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French Onion Chicken is an easy weeknight dinner that only takes about 30 minutes to make. Made with perfectly seasoned chicken thighs, tender onions, mushrooms, and a rich and creamy onion gravy, this French Onion Chicken skillet is a dream dinner!

French onion chicken and gravy on a white plate with rice.

Simple prep, less than 30 minutes of cook time, and oh so delicious. Serve over the starch of your choice or make it a low-carb meal and just serve with some steamed vegetables.

Be sure to try some of our other favorite chicken dinners, like Creamy Chicken Casserole, Chicken Fried Chicken, and Dorito Chicken Casserole.

Why We Love This French Onion Chicken Recipe

  • It’s super easy to make! Saute the chicken, then the veggies, then simmer the soup mix to make the gravy. It’s so easy and takes less than 30 minutes.
  • It’s insanely delicious! The rich onion flavor with the mushroom chicken is an absolute match made in heaven.
  • Great for leftovers! The gravy is so creamy and delicious, and it still tastes great the next day.

Ingredients For French Onion Chicken

  • Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs – This has quickly become my favorite kind of chicken to work with. Tender and juicy, hard to mess up, and tons of flavor.
  • French Onion Soup Mix – This mix is so versatile! I use it to make my Braised French Onion Pork Chops and you can make a yummy dip with it, too!
  • White Onion – Or whatever type of onion you have on hand. White onions are more mild and a little sweet.
  • White Mushrooms – The white mushrooms you find packaged in the produce section. You can get them already sliced or whole.
  • Flour – All-purpose flour for thickening the sauce.
  • Olive Oil – Choose a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
  • Salt and Pepper
Ingredients for french onion chicken.

How To Make French Onion Chicken

See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions

  • Prepare and cook the chicken. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken until golden brown and mostly cooked through to at least 160℉. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
  • Cook the onions and mushrooms. Add butter to the pan and cook the sliced onions and mushrooms until they’re soft and the onions are semi-translucent.
  • Make the sauce. Add the package of soup along with some water to the skillet and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sauce is thick.
  • Add chicken back. Nestle the chicken pieces into the sauce and continue to simmer for just a few minutes, until the chicken is warmed through.
Collage of images showing how to make french onion chicken skillet.
Skillet with chicken thighs in brown onion gravy.

FAQs

Can you use chicken breasts instead of thighs?

You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a caveat. White meat cooks faster and dries out quickly as well. I’d recommend butterflying the breasts so they’re thinner and then only cooking them for a few minutes in the sauce.

Can you use bone-in chicken thighs?

Sure can! If you prefer bone-in, that’s fine, but you’ll want to finish cooking it in the oven. Sear the chicken skin side down for 5-7 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes. Set aside and make the onion sauce. Nestle the chicken thigh into the gravy, skin side up, and bake in a 375℉ oven for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serving Suggestions

This is one of those meals that really benefits from a fresh parsley garnish to brighten up the whole dish.

I like to serve this chicken over steamed rice or Buttered Noodles, but my kids are also quite partial to this onion soup mix chicken served over Fluffy Mashed Potatoes. Spoon the sauce, mushrooms, and onions over the top.

Chicken thigh on a bed of rice with a spoon and mushroom onion gravy.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds.

You can freeze leftover onion chicken in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw completely before reheating.

  • Size matters – Try to choose chicken thighs that are similar in size and thickness for even cooking.
  • Make it cheesy – Once you add the chicken back into the gravy, sprinkle on some Swiss cheese, Mozzarella cheese, Provolone, or Gruyere and stick it under the broiler of your oven to melt.
  • Gravy – If the gravy is too thick you can add a little bit of beef broth or chicken broth. To thicken it, whisk together a teaspoon of flour and some of the juices from the pan until there are no lumps, then stir it in and bring to a simmer before adding the chicken.
  • Herbs – If you’d like to add some herbs, fresh thyme and oregano are good pairings.
white plate, a fork, chicken and onion gravy over rice.

More Easy Chicken Recipes

Recipe

French Onion Chicken

4.64 from 11 votes
French Onion Chicken is an easy weeknight dinner that takes less than 30 minutes to make. Tender chicken thighs in a rich, creamy onion gravy.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 1.4 ounce packet French onion soup mix
  • 1 cup thinly sliced white onion
  • 8 ounces sliced white mushrooms
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • Fresh parsley minced, for garnish
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Instructions
 

  • Pat chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside on a plate.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides and registers 160 degrees F; about 4 minutes per side. Do this in batches if they won’t all fit. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil.
  • Turn down the heat to medium. To the skillet, add a tablespoon of butter, then add the onions and mushrooms. Cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and cook, stirring frequently, for another 2 minutes to cook the flour.
  • Add the soup mix and water and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the chicken to the skillet and continue to cook over medium heat until the chicken is fully cooked and warmed through.
  • Garnish with fresh minced parsley and serve with steamed rice or egg noodles. Spoon any extra sauce over the top.

Notes

  • To thicken the sauce to more of a gravy, whisk together a teaspoon of flour and some of the juices from the pan until there are no lumps, then stir it in and bring to a simmer before adding the chicken. If the sauce gets too thick you can add a little bit of beef broth or chicken broth. 
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds.
  • You can freeze leftover onion chicken in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw completely before reheating.
Keyword french onion chicken, skillet chicken

Nutrition

Calories: 220kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 31gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 144mgSodium: 154mgPotassium: 531mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 37IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.

Kristin Maxwell

Kristin Maxwell is the creator and main recipe developer, writer, and photographer of Yellow Bliss Road. A self-taught cook and self-appointed foodie, she specializes in easy, flavorful and approachable recipes for any home cook.

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Comments

  1. Caryn J Kovac says:

    This is a good and easy recipe. My only problem was it is very salty. I hope to find a way to reduce the salt and make again

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Hi Caryn, I definitely understand that everyone has different tastes. The french onion soup mix can be a little salty. Did you also salt the chicken? I would recommend not doing that before cooking, and just adding salt if needed just before serving.

  2. Sheri Anthony says:

    this is one of my families favorite recipes. easy to make and has great flavor only change i make is not using the mushrooms

    1. Kristin says:

      Nice! Love the feedback Sheri! Thanks for stopping by.