Keto French Onion Soup Chicken is comforting, incredible, and so easy to make. With little effort, you can combine caramelized onions, garlic, tender chicken, swiss or gruyere cheese, and seasonings to create a masterpiece in your kitchen. It has only 5 ingredients and has minimal hands-on time. It’s low carb, grain-free, and gluten-free too.
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Call me crazy, but I think just about anything with caramelized onions is bound to be delicious. They naturally end up so sweet and flavorful. I love French onion soup but when I looked into making a low carb version the carbs were just too high for a keto diet from all the onions. By balancing the sweet carby onions with a protein like chicken you can get all the flavor with a fraction of the carbs.
Many people that normally don’t like onions will happily eat this keto french onion soup chicken without complaint. When you add slow sweet caramelized onions to tender chicken and plenty of cheese, you end up with an outstanding meal that everyone will gobble up in minutes. It’s one of those dishes where the seasonings go so good together it’s hard to resist.
What You’ll Need
- Onions - any type of onions are fine in this recipe.
- Garlic - I prefer fresh garlic but the chopped kind that comes in a jar can sub in a pinch.
- Chicken - chicken breasts cut in half so they are thin or chicken tenderloins work well.
- Beef Bouillon or Onion Soup Mix - this is optional but really helps that classic French onion soup flavor to come through. Most beef bouillon and onion soup mixes have about 1 gram of carbs per teaspoon, normally from maltodextrin. This is why this is optional.
- Swiss Cheese and/or Gruyere Cheese
- Salt & Pepper
How To Make Keto French Onion Soup Chicken
Step One: Caramelize the onions along with the garlic.
Move the cooked onions to the edges of the pan and add in the pieces of chicken. Add salt and pepper to the chicken.
Step Two: After the chicken has cooked almost all the way through (155 on a meat thermometer), add on the caramelized onions and sprinkle it with onion soup mix or beef bouillon if desired. Then top with swiss and gruyere cheese.
Step Three: Broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese has melted. It will heat quickly so keep a close watch on it.
Step Four: Serve and enjoy!
Tips For Making Onion Soup Chicken
- Don’t go too heavy, adding salt and pepper to the chicken. The bouillon and onion soup mix both have a fair amount of salt, so you won’t need a lot. I go by the standard 1 teaspoon per pound of chicken normally but cut it back a bit for this recipe.
- Add a little spice by mixing in some red pepper flakes to the onions. Just add enough to taste and get a little kick of flavor.
- If you cut the chicken, so it’s thin, it’s going to cook a lot faster than a big thick piece of chicken. You can cut it in half or pound it to thin it before cooking.
- No matter what, make sure the pieces of chicken are very close in size. It will cook a lot more evenly this way.
- Garnish with your favorite fresh herbs. Oregano or parsley are great additions and add some vibrant color too.
Serving Suggestions
This low carb keto onion soup chicken is so good it can be eaten alone without any other side dishes. However, if you want to make a big meal or are in the mood for some side items, consider these ideas.
- Roasted Veggies - As with most meals, you can’t go wrong with roasted veggies. They taste great and are pretty low-key to make. Try my keto green beans.
- Keto-Friendly Bread - There are many luscious options out there for low carb bread and dinner rolls. We enjoy these keto breadsticks. Yum!
- Salad - Enjoy a salad made with fresh vegetables to complete the meal. This keto Caesar salad is our favorite side.
What Kind Of Onions Do I Need?
Yellow or white onions are both great options, but really any onions will work. Play around with the recipe and use the onions you like the best. Yellow onions tend to be pretty sweet and get sweeter as they caramelize.
Can I Double This Keto French Onion Soup Chicken?
Yep, of course! You will most likely need to work in batches unless you have a very large pan. This french onion soup chicken dish is always a hit, so if you are serving it at a dinner party or something, having extra is a great idea. You can keep it in a slow cooker on warm to keep it warm until it’s ready to serve.
Alternatively, you can transfer the chicken and onions to a casserole dish after browning and finish this in the oven.
How Do I Store Leftovers?
Naturally, you will need to let the onion soup chicken cool down. Then put it in a container that is sealed tightly. Keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Reheat on the stovetop until it’s hot all the way through. Or heat it in the microwave. Be sure to cover it with a paper towel or microwave cover, so it doesn’t splatter.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 cups sliced onions
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1.5 pounds chicken breast thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon beef bouillon powder or onion soup mix optional
- 2 cups shredded Swiss and/or Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and golden, about 30 minutes.
- Move the onions to the sides of the pan and add the chicken to the center in a single layer. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until 155 degrees with a meat thermometer.
- Top the chicken with the cooked onions and bouillon or soup mix if using. Sprinkle on the cheese. Place the pan under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and the chicken has reached 160. Let rest for a minute and then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Devyn Beegle says
Chicken has to be cooked to 165° to be safe to eat. Not one degree lower. You mentioned to 160°. This is the only problem I have with your recipe.
Taryn says
Yes, that is what the USDA says. It is simpler for them to just pick a number than explain how it works. You can actually pasteurize chicken at a much lower temperature to kill all the bacteria, but you probably wouldn't like the texture. If you want the chicken to go from the pan to your mouth in 0 seconds you can cook it to 165. If you cook it to 160 and let it rest for a few minutes, the bacteria will indeed be killed, and the chicken will be moist.
For further research you can reference the chart on page 18 here: http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Guidelines%20and%20Forms/Guidelines%20and%20Manuals/EH/FPS/Food/SVGuidelines_FinalforWeb.pdf
This is about sous vide cooking but can be applied to other cooking methods.
Also, from https://blog.thermoworks.com/chicken/bloody_chicken/:
The problem I have with your comment is it just blindly follows guidelines without doing research behind it. If you'd like dry chicken you can keep it in the pan until 165. As it rests it will probably hit 170.
Lissa says
This was amazing! I halved the recipe since I'm the only one in the house who will eat it. I used shredded chicken thighs I already had left over and put it over a bed of zucchini. So good and I'm so happy to find a keto recipe with onions front and center. I've been missing them.
Jennifer says
I think I'll try this as a casserole with shredded cooked chicken. I have a new counter top appliance that does rotisserie chicken.
It looks delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Lynn Tremblay says
Where is the chicken in the recipe? Is it the 1.5 pounds thinly sliced? thank you.
Taryn says
I'm not sure what you mean. The chicken is mentioned in both the blog post photo tutorial and in the recipe card.