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This French onion chicken casserole has sweet, jammy caramelized onions, tender chicken, and perfectly fluffy rice finished with a generous sprinkle of gruyère cheese. It’s a one-pot dinner dream!
This French onion chicken casserole is not the kind of recipe you throw together on a weeknight. While it isn’t difficult to make, properly caramelizing onions does take some patience and time. And you know what? That’s ok!
Sometimes you want to put on comfy clothes, blast a favorite playlist (or in my case, a true crime podcast or audiobook), and spend a little quality time in the kitchen.
Given the richness and cheesy gooeyness of this French onion chicken bake, I highly recommend pairing it with simple veggies on the side. Our favorites go-to quick veggies are air fryer asparagus or garlic butter green beans.
If French-fried onions for the casserole topping aren’t available in your grocery store, our recipe for fried shallots will work just as well for this recipe.
Pro tips/Recipe Notes
- If you’re like me and onions make you cry your face off, putting them in the fridge for 40-60 minutes before cutting them will greatly reduce the tears.
- There are tons of “tricks” out there to make caramelizing onions faster. And guess what? They don’t work. The only true way to do it is to go low (heat) and slow (time).
- If you’re using a skillet to make and bake this recipe, choose a big one. The one I use is 4.5 quarts. Anything smaller and you run the risk of things overflowing as the rice expands in the oven.
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Preheat oven to 350˚F.
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In a large frying pan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-low heat.
3 tbsp butter
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Add the onions, olive oil, and kosher salt. Stir occasionally until browned (30-40 minutes). Some of the onions might stick a bit, but keep gently stirring to dislodge them.
4 cups white or yellow onions, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp olive oil
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Add the garlic and cook for ~3 more minutes.
2 cloves garlic
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Remove from heat and stir in the cubed chicken breast and sour cream, stirring to coat.
1 1/2 lb chicken breast, 1 1/4 cup sour cream
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Grease the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish or a 12-inch skillet.
cooking spray
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Add the uncooked rice to the bottom of the baking dish.
1 1/4 cup long-grain white rice
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Pour the hot beef stock over the rice. Stir the mixture with a fork.
2 1/2 cups beef broth, low sodium
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Spread the chicken and onion mixture over the top of the rice. Separate any pieces of the chicken that have stuck together.
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Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake at 350˚F for 25 minutes.
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After 25 minutes, remove the foil. Use a spoon to gently stir up the casserole ingredients and redistribute everything around the pan.
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Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
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Top with shredded cheese and fried onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
1 cup French fried onions, 2 cups gruyere cheese
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Allow the casserole to sit, uncovered for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- If using a frying pan, make sure it is deep enough to accommodate the rice.
Serving: 1cupCalories: 394kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 19gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 420mgPotassium: 244mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 639IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 401mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
