Instant Pot French Onion Chicken Recipe
If you’re a fan of French onion soup, you will love this Instant Pot French Onion Chicken recipe. This chicken recipe combines the rich flavors of the classic soup of caramelized onions with tender chicken topped with provolone cheese for a satisfying weeknight dinner.
Using the Instant Pot makes this recipe a breeze to prep using minimal ingredients and cook without sacrificing any flavor. Ready in under an hour, it’s ideal for a delicious dinner any night of the week. Perfect for busy families.
There’s just something about French onion soup that makes the world right. This Instant Pot French Onion Chicken recipe is my take on the soup and is so simple to make. I love using the pressure cooker to make meals in a fraction of the time it would take on the stove oven. My Instant Pot Pork Carnitas is one of our favorites and so is this Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake.
The combination of caramelized onions and savory broth creates an irresistible gravy that infuses the chicken with incredible flavor. It’s a flavor explosion for your taste buds. Serve it with some creamy garlic mashed potatoes or herbed rice.
Instant Pot French Onion Chicken
This easy Instant Pot French Onion Chicken is simply the best and it’s a one-pot dish. If you’ve ever caramelized onions, you know it’s a labor of love and takes a bit of time and patience. The result is well worth it. Those golden brown onions can be used in making many recipes including French onion soup and this chicken dish.
The pressure cooker caramelizes the onion to perfection in just minutes and simple ingredients are used to make the gravy that the chicken will be cooked in with the onions. The final touch is the addition of melty provolone cheese on top. It’s a weeknight dinner win!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
What Type of Onions should I use for French Onion Chicken
My favorite onions are sweet onions like a Vidalia but yellow, white, or red onions can be used.
What Kind of Cheese is Best to Use?
I like to use Provolone or Swiss but Gryuere is also a delicious cheese to use. Mozzarella cheese is another good melty cheese to use.
Timesaving Tips and Variations
- You can substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the chicken breasts.
- Place slice of toasted Texas toast on a plate and top with the chicken and onion gravy for a delicious serving idea.
- Serve this dish with cauliflower rice to cut down on carbs.
- Don’t skip the steps of stirring the onions while they are cooking or deglazing the bottom of the pot. Those tiny bits are bursts of flavor.
Recommend Tools for This Recipe
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Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet onions, sliced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ cup dry red wine (can substitute more beef broth)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1¼ cup beef broth, low sodium
2 bay leaves
4-5 fresh thyme sprigs
1¼ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded ½” thick
6-8 Provolone cheese slices
Directions
Select the “Sauté” function on your Instant Pot and adjust to the medium setting. Add the butter and olive oil and stir until the butter is melted and evenly distributed across the bottom.
Add onions and sprinkle with the garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and develop some color, approximately 10-15 minutes.
Add the balsamic vinegar and red wine, then deglaze the bottom of the pot with a spatula to release any browned bits. Once the liquid is reduced by one-half, stir in the Worcestershire sauce, if using, and the beef broth. Push the “Cancel” button to turn the unit off.
Generously season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and black pepper, before adding to the Instant Pot®. Top with the bay leaves and fresh thyme sprigs. Add the lid and lock into place, making sure the pressure release valve is set to “Sealing.” Select the “Manual” button on the highest setting and adjust the cooking time to 6 minutes.
When the cook time is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then do a quick release for any remaining pressure. Once the pin drops and the steam is no longer coming out, carefully remove the lid and discard the bay leaves and woody thyme stems.
Place the mild Provolone slices on top of the chicken breasts and cover the unit with the lid for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the cheese is thoroughly melted.
Remove the lid and serve immediately with your choice of sides.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Buttered Potatoes with Garlic
- Instant Pot Pork Lo Mein
- Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Printable Recipe Card
Instant Pot French Onion Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- wooden spoon
- spatula
- dinner plates
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound sweet onions, sliced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup dry red wine (can substitute more beef broth)
- 1¼ cup low sodium beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 – 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1¼ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness
- 6 – 9 slices Provolone cheese
Instructions
- Select the “Sauté” function on your Instant Pot and adjust to the medium setting. Add the butter and olive oil and stir until the butter is melted and evenly distributed across the bottom.
- Add onions and sprinkle with the garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and develop some color, approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Add the balsamic vinegar and red wine, then deglaze the bottom of the pot with a spatula to release any browned bits. Once the liquid is reduced by one-half, stir in the Worcestershire sauce, if using, and the beef broth. Push the “Cancel” button to turn the unit off.
- Generously season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and black pepper, before adding to the Instant Pot®. Top with the bay leaves and fresh thyme sprigs. Add the lid and lock into place, making sure the pressure release valve is set to “Sealing.” Select the “Manual” button on the highest setting and adjust the cooking time to 6 minutes.
- When the cook time is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then do a quick release for any remaining pressure. Once the pin drops and the steam is no longer coming out, carefully remove the lid and discard the bay leaves and woody thyme stems.
- Place the mild Provolone slices on top of the chicken breasts and cover the unit with the lid for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the cheese is thoroughly melted.
- Remove the lid and serve immediately with your choice of sides.
Notes
- You can substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the chicken breasts.
- Place slice of toasted Texas toast on a plate and top with the chicken and onion gravy for a delicious serving idea.
- Serve this dish with cauliflower rice to cut down on carbs.
- Don’t skip the steps of stirring the onions while they are cooking or deglazing the bottom of the pot. Those tiny bits are bursts of flavor.
Nutritional Disclaimer
“Blogghetti” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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