French Onion Chicken with Cheesy Waffle Fries

Talk about a pan of food that I could basically live in. This (six-ingredient) concoction is kind of like if Irish Nachos and French Onion Soup were to wed in a ceremony presided over by … a chicken. Yep, that’s exactly it. I love a good French Onion-flavored anything. really. From Mac and Cheese to burgers and patty melts, giving anything the “French Onion” treatment is always a very good idea. Today, with this French Onion Chicken Skillet, we’re going to shingle a whole mess of waffle fries over top, cover them in nutty, salty, Gruyere cheese and bake until things are both gooey and crispy. Forever and ever, amen.

How to make this French Onion Chicken Skillet

This is a six-ingredient recipe that is so fast and easy to make, you will hardly believe how good it ends up tasting. We’ll brown up some chicken thighs in a bit of olive oil (season those babies very well with salt and pepper!). Transfer them to a holding plate or tray and don’t even dream about wiping out that pan. All of those browned bits (called fond) and rendered fat will greatly contribute to the flavor in the final dish. This is a trick that is an essential component of high-quality minimalist cooking, which we specialize in here at My Kitchen Little.

Next, we’ll slice up a bunch of sweet onions and scatter them in the pans with those tasty drippings. We’re not going to caramelize them all the way down, as that would take a very long time and I frankly don’t want to ask that you of, dear friends. So no, we’ll just get them nice and golden and tender – their sweetness will get the chance to make itself known. They will provide a tasty bed for those chicken thighs we already cooked.

But first! My flavor weapon trick is to add a big dollop of coarse grained Dijon mustard before deglazing with the beef stock. Dijon has wine in it, so it has a greater depth of flavor than some other one-note mustards, and it helps create a really great sauce for this chicken. Season everything with salt and pepper and tuck those thighs back down inside that bubbling bath of tangled onions. Top with some (already cooked) waffle fries and then some freshly shredded/grated Gruyere cheese (you can sub Swiss) and then bake at 425 for 10 minutes, and broil for about 2.

Boom! Easy and SO delicious.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

That’s the basic rundown of things. Easy, right? But here is the exact play-by-play for you:

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position. 

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large ovenproof skillet set over medium high heat. When it’s hot, add the chicken thighs, season generously with salt and pepper, and brown well on both sides; takes a few minutes per side. Transfer to a plate or tray and don’t clean out the pan.

With the oil now on medium, add the sliced onions, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until very tender and soft; about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the mustard and stock and stir to combine.  

Slide the chicken back into the pan, along with all of the juices (liquid gold!). Scatter the pre-baked waffles fries all over top in a big layer (you may not use all of them, up to you). Cover with the shredded cheese and bake until golden and bubbling, about 10 minutes. I like to broil for the last couple of minutes to get things nice and crispy. 

NOTE: the amount of onions you use here doesn’t need to be exact. My onions were very small, so I used 6. But two really big, softball sized ones would probably work fine. You just want a thick layer of sliced onions to cover the whole pan. They will cook down a ton, so just keep that in mind.

What you’ll need

This is a six-ingredient wonder-meal, that comes with a protein, a (drinkably delicious) sauce, and a starch/vegetable. Tough to beat it, y’all. Tough to beat it. Now , as with any minimal ingredient recipe, you can of course build on it and add more things that you already have or feel like adding. Some fresh thyme sprigs, maybe. A second type of cheese. Tater tots instead of waffle fries. Some beef stock concentrate to amp up the flavor. Be creative! This recipe doesn’t need a thing more, but it wouldn’t ever hurt to play.

INGREDIENTS

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Salt and pepper, to taste

Olive oil for cooking

4 or 5 small sweet onions, thinly sliced

1.5 tablespoons coarse grain Dijon mustard

2 to 3 cups beef stock

1 package frozen waffle fries, baked 5 minutes less than directed on the package

2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese (Swiss can be subbed)

If you like the looks of this French Onion Chicken Skillet, you might also want to check out:

Chicken Paillard with Shallot Mustard Pan Sauce

Alice Springs Chicken

Lemon Butter Chicken with Herbs

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