Monday, August 20, 2012

French Onion Chicken


This wasn't necessarily the prettiest dish to photograph, but it sure was absolutely delicious, and that's what's really important, right?

I've been tossing around the idea of a French onion chicken dish for a while now, and I finally got around to trying it. I was so pleased with the results; this dish has all the same flavor notes as a bowl of French onion soup, minus the actual soup: sweet caramelized onions, a crispy element (Panko-breaded chicken, in this case), a hint of thyme, melted cheese. I used sliced muenster cheese because that's what I had on hand, but feel free to use whatever type of cheese you like. This chicken is a delicious and different dinner and a fun new take on a classic favorite!


French Onion Chicken

4 to 6 chicken breasts (uniform thickness)
1 stick butter, melted
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 cup shredded or sliced muenster, gouda, or gruyere cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, sugar, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 teaspoon of the thyme leaves. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized.

3. While the onions are cooking, combine panko, 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme leaves, and the salt and pepper in a dish. Dip the chicken in the egg, then in the panko mixture.

4. Heat about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Cook the chicken until it's browned on both sides, then move it to the casserole dish in a single layer. Top the chicken with the onions, then the cheese.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

that really does sound awesome!

Unknown said...

This looks so yummy! Plan on making it for dinner tonight. Found you through pinterest, can't wait to try out more of your recipes :)
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Heather
www.HeatherlyLoves.com

thepastyharlot said...

This sounded great, but I just could not get the chicken to cook through! No jokes, I cooked it way more than this recipe called for and it just would NOT work. :( It was such a bummer because I wasted a lot of chicken on it :(