French onion chicken skillet

This recipe is everything you love about French onion soup but on chicken. Juicy, seasoned chicken thighs are baked to perfection and topped with carmelized onions and melty gruyere cheese.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Onion caramelization 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

For chicken

4 Bone-in chicken thighs
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup Gryere cheese, shredded plus more to taste
For onions
2 large Vidalia onions thinly sliced
1/2 tsp Dried thyme
1/2 tsp Salt
Pinch of Pepper
1 tsp Garlic minced
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Butter
For sauce
1/4 cup Chicken broth
1/3 cup Heavy cream
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Parsley chopped
Splash of dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio or Rose
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

To season chicken
To a bowl, season chicken with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and Italian seasoning and set it aside
To cook onions
Slice onions thinly and to a skillet on medium low heat, add oil and butter
Add onions to the skillet and cook for 45 minutes, stirring every few minutes
After about 30-45 minutes and you see the onions browning season to taste with dried thyme, salt and pepper and stir in the garlic and remove from the skillet. Onions are done when they are a deep brown sugar color
To sear chicken
To the same skillet you cooked theonions, sear chicken thighs on medium high heat, skin side down for 3-4 minutes per side until browned
To cook sauce
On medium heat, deglaze the pan you seared the chicken thighs in with chicken broth and stir the bottom of the pan being sure to scrape all the brown bits off the pan for flavor
Add the heavy cream and splash of white wine and continue to stir
Add butter, parsley and salt and pepepr to taste and allow the sauce to thicken for abut 2-3 minutes
One sauce has thickened, add the chicken thighs back to the sauce and assemble the dish for baking
To finish the dish
Heat oven to 450 degrees F
Top each piece of chicken with carmelized onions
Next, add the shredded Gruyere cheese on top of the carmelized onions
Bake at 450 degrees until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese has melted, about 15-18 minutes depending on size of chicken thigh. Use a meat thermometer to check for internal temperature of 165 degrees F
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve warm
Notes
This dish goes great with buttery mashed potatoes or steamed white rice and roasted vegetables