Nothing says comfort food quite like a warm, bubbly, cup of french onion soup. I love the flavors that come with making french onion soup: the melty cheese, the savory flavors of the broth, and of course, who can forget about the caramelized onions? I've taken my love of this classic soup and married the flavors with ground chicken and caramelized onions, making this the most comforting french onion chicken meatballs recipe you'll ever find, and eat!
Meatballs are a staple, but these french onion meatballs are so fun, different, and very delicious as an alternative to traditional meatballs. These come inspired by my italian style chicken meatballs and my sweet and sour slow cooker meatballs. I can't wait for you to make this recipe, it's one of my favs, and will be yours too!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Meatballs are so versatile and these are no exception. Flavorful, juicy, a little sweet from the caramelized onions, they go with everything!
- This is an awesome meal prep recipe for a busy week ahead. Prep them and bake on the weekend, warm on a weeknight and grab your favorite sides.
- These meatballs are made from ground chicken, so if you're looking to add a lighter, healthier dinner option to our weekly rotation, you've come to the right place.
What are the ingredients for these meatballs?
- Ground chicken: Ground chicken tends to work better in most meatball recipes than turkey for whatever reason, and in my personal opinion, while I LOVE ground turkey recipes, ground chicken is the underdog here.
- Caramelized Onions: the trick to caramelizing onions is low and slow. You can really get them caramelized by letting them sit for over an hour or so, but in this recipe we do a quick caramelized onion for about an hour.
- Breadcrumbs: the binding agent for the meatballs.
- Egg: another binder for the meatball mixture.
- Parmesan: we add just a ¼ cup to help combine the meat, egg, and breadcrumbs together.
- Salt and pepper: because we need some flavor!
- Butter: the butter will be used predominately for the caramelized onions.
- Gruyere cheese: this nutty cheese will be sprinkled on top of the meatballs while they bake, so as to act as the cheese in the french onion soup. Literal perfection if I may say so myself.
See the recipe card below for specific information about quantities.
How do I make this recipe?
Step 1: To caramelize the onions, slice two large onions into thin slices and add to a cast iron pan with 5 tablespoons of butter. Let the sweat and begin to render down, stirring frequently.
Step 2: Lower the flame to a medium low flame, and continue to stir to onions. Caramelized onions give off a very sweet smell and look golden brown, this should take about an hour. Once the onions are fully caramelized, remove the onions from the pan and set aside.
Step 3: In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, seasoning, breadcrumbs, parmesan, and ½ cup of the caramelized onions, chopped.
Step 4: Combine the mixture and form meatballs.
Step 5: To the same pan the onions were cooked, add a tablespoon of olive oil and pan fry the meatballs in batches on all sides, approximately 10-15 minutes.
Step 6: Add ½ cup beef broth and 2 tablespoon flour to a jar and shake to mix. Add to the meatballs and let cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Step 7: Top with gruyere cheese and thyme and bake at 350º to melt the cheese, approximately 10 minutes
Step 8: Switch the oven to broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Top over orzo, rice, or pasta.
HINT: You can cover the pot or pan when the onions caramelize to help speed up the process a bit, but be on standby to watch the onions as they get close to caramelizing so that they do not burn.
Swaps and Substitutions
This recipe is a lower-carb recipe by nature, but if you want to swap and sub a few things out, here's what I'd recommend:
- Turkey vs. Chicken - you can swap out the chicken for turkey if you prefer that protein instead.
- Gluten Free - use gluten free breadcrumbs instead of the regular.
- Cheese - Opt out of the gruyere on top, or switch to swiss or muenster cheese.
Using Up Leftover Caramelized Onions
I made way too many caramelized onions the last time I made this recipe, so I made some french onion burgers that I just might need to add to the blog soon, but some other ideas are:
- French onion galette
- French onion soup (I mean, a classic)
- Turkey and caramelized onion sandwich or sliders
- Caramelized onion BLTs
There are so many ways to incorporate caramelized onions in a meal!
Ways to serve these french onion meatballs
Some of my favorite ways to pair this include:
- Make a large batch of bone broth rice - use bone broth or chicken stock to cook jasmine rice and plop the meatballs on top!
- On top of mashed potatoes - I guarantee you'll devour my creamy garlic and herb mashed potatoes with these meatballs. I'm drooling thinking about it.
- Over pasta - adding these meatballs to a classic spaghetti or even making it fancy paired with my brown butter pappardelle is a fun, bold flavor profile that I am absolutely here for.
Storage and Freezer Information
To Freeze: While I would typically say to freeze these, I wouldn't suggest freezing them with the onions on top. If you want to make these for a freezer or as a meal prep, make the onions and simply keep them separate from the meatballs until you're ready to cook and eat.
To Store: For any leftovers, place any remaining meatballs in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to five days.
PRO TIP
Do not over-mix the ground chicken: You don't want to bite into a super tough, chewy, meatball. It just won't taste good. When mixing, use four fingers and rake the meat into the center of the bowl, mixing as you go. Once the egg, breadcrumbs, and other ingredients are combined, stop mixing!
Hungry for more?
Here's other amazing meatball and dinner recipes to try!
French Onion Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
- cast iron pan
- baking dish
- wooden spoon or spatula
Notes
- Keep the temp low, and monitor the meatballs: Ground chicken can get dry very quickly, which is why I chose to use 350º versus a higher temperature, and instead of going for the full 30 minutes, bake a few minutes less, as the meatballs will bake a touch more to melt the cheese.
- Add a little fresh thyme to the mix if you want some fresh herbs other than the dried herbs. If you want to spruce up the mixture, add a quick gravy: mix 2 tablespoon flour and ½ cup beef broth and pour over the meatballs. Then top with cheese.
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