French Onion Chicken Skillet with Melted Swiss
Seared chicken breasts simmered with deeply caramelized onions in beef broth, finished with melted Swiss cheese.
French onion soup's best feature — those slow-caramelized onions — gets borrowed here and turned into a skillet dinner. The onions cook low and slow until deeply golden, chicken breasts sear alongside them, and a splash of beef broth and thyme pulls it all together into a savory pan sauce, finished with melted Swiss.
Skipping the bread and heavy cheese layer that a traditional French onion soup usually carries keeps this dish lighter and lower in carbs, while the chicken keeps it filling enough to stand on its own as dinner.
Give the onions the full 20 minutes they need — rushing this step is the one thing that will shortchange the flavor.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
- 2 large onions — thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic — minced
- 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 4 slices reduced-fat Swiss cheese
- salt and pepper — to taste
These ingredients are standard at most North American supermarkets.
Instructions
- 1Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes until deeply caramelized.
- 2Push onions to the side of the pan, season chicken with salt and pepper, and sear 5 minutes per side until golden.
- 3Add garlic, beef broth, and thyme to the skillet, stirring the onions back in. Simmer 8-10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
- 4Top each chicken breast with a slice of Swiss cheese and a spoonful of onions, cover, and let cheese melt, about 2 minutes.
- 5Serve chicken with pan sauce spooned over the top.