This recipe takes the very best part of French Onion soup, including tangy broth, melty cheese, and sautéed onions, and transforms into a chicken dish that will blow your mind. You’ll be glad to have this Instant Pot French Onion Chicken recipe in your back pocket for busy nights so the pressure cooker does the work for you.
This Instant Pot French Onion Chicken Recipe is one of my most popular and delicious recipes made in the Instant Pot, alongside my Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi!
Chicken thighs are cooked alongside caramelized onions in the Instant Pot and then topped with melty cheese. Do you know which cheese is the best for enjoying in French Onion dishes? I outline the options for you!
No more boring chicken breasts for dinner…. make this delicious weeknight meal instead!
Serve it with an escargot recipe as an appetizer and a creme brulee dessert for a true French dinner experience!
Why Make this Recipe
- The Most Tender Chicken: Cooking chicken in the Instant Pot makes for perfectly tender chicken thighs every time. They are so easy to cook and don’t need to be checked constantly like when cooking chicken in the oven.
- Dinner in Under 30 Minutes: This recipe makes the most delicious chicken dinner in under 30 minutes, complete with chicken smothered in cheese with a delicious and flavorful sauce.
What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Chicken Thighs: Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Onions: Sweet, yellow onions are best in this recipe. I slice mine up thinly.
- Beef Stock: Make sure to use low-sodium beef broth to keep the dish from being too salty
- Balsamic Vinegar: This is what gives the sauce its familiar tang.
- Herbs: You can use fresh thyme sprigs or ground thyme. I also used ground oregano.
- Cheese: This recipe calls for Mozzarella cheese. You can use shredded mozzarella or buy a block of mozzarella and cut it into slices before placing on the chicken. You can also use gruyere cheese for a sharper cheese or mild provolone slices for a budget-friendly option.
Tools
- Instant Pot: Or another electric pressure cooker
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Prep the Chicken
Place your boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a large plastic ziplock bag and seal tightly. Use a meat cleaver to pound your chicken thighs until they are about ¼” thick. Season with salt and black pepper.
Remove chicken thighs from the bag. Pour flour into a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken thighs in the flour, coating each side in flour thoroughly.
Turn your Instant Pot on to the saute setting. Add 1 tbsp of butter and allow it to melt.
Add the chicken thighs into the pot, browning them on each side (about 4 minutes each). Cook in two rounds if you need to so as not to crowd the chicken. Remove the browned chicken and set on a separate plate.
Step 2: Prep the Vegetables
Still on the saute setting, add two more tablespoons of butter into your Instant Pot. Add the onions and saute until they begin to turn translucent. Add small drizzles of olive oil if the bottom of the pot seems too dry.
Once the onions have softened, turn off the saute feature.
Step 3: Pressure Cook
Pour the beef stock into the Instant Pot along with the balsamic vinegar, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits that had stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Add the chicken back into the pot with the oregano and thyme, and put on the lid. Turn Instant Pot to high pressure for 9 minutes. Once the 9 minutes are up, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then open the pressure release valve to perform a quick release for the remaining pressure.
Step 4: Finish the Sauce
Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and set on a separate plate.
Turn the Instant Pot to saute again, and allow the sauce to come to a boil.
In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch and water and stir until completely combined. Add the cornstarch slurry into the boiling sauce, and stir until the sauce thickens.
Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the pot. Add the chicken back into the pot. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the chicken. Place the lid back on for about 2 minutes, using the residual heat until the cheese melts all the way.
Serve chicken with sauce. Enjoy
Add Extra Flavor
If you want to add some extra flavor to your Instant Pot French Onion Chicken, try any of the following:
- Bay leaves
- Worcestershire sauce
- garlic powder
- Italian seasoning
- Canned onion soup (in place of beef stock)
- Dijon mustard
Expert Tips
- If you don’t want to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, you can choose instead to use chicken breasts. In this case, I would use only about 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Make sure to pound them until they are about ¼ inch thick
- If you would prefer not to use mozzarella, you can use any type of cheese that you’d like. Provolone, gruyere, or Swiss are all great options.
- For a full meal, serve this chicken alongside rice and vegetables, such as broccoli. The chicken would also be delicious over noodles!
- For a creamier option, you can melt a little cream cheese into the onion gravy after the dish has been cooked
Serving Suggestions
I think that this delicious meal is best served with white wine, but red wine would also be great!
It would also be delicious with garlic bread served on the side! Try toasting up a baguette slice on a baking sheet and topping it with melted cheese. For an easier (though less fancy option), you can even try this recipe with slices of Texas toast.
For your choice of sides, you could experiment with roasted vegetables like broccoli or asparagus. Maybe even try this Easy Ratatouille Recipe! Roasted potatoes, Colcannon which is an Irish mashed potatoes, or pasta are also great options.
Recipe FAQs
French onion soup originated in France in the 18th century. It is a delicious soup made with beef broth, onions, cheese and, normally, bread on top of the soup.
This recipe recreates the best part of French Onion Soup and serves it alongside chicken for a savory, umami filled meal.
You can use white or sweet onions, though I recommend sweet.I have seen recipes using red onions, but I would not recommend them for this recipe.
Place the chicken in an airtight container and store in the fridge. You will be able to store the chicken for up to 5 days!
Did you like this recipe for French Onion Chicken Recipe in the Instant Pot? If so, make sure to check out the other recipes on this page that I picked out just for you:
- Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
- Pineapple Chicken Recipe in the Instant Pot
- Croque Madame Recipe
- Lavagni (Walnut and Plum Stuffed Chicken Breast) from Azerbaijan
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Instant Pot French Onion Chicken
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Wooden Spoon
- Box Grater
- Plastic Bag
- Shallow Bowl(s)
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 medium sweet onions, sliced
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp Ground Thyme
- 1 tsp Ground Oregano
- 5 tbsp water
- ½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Place your 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a large plastic ziplock bag and seal tightly. Use a meat cleaver to pound your chicken thighs until about ¼ inch thick. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove chicken thighs from the bag. Pour ½ cup flour into a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken thighs in the flour, coating each side in flour thoroughly.
- Turn your Instant Pot on to the saute setting. Add 1 tbsp of butter and allow it to melt. Add the chicken thighs into the pot, browning them on each side (about 4 minutes each). Cook in two rounds if you need to so as not to crowd the chicken. Remove the browned chicken and set on a separate plate.
- Still on the saute setting, add two more tablespoons of butter into your Instant Pot. Add the 2 medium sliced onions and saute until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add small drizzles of olive oil if the bottom of the pot seems too dry.
- Once the onions have softened, turn off the saute feature.
- Pour 1 cup beef stock into the Instant Pot along with 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits that had stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the chicken back into the pot with the ½ tsp oregano and 1 tsp thyme, and put on the lid. Turn Instant Pot to Manual for 9 minutes. Once the 9 minutes are up, allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then instant release the rest.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and set on a separate plate.
- Turn the Instant Pot to saute again, and allow the sauce to come to a boil.
- In a separate bowl, combine 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch and water and mix to combine. Add the cornstarch slurry into the boiling sauce, and stir until the sauce thickens.
- Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the pot. Add the chicken back into the pot. Sprinkle ½ cup cheese on top of the chicken. Place the lid back on for about 2 minutes, using the residual heat until the cheese melts all the way.
- Serve chicken with sauce. Enjoy
Notes
- Chicken Thighs: Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Onions: Sweet, yellow onions are best in this recipe. I slice mine up thinly.
- Beef Stock: Make sure to use low-sodium beef broth to keep the dish from being too salty
- Balsamic Vinegar: This is what gives the sauce its familiar tang.
- Herbs: You can use fresh thyme sprigs or ground thyme. I also used ground oregano.
- Cheese: This recipe calls for Mozzarella cheese. You can use shredded mozzarella or buy a block of mozzarella and cut it into slices before placing on the chicken. You can also use gruyere cheese for a sharper cheese or mild provolone slices for a budget-friendly option.
- If you don’t want to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, you can choose instead to use chicken breasts. In this case, I would use only about 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Make sure to pound them until they are about ¼ inch thick
- If you would prefer not to use mozzarella, you can use any type of cheese that you’d like. Provolone, gruyere, or Swiss are all great options.
- For a full meal, serve this chicken alongside rice and vegetables, such as broccoli. The chicken would also be delicious over noodles!
- For a creamier option, you can melt a little cream cheese into the onion gravy after the dish has been cooked
Lynn L says
My family loved it! The directions were easy to follow. I’ll definitely make this again!
The Foreign Fork says
Hurray!! I am so glad that you liked it Lynn! Thanks for leaving a comment 🙂
Laura Gallinetti says
Looking forward to making this however there is no way you can make this under 30 minutes. Will take well over an hour so plan ahead!!