As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This French onion chicken and rice 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.
Skillet French Onion Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter {salted or unsalted – chef's choice}
- 4 cups white or yellow onions {thinly sliced} {~2 large or 4 medium onions}
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic {finely minced}
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast {cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces}
- 1 1/4 cup sour cream
- cooking spray
- 1 1/4 cup long-grain white rice {I used Jasmine}
- 2 1/2 cups beef broth, low sodium {HOT}
- 2 cups gruyere cheese {grated}
- 1 cup French fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- In a large frying pan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-low heat.3 tbsp butter
- 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
- Add the garlic and cook for ~3 more minutes.2 cloves garlic
- 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
- Grease the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish or a 12-inch skillet.cooking spray
- Add the uncooked rice to the bottom of the baking dish.1 1/4 cup long-grain white rice
- Pour the hot beef stock over the rice. Stir the mixture with a fork.2 1/2 cups beef broth, low sodium
- Spread the chicken and onion mixture over the top of the rice. Separate any pieces of the chicken that have stuck together.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake at 350˚F for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, remove the foil. Use a spoon to gently stir up the casserole ingredients and redistribute everything around the pan.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Top with shredded cheese and fried onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes.1 cup French fried onions, 2 cups gruyere cheese
- Allow the casserole to sit, uncovered for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If using a frying pan, make sure it is deep enough to accommodate the rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks amazing and I cannot wait to try it!!!
I can’t wait to hear what you think about it, Melissa!
This looks amazing! It reminds me of my chicken stroganoff-BUT WITH CHEESE!!!! Yes please!
Cheese makes EVERYTHING better!!