heat as this will make the onions become brown and bitter. Stay nearby and stir them frequently to distribute the onions evenly over the bottom of the pan.
Chicken should always be cooked through to 165ºF. If you have an instant read thermometer, use it to check for doneness when you take the French Onion Chicken out of the oven. Because of the sauce and cheese, you can take it up to 175ºF and it will still be moist and delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Onions contain a surprising amount of carbohydrates, but they also add a lot of flavor to savory dishes, making them more satisfying. Caramelizing onions brings out their natural sweetness and adds even more flavor. You can certainly work onions into your keto recipes but just be mindful of not going overboard. One medium large onion for a recipe that serves 6 adds only 3g of carbs per serving.
This French Onion Chicken recipe has 3.4g of carbs and 0.6g of fiber. That amounts to a net carb count of 2.8g per serving.
Some caramelized onion recipes call for added sugar but there really is no need for it. Onions contain enough natural sugars to caramelize on their own. The key is to cook them very slowly in butter or oil until they become a deep amber.
More skillet chicken recipes you’ll love
French Onion Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 medium chicken thighs, skin-on, bone in
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 large (1 medium) onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup (120 g) dry white wine or chicken broth
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) Gruyere cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Pat the chicken very dry and sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and onion powder.
- Add the butter to a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat and let melt. Once hot, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until golden. Flip over and cook another 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Add the onions to the pan, and sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and caramelize the onions slowly until golden, stirring frequently. This may take up to 20 minutes.
- In the last 10 minutes of caramelizing, preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Add the thyme to the pan and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant. Add the wine and bring to simmer. Cook until reduced by half, about 2 more minutes.
- Nestle the chicken back into the pan and sprinkle the tops with the grated cheese. Bake 20 minutes until melted and bubbly.
Nutrition
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This recipe is delicious. I made for dinner tonight and my husband loved it. I also doubled the amount of wine but kept everything else as written. It will go into my regular rotation for dinner.
What white wine are you using that is keto?
Please read the blog post… I talk about the wine.
Made this tonight with chicken breast. May have overcooked the chicken a little but the flavour was amazing. Didn’t have white wine or chicken broth so I used beef bone broth and red wine vinegar. I also used your cauliflower purée recipe for the side. What a delicious meal! Thank you.
What a wonderful dish, i had some caramelized dehydrated onions on my canning shelf, they worked perfectly in this recipe. Thanks for sharing another delicious dish.
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times now, using skinless chicken breast. It has turned out fantastic both times.
Oh this is SO good… I used Provolone Cheese and 2 TBS of cooking sherry too. So great for a cold winter night..
This is love on a plate. My husband “mmm’d ” with every bite.
Hi Carolyn, thanks for a delightful new recipe. I can’t get gruyere cheese over here, may I know if there is a substitute for that? Thanks
Hi! I wrote several options into the blog post. 🙂
Love this recipe! Used provolone and boneless thighs because it’s what I had on hand, but I will definitely be making this again!
We LOVED this dish! I chopped the thighs because our granddaughter won’t eat them. You see she “doesn’t like thighs”!! I used 1C of the wine rather than 1/2C for more sauce and doubled the fresh thyme. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Wowsa…you outdid yourself with this recipe! Perfect comfort food for a cold winter’s night.
My husband and I loved this recipe! The only thing I did differently was use chicken breasts rather than thighs.I’ll be making this again.
By using the breasts, did it shorten or length the cooking time in the pan at all?
I’ve used skinless chicken breast a couple of times and it was still around 5 minutes each side, until they are a golden brown colour. The 20 minutes in the oven cooks them to perfect doneness.
Excellent. Definite keeper.
Allergic to thyme…substitute?
Any herb will be fine.
Very tasty and easy to make. Will definitely make it again.
So delicious and fairly easy too. Being patient with the onions is the hardest part. I used boneless skinless breasts and served with cauliflower rice and a big green salad.
Made this tonight and it was a total hit! Filed for future reference.
This is a winner for me. Not only does it make a beautiful plate it is absolutely delicious. My husband loved loved it! Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe. I made it this evening and it was yummy! I didn’t have every single ingredient but it still turned out good. It was a nice change to what we usually eat. I have liked all of the recipes that I have tried that you have posted. I also have several of your cookbooks. I usually just keep dinners simple and then make one of your desserts for special occasions or when I have a sweet tooth
I don’t have thighs but I do have a couple bone-in breasts that I took out of the freezer this morning for dinner tomorrow. I may try this with them and see how it goes, since I normally prefer thighs for their moistness, but it sounds like the onions and cheese in this recipe could possibly keep them from drying out too much. I will update if I do…thank you for providing so many oniony and cheesy dinner options ????
They may need to cook a little longer but I think it would work.