Crock Pot French onion chicken is a complete meal that tastes just like your favorite French onion soup! Tender chicken breasts smothered in caramelized onions, melted Swiss cheese, and crispy fried onions made in the slow cooker with a rich gravy. It’s comfort food heaven, especially when served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes!
Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken
I’ve got plenty of recipes that turn classic main dishes into a soup like easy cabbage roll soup, slow cooker green chile chicken enchilada, and chicken tortilla soup, but this one turns a soup into a main meal!
Crockpot French onion chicken is a high protein, low carb dinner idea made with just 7 ingredients; one of them is parsley as an optional garnish!
This family favorite is so good. The sweet caramelized onions are so flavorful, paired with the melty cheese ensures that the entire family should be pleased.
Serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, or white rice and you’ve got an easy slow cooker dinner idea for the win!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Total comfort food – The smell of caramelized onions is the stuff dreams are made of. On top of that, you’ve got melted Swiss cheese and a rich gravy.
- It’s a twist on a classic soup recipe – Juicy tender chicken breast smothered in caramelized onions, French onion gravy and melted cheese makes for one of my family’s favorite recipes.
- Easy to make – It delivers so much flavor for something so easy and it’s just one more dump-and-set recipe to add to the weekly rotation.
Helpful Tools
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump- Chicken Breast: Trim any excess fat from the chicken breasts. You can use chicken thighs in place of the breasts.
- Sliced Onion: The signature ingredient in French onion recipes, is the onions! Thinly sliced onions get soft and then caramelized and sweet. Use a mandolin, if you have one, to slice your onions in even thin slices.
- Onion Soup Mix: This dry mix acts as a seasoning (Lipton is the popular brand). When mixed with the condensed soup and the juices from the chicken it generates a flavorful gravy. You can also make homemade onion soup mix to control the ingredients.
- Condensed French Onion Soup: This has a beef stock base that has been seasoned.
- Fried Onions: For a crispy crunchy element.
- Swiss Cheese: Another signature ingredient, gooey cheese! Instead of Gruyere I’m using sliced Swiss cheese to make life easier, but if you have Gruyere or even provolone, go ahead and use it.
- Parsley: An optional garnish.
How to make Crockpot French Onion Chicken
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Jump- Step One: Add the raw chicken breasts to the bottom of the slow cooker in a single layer then top with the sliced onions.
- Step Two: Sprinkle in the dry soup mix and pour in the French onion soup. Gently stir to combine (don’t worry if it’s a blob, the heat will help it disperse even more).
- Step Three: Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 4-6 hours. If you can spare the extra time, I’d suggest cooking it on low.
- Step Four: 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, sprinkle in the fried onions and add slices of Swiss cheese to the top of the chicken, one slice per breast. Replace the cover and allow it to melt.
Serve with a sprinkling of fresh parsley over noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice!
Every slow cooker runs differently. Times given are a general recommendation and should be tested in your own slow cooker and adjusted as needed.
What to serve with it
This hearty and satisfying meal just needs a simple light side dish, especially if you’re not interested in keeping it low carb and going to be serving it with garlic mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.
A simple veggie side dish could be oven roasted carrots, oven roasted garlic green beans or roasted zucchini.
Depending on what’s in season, use what you’ve got!
- Once the chicken is cooked, you can serve it whole or shred it first.
- Some people find shredding the chicken after allows it to absorb too much of the surrounding flavors, making it a little salty. You can test a little area first to see if you agree.
- Don’t be afraid of adding too many onion slices. It takes a lot of onion to make a small portion of caramelized onion.
- If you’re not a fan of Swiss cheese, Gruyere, or provolone, use fresh slices of Mozzarella cheese. Try and avoid using any prepackaged shredded cheese.
- Looking for a way to use up leftover french onion soup? This recipe is it! Use it in place of the condensed soup.
- For a golden brown finish, transfer the chicken to a baking dish and place it under the broiler for a couple of minutes.
Storage & Leftovers
How to store leftovers
Keep everything sealed in an airtight container.
How long will it last in the fridge?
Enjoy leftovers for up to 5 days, when kept refrigerated.
Can I freeze French onion chicken?
You can! Transfer it to a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag and keep frozen for up to 1 month. Add all the gravy and juices to the container as well. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
How to reheat it
You can reheat leftovers in a skillet on the stovetop, in the microwave, or in the oven. You may need to add a splash of water or broth to loosen up the gravy as it heats up.
FAQs
Do I need to season the chicken first?
Not at all. There is plenty of salt in this recipe, even if you do choose low-sodium options. The onion soup mix and the condensed soup are seasoned well enough.
Can I make this recipe in the oven?
Yes, you can. Add the chicken and the rest of the ingredients to a casserole dish. Bake in a preheated 400F degree oven for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165F and the cheese has melted. You can add the crispy onions afterward.
What kind of onions is best for French onion chicken?
Traditionally, for classic French onion soup, yellow onions are used. They caramelize well and provide delicious sweet onion flavor.
However, use what you’ve got on hand. White onions, Vidalia onions, red onions, you name it.
Need more tasty crockpot chicken recipes? Try these:
5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Dill Pickle Chicken
Click here for my entire collection of slow cooker recipes.
Crock Pot French Onion Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts trimmed
- 1 cup sliced onion
- 1 ounce onion soup mix
- 10.5 ounce condensed French onion soup
- ½ cup fried onions
- 2-3 slices swiss cheese
- parsley optional
Instructions
- Lightly spray the inside of a 6 quart slow cooker with non-stick spray.
- Trim off any excess fat from the chicken breasts and lay them into the basin of the slow cooker. Top with the sliced onions, dry soup mix, and french onion soup.2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 cup sliced onion, 1 ounce onion soup mix, 10.5 ounce condensed French onion soup
- Gently stir to combine then cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 4-6 hours.
- 30 minutes before the end of the cook time, sprinkle in fried onions and add one slice of swiss cheese to each chicken breast. Replace the cover and let it melt.1/2 cup fried onions, 2-3 slices swiss cheese
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve over noodles.parsley
Notes
- Once cooked, you can shred the chicken or leave it whole.
- Boneless skinless thighs can be used in place of breasts, if you prefer.
- Serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
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If you made this recipe, I’d love to know how it went in the comments section below.
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Originally published April 12, 2023; photos updated January 28, 2025.
Hi, thanks for this recipe will certainly try this one in winter. If I do not have the condensed onion soup what else can I use please. Thanks for your help .
Minced onion in broth (beef or chicken or even veggie) would be a good substitute.
Super good & easy! I used more cheese than what recipe calls for!
Thanks Makenzie!
What can I use as a sub for the dried onion onion soup mix in the UK please
My friend Erin has a homemade onion soup mix that is pretty easy & would be a great sub 🙂
This was delicious. I used your recipe for the onion soup mix and I fould a recipe to make a condensed French onion soup for your dish. This way I used only good ingredients and less sodium and chemicals. I shy away from processed foods especially canned soups. This dish was great served with mashed potatoes, and broccoli.
The older I get, the more I avoid them as well, but lots of people like the convenience. I’m glad you liked it!
What can be used instead of condensed onion soup? I can’t seem to find it
Which part of the world are you in? It should be in the Campbell’s soup area here in the US. Or here it is on Amazon. If those aren’t an option, I think there is a packet of onion soup mix you could prepare & use?
I made this 2 weeks ago and my husband is still talking about how good it was. I forgot to buy condensed onion soup and didn’t have any broth, so I just used water, and it turned out great.
Ooh, that’s great to know! I’m so glad it was a hit 🙂