This oven baked French onion stuffed chicken breast is so juicy and tasty. Chicken breast stuffed with flavorful caramelized onion and cheeses, pan seared and then finished in the oven. Low carb and keto friendly!
What’s even better than French onion soup or a chicken casserole? Both!
Like a lot of French cuisine, French onion soup originated among French peasants. Because food was scarce during France’s feudal age, the peasants had to find ways to make common garden plants and animals edible. In fact, onion soup has been a popular meal for peasants dating back to the Roman era. It was this ancient soup preparation method that inspired the addition of croutons to French onion soup, and today restaurants all over the world serve it in this way. The version of this dish as we know it originated in France in the 18th century, and was popularized in the United States.
French Onion Chicken Bake
If you’re a fan of French onion soup, you’ve probably tried making it at home. You’ve probably also been somewhat dismayed by how long it takes to prepare. However, with this recipe, you can have the heartwarming home-style onion soup experience without actually having to endure the long wait.
This awesome recipe features a French onion soup-inspired stuffing for tender chicken breasts. These boneless breasts are stuffed with cheese and caramelized onions swimming in a delicious onion sauce. This French-style dish will be a surefire hit. It’s warm, satisfying, and only takes about an hour to put together.
For those of you who are adhering to the keto diet and want to keep your carb count under control, this low-carb recipe is perfect. The stuffed chicken is baked in an absolutely delicious French onion sauce inspired by the classic French onion soup.
Stuffed Chicken
Unlike many stuffed chicken recipes, this one will be ready to go within an hour. For fans of French onion soup, this one is perfect. You can even dip some croutons or garlic bread in the sauce.
Chicken Breasts
This soup-inspired sauce helps keep your chicken breasts inside and out. Adding to the experience are the two - yes, two - will also keep the spirit of French onion soup alive in this unique take on the Gallic classic.
How To Caramelize Onions
- Saute the onions in butter until they’re transparent and soft. Slowly cooking the onions in butter ensures that they pack maximum flavor. They will brown and soften in the butter, losing the sharp edge to their uncooked flavor. The naturally occurring sugars in the onions will caramelize, resulting in a pleasant, mild sweetness.
- Use a beef stock, or broth, to build the base for your onion sauce. This will help prevent the onions for drying out as they cook, and bring a strong, beefy flavor to the sauce. Be sure to scrape up the brown bits of onion forming on the bottom of the pan as you go. This will intensify the flavor of your sauce.
- Add a little of balsamic vinegar, or sherry to the pan to deglaze it. This will help bring some complexity of flavor to the caramelized onions.
- Allow your onions to cool down before stuffing the chicken breasts with them. There should be some onions leftover in the pan for the sauce. You should add these to your baking dish, with beef stock, as this will create more sauce for you to bake your stuffed chicken breasts in. Remember that more sauce means more flavor!
Sides to Serve with Stuffed Chicken
If you want this to stay low-carb, you should use cauliflower. A nice buttery cauliflower mash, or roasted cauliflower would be a great start. Steamed vegetables, zoodles, or cauliflower rice are also fantastic alternatives.
However, if you’re feeling luxurious, you can always use mashed potatoes. Baked potatoes are a great alternative, as would be steamed rice or pasta.
How To Make French Onion Stuffed Chicken
You’ll want to use evenly sized chicken breasts. If they’re all different sizes, they will cook differently, and your stuffed chicken breasts will be unevenly cooked. Some might even risk drying out while the others are cooking! Using evenly sized breasts means even cooking.
To make the stuffing easier, you’ll want to create a pocket in your chicken. Do this by cutting horizontally into each chicken breast, carving a cavity into the breast for your onion filling to go into.
Season your chicken breasts for maximum flavor. A mixture of salt, pepper and dried thyme is a great start. If you have your own preferred chicken seasoning, feel free to use that! Be sure to generously rub both sides of the chicken breast as well as the interior of the pocket. This will make sure that your chicken’s delicious seasoning is a part of every mouthful!
When stuffing your chicken breasts, use one to two tablespoons of the caramelized onion, depending on the size of the individual breast. You don’t want to over-stuff the pocket as the stuffing will leak out.
For the cheese, use a relatively neutrally flavored cheese such as Gruyere or mozzarella. These cheeses have a low melting temperature and won’t overpower the subtler flavors of your chicken and onion sauce. A hint of parmesan will bring an Italian touch to this very French dish.
When cooking, sear your stuffed breasts until each side is golden-brown. This sear will help seal in the chicken’s delicious juices.
Once you’ve achieved the sear, transfer your breasts to a baking dish with more caramelized onions. This will add to the flavor of your dish. Top this mixture with thyme and some more of your onion sauce before baking.
You can secure your stuffed chicken breasts by sealing the “mouth” of your chicken pockets shut with toothpicks. This will help to keep the onion stuffing inside the chicken breasts rather than spilling out into the onion sauce. The sauce has enough onion in there already.
If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐! I will be happy to hear from you!
French Onion Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 large white onions halved and thinly sliced
- Ground black pepper and salt as needed
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme divided
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¾ cup beef broth or stock divided
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 5-6 fresh sage leaves plus more to garnish
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°C (200°C). Drizzle a 9x12-inch baking dish with olive oil. Keep aside.
- Melt butter over medium high heat in a large pan or skillet. Add the sliced onions and season with salt, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme and ground black pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until soft.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook until onions are caramelized ( about 15 minutes), stirring from time to time.
- Pour in ¼ cup of broth and balsamic vinegar and cook until the pan gets dry. The onions should be browned an look jammy.
- Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Place the chicken breast on a cutting board, put you hand on top of the breast and carefully cut an opening, about ¾ of the way through the breast. Repeat with the remaining breasts. Season all over and inside with 1 teaspoon thyme, salt and pepper.
- Stuff with 2 tablespoons of french onions, cheeses and seal with toothpicks.
- Transfer the remaining french onion and ½ cup of broth to the prepared baking dish. Keep aside.
- Heat oil in the same skillet over medium high heat. Sear the stuffed chicken for 4-5 minutes each side or until golden brown. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Top with fresh sage leaves.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until fully cooked. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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