October 27, 2025

The Pursuit of Kitchen

The Pursuit of Kitchen

French Onion Hen – Cooking Elegant

French onion chicken served on a white platter with green beans.


French Onion Hen is a deeply flavorful dish made with pan fried hen breasts, together with a sauce of fantastically caramelized onions, white wine and recent herbs, plus a blanketing end of gruyere and parmesan cheese. It’s an distinctive entree that’s certain to impress!

This wealthy French onion soup impressed hen is the dinner you didn’t know you wanted in your life! It style identical to a traditional French onion soup however with the filling improve of hearty hen breasts.

It’s a dish that’s reminds us that typically the humblest of components like yellow onions can create probably the most charming flavors when cooked thoughtfully.

To make it onions are slowly, rigorously caramelized over a low warmth, then the pan is deglazed with white wine and hen broth to create a sauce. Whereas individually hen breasts sear to their very own golden brown magnificence in a sizzling skillet. Then the 2 are introduced collectively in a single pan, and hen is roofed with loads of cheese and shortly melted below a blazing sizzling broiler.

From there you’ll smother each bit of with loads of the jammy French onion pan sauce and also you’ll have what looks like a classy positive eating dish however within the consolation of your individual residence.

Close up photo french onion chicken.

Ingredients needed for French onion chicken.

French Onion Hen Recipe Components

Yellow onions: That is the staple ingredient of a French onion dish. You need to use a mix of yellow and crimson onions when you’d like.

Butter and olive oil: These fat add richness and are used to caramelize the onions and brown the hen.

Salt and pepper: You’ll season each the hen and the sauce.

Garlic: Recent garlic is the best choice.

Recent rosemary and thyme: In a pinch you should utilize a heaping 1/4 tsp dried thyme and rosemary.

Dry white wine: Sauvignon Blanc is an effective selection right here.

Low-sodium hen broth: Homemade stock is the most effective when you occur to have some available (or frozen and thawed).

Cornstarch: Solely a little bit of that is used to thicken the sauce.

Hen breasts: You need to use 4 small hen breasts or 2 massive hen breasts which were butterflied and halved.

Flour: This coats the hen, it encourages browning and in addition helps the sauce cling to the hen.

Gruyere and parmesan cheese: These two cheeses collectively add glorious taste.Melted butter in saucepan. Sliced onions in saucepan shown raw.

How you can Caramelize Onions

Soften butter, initially saute onions: In a heavy backside 4 quart saucepan soften butter over medium warmth. Add onions and a pair of pinches of salt and saute 10 minutes, tossing often.

Slowly prepare dinner onions, stir regularly: Cut back warmth to medium-low, proceed to prepare dinner till onions have damaged down and caramelized, stirring regularly and scraping up backside of pan to stop burning (stir about each 2 to three minutes), cooking about 30 extra minutes whole.

Add different seasonings: Add garlic, thyme and rosemary and prepare dinner 1 minute longer.

Deglaze pan, simmer sauce: Pour in white wine and hen broth scraping up browned bits from backside. Carry to a simmer over medium warmth, then scale back warmth to medium-low and simmer quarter-hour till liquid has lowered and alcoholic scent has cooked off (stir often).

Onions in a saucepan shown after caramelizing. Chicken broth, wine and herbs added to caramelized French onions.

How you can Make French Onion Hen

Whereas the onion combination is simmering prepare dinner the hen in subsequent step.

Dredge hen: Warmth olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high warmth. Season either side of hen with salt and pepper, then dredge as soon as piece of hen at a time in flour, coat either side and shake off extra. Switch hen to skillet.

Prepare dinner hen: Prepare dinner hen till golden brown on both sides, and middle registers 160 levels, about 5 to six minutes per aspect.

Flour coated chicken breasts shown raw in skillet before cooking. Browned chicken breasts in skillet.

Thicken onion combination, add to hen: Whisk cornstarch and 1 Tbsp hen broth then pour into lowered onion combination, prepare dinner 30 seconds to thicken, whereas whisking. Add salt and pepper to style as wanted.

Pour onion combination into skillet across the hen.

Cowl hen with cheese: Switch oven rack close to higher 1/3 of the oven and warmth broiler. Cowl hen with Gruyere and parmesan cheese, then broil till melted, about 1 minute (maintain a really shut eye on it so it doesn’t burn).

Optionally you may garnish with a sprinkling of the recent herbs to serve.

French onion mixture added to chicken. Grated cheese on chicken breasts before melting.

Useful Suggestions

  • Persistence is vital: It is a recipe that does require endurance as you let the onions caramelize. Don’t be tempted to crank up the warmth and attempt to brown the onions quicker, they’ll simply burn and make the dish style bitter.
  • Stir regularly: If solely we might caramelize onions with out the necessity to stir. You’ll have to stir them about each 2 to three minutes, once more to stop them from burning and they also prepare dinner evenly (it’s a superb time to do one thing within the kitchen close by like unloading the endlessly full dishwasher). I like to recommend utilizing a flat tipped picket spatula for stirring.
  • Hen temperature: Watch out to not overcook the hen, hen breasts dry out simply when cooked to too excessive of a temp. You need to prepare dinner it simply to 160°F in middle (it’s going to proceed to prepare dinner by means of with the sauce 5 levels extra).
  • Broiling tip: Be very aware when broiling to soften the cheese. I like to recommend staying close by the oven when broiling so that you aren’t getting sidetracked with one thing. The cheese will soften tremendous quick and it could be so unhappy to burn the dish proper on the finish.

Cheese shown after melting on chicken breasts.

Attainable Variations

Hen thighs: Boneless skinless hen thighs could also be substituted instead of hen breasts. Use 6 small thighs.

Beef: Rather than hen do this French onion pan sauce over pan seared burger patties or steak.

Cheese: You may substitute the Gruyere with Emmental, Comte or Swiss cheese, and the Parmesan cheese with Romano cheese, Asiago or Grana Padano.

No wine: If you wish to make a very non-alcoholic sauce omit the white wine and substitute with extra hen broth.

Gluten free: If it is advisable make the dish gluten free merely substitute the all function flour with a 1:1 gluten free flour mix.

Four pieces of French onion chicken with Swiss cheese and herbs in a skillet.

What to Serve with French Onion Hen

Potatoes: Mashed potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or roasted potatoes are nice choices.

Bread: A sourdough or different rustic bread is a pleasant aspect for dipping within the additional sauce.

Inexperienced greens: Roasted or steamed broccoli, inexperienced beans, asparagus or Brussels sprouts pair effectively.

Salad: A easy arugula salad or spinach salad are colourful, recent sides that go effectively right here.

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French onion chicken served on a white platter with green beans.

French Onion Hen

A deeply flavorful dish made with pan fried hen breasts, together with a sauce of fantastically caramelized onions, white wine and recent herbs, plus a blanketing end of gruyere and parmesan cheese. It is an distinctive entree that is certain to impress!

Servings: 4

Prep20 minutes

Prepare dinner1 hour

Prepared in: 1 hour 20 minutes

  • In a heavy backside 4 quart saucepan soften butter over medium warmth. Add onions and a pair of pinches of salt and saute 10 minutes, tossing often.

  • Cut back warmth to medium-low, proceed to prepare dinner till onions have damaged down and caramelized, stirring regularly and scraping up backside of pan to stop burning (stir about each 2 to three minutes), cooking about 30 extra minutes whole. Add garlic, thyme and rosemary and prepare dinner 1 minute longer.

  • Pour in white wine and hen broth scraping up browned bits from backside. Carry to a simmer over medium warmth, then scale back warmth to medium-low and simmer quarter-hour till liquid has lowered and alcoholic scent has cooked off (stir often).

  • Whereas the onion combination is simmering prepare dinner the hen in subsequent step.

  • Warmth olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high warmth. Season either side of hen with salt and pepper, then dredge as soon as piece of hen at a time in flour, coat either side and shake off extra. Switch hen to skillet.

  • Prepare dinner hen till golden brown on both sides, and middle registers 160 levels, about 5 to six minutes per aspect.

  • Whisk cornstarch and 1 Tbsp hen broth then pour into lowered onion combination, prepare dinner 30 seconds to thicken, whereas whisking. Add salt and pepper to style as wanted.

  • Pour onion combination into skillet across the hen.

  • Switch oven rack close to higher 1/3 of the oven and warmth broiler. Cowl hen with Gruyere and parmesan cheese, then broil till melted, about 1 minute (maintain a really shut eye on it so it would not burn).

  • Spoon a number of the onion combination over hen when serving.

Vitamin Information

French Onion Hen

Quantity Per Serving

Energy 498
Energy from Fats 225

% Every day Worth*

Fats 25g38%

Saturated Fats 12g75%

Trans Fats 0.4g

Polyunsaturated Fats 2g

Monounsaturated Fats 9g

Ldl cholesterol 157mg52%

Sodium 514mg22%

Potassium 897mg26%

Carbohydrates 14g5%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 48g96%

Vitamin A 544IU11%

Vitamin C 8mg10%

Calcium 296mg30%

Iron 1mg6%

* P.c Every day Values are based mostly on a 2000 calorie weight loss program.