Like the soup except not. Possibly better.
This Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken is just plain dreamy. It’s like french onion soup but made into a complete meal in one pan if we count thyme as a vegetable. And we do.
Made from scratch with real food ingredients, it’s loaded with tender, juicy chicken and richly flavoured caramelized onion goodness. Everything is slow cooked in the crockpot with wine and herbs and topped with crusty bread and melty cheese – as all french onion things should be. It’s easy to make, absolutely scrumptious comfort food heaven!
Let’s talk about shortcuts for a minute. I know slow cookers can be a great time saver and it’s true, they are, but sometimes you have to do just a little more than dump and go. This is one of those times. But before you run away, know that this is still super easy.
You may think you can make a french onion dish by just dumping a bunch of sliced onions into the crockpot with a package of french onion soup mix and running away. You would be wrong.
Go ahead and try if you don’t want to listen to me and let me tell you what will happen… you will end up with something that tastes french oniony, but then you will bite into a big mouthful of crunchy onions… that’s right, crunchy. Onions must be sautéed and softened and some point in this process friends. I don’t know why. It’s science.
So yes, we are going to have to remove the onions and cook them a little extra in the pan. It’s worth it though guys. It really is.
Scroll past the recipe if you’re looking for tips, substitutions, questions, etc. and details on how to make this recipe, but if you want to get straight to it, here’s my recipe-ish…
Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken
Ingredients
For the slow cooker:
- 2 large sweet onions sliced thinly
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved crosswise and then sliced in half, so you have 12 thin pieces of chicken
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
For topping:
- 1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese grated
- 3 large slices sourdough or French bread halved (or 10-12 baguette slices) toasted
Instructions
- Place onions in slow cooker.
- Add in broth and wine and stir.
- Lay the chicken breasts on top.
- Sprinkle with garlic, thyme and season with S&P (about 1/2 tsp each)
- Cook low for 4-5 hours or high for 2 hours.
- Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Using a slotted spoon to drain excess liquid, scoop the onions out of the slow cooker and into a heavy skillet over medium heat and add in the butter and brown sugar. Cook until onions soften and start to caramelize (about 15 minutes)**
- Add about 1 cup of the broth from the slow cooker to the onions along with 1/4 cup heavy cream. Stir and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Place the chicken back in the skillet.
- Top with the toasted bread slices and the cheese.
- Broil 2-3 minutes until golden and bubbly
Notes
Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken recipe ingredients, tips, substitutions:
Chicken – I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this recipe, but you can easily replace them with boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Onions – I like to use sweet onions in this recipe because they’re a bit more mild than regular yellow onions, and we’re using a lot of them.
Beef Broth – this is my preference for its rich flavour, but you can sub in chicken broth or vegetable broth.
Wine – I think a little booze is what makes french onion things french oniony, but if you really don’t want it then you can just leave it out and sub in a little extra broth in its place.
Thyme – thyme is one of those herbs that is still really good when dried, so if you don’t have fresh you’ll be just fine.
Soy Sauce – this may seem a bit weird, but it really just adds another dimension of flavour. A little more umami, and who doesn’t want that?!
Butter, Brown Sugar & Heavy Cream – this heavenly little combo is what is going to make our onions sing. Since we’re not truly caramelizing them we’ll add these things in to give them the richness and sweetness we’d have if we did.
Gruyere Cheese – this stuff is the best, but you can use swiss cheese as a more inexpensive, accessible option.
Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken Recipe Variations:
Mashed Potato Version – skip the toasted bread (still add the cheese and broil) and serve this dish over mashed potatoes (or rice!)
Pot Pie Version – make the recipe up to the adding the bread part and cool the dish in the skillet in the refrigeratory (can even do this the day before). Then, skip the bread and lay a sheet of puff pastry on top of the skillet. Bake until the crust is cooked and golden.
Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken Recipe, how to make it…
This dish is everything you know you love about French onion soup – deep, rich flavours, gooey melted cheese, and crusty bread – stewed together with herbs and tender chicken for a meal that’s going to make your kitchen smell like heaven.
Start by tossing a seemingly ridiculous amount of sliced onions into the slow cooker. Don’t panic! They will shrink down. Pour in the broth and the wine (please don’t skip the wine – it really is the secret to that extra depth of flavour) and give it all a big stir. Nestle your chicken pieces on top of the onion heap, sprinkle over the minced garlic, thyme, and a generous seasoning.
Pop the lid on, set your slow cooker and walk away. The chicken is going to soak up all that oniony goodness, and your house starts to smell amazing.
When the chicken is cooked and tender, carefully remove it to a plate. Now it’s time to level up those onions. Use a slotted spoon, scoop the onions out of the slow cooker, letting the excess liquid drip away, and transfer them to a large heavy skillet. Add in the butter and brown sugar – this is our shortcut to full caramelized onion flavour. Stir every so often for about 15 minutes until the onions are soft, golden, and scrumptious.
Pour some of the broth from the slow cooker into the skillet to deglaze the pan and scrape up all those flavourful brown bits. Stir in the heavy cream and let it simmer for a few minutes. At this point, you might be tempted to just grab a spoon and call it a day, but hold tight friends, we’re almost there.
Nestle the chicken back into the skillet with the onions and sauce. Top each piece with a slice of toasted bread (because what is French onion anything without bread?). Then pile on the cheese and broil until the cheese is golden, bubbly, and irresistible.
looking for ideas for what to serve with this Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken recipe? try these…
- If you’d like a salad with this then my Chopped Kale Salad or Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese are both good options.
- For a warm veggie side I love these Marinated Brussels Sprouts with Maple Balsamic.
- For dessert you can’t go wrong with a Chocolate 1/4 Sheet Cake that is just the right size and super easy to make. Or my Brown Butter & Bourbon Impossible Pie which is absolutely dreamy.
If you like this Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken Recipe let me know what you think in the comments below and please find and follow me on Social Media!
