Nothing says comfort food quite like a warm, bubbly cup of classic french onion soup. I've taken my love of this classic soup and married the flavors with ground chicken, caramelized onions, topped with melty gruyere cheese, making these french onion chicken meatballs recipe you'll ever and eat!
Having meal prepped meatballs are a staple in my household, but these french onion meatballs are so fun, different, and a delicious alternative to traditional meatballs.
TL; DR Summary - French Onion Chicken Meatballs
- 👩🏼🍳 Cook Level: Easy/Beginner
- ⏱️ Cook Time: 1 hour to 90 minutes
- 📖 Dietary Info: Gluten, egg, dairy
- 😋 Taste: Savory, buttery caramelized onions paired with tender meatballs.
- 💖 Why You'll Love: This recipe is like a cup of french onion soup in meatball form. They're bite size, moist, and go with every single side you want to serve.
- 🍽️ Best Served With: Serve these meatballs over creamy garlic herb mashed potatoes, brown butter pappardelle, or as is over orzo with a side of herby garlic bread.
Summarize this recipe post and save it on
Jump to:
- TL; DR Summary - French Onion Chicken Meatballs
- Top Tips and Key Reminders
- The Ingredient List
- How to make french onion meatballs with chicken
- Simple Swaps and Substitutions
- Mistakes I've Made (to avoid!)
- French Onion Meatballs FAQs
- Here's other amazing meatball recipes to try!
- French Onion Meatballs with Ground Chicken
Top Tips and Key Reminders
- Do not over-mix the ground chicken: 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!
- Give the onions time to sweat: Don't rush the process when making caramelized onions, they take some time. They should be golden and smell sweet when ready. Keep it low and slow; proper caramelized onions typically take about an hour.
- Broil at the end: When you make the meatballs and bake them with the cheese, broil for 1-2 minutes to get the cheese nice and melty.
The Ingredient List
- Ground Chicken: Ground chicken is a great alternative to ground beef meatballs or turkey, like I use for my ground turkey Italian meatballs. Ground chicken is leaner and always tastes very juicy.
- Onions: We use yellow onions to caramelize down until golden, sweet, and creamy.
- 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.
- 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 a traditional french onion soup. Literal perfection if I may say so myself.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of this post for more information about quantities, measurements, and specific cooking instructions.
How to make french onion meatballs with chicken
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: Add the meatballs to a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes at 375º.
Step 6: One the meatballs are baked, add to a dish and top with caramelized onions.
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.
Simple Swaps and Substitutions
- 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.
Mistakes I've Made (to avoid!)
- Be wary of over mixing the meat. I know I mentioned this above in my tips section, but it's worth nothing again. DO NOT OVER MIX. The chicken will become very chewy, dense, and have a gummy texture.
- In my first recipe test of this, i didn't give the onions enough time to render down and really get caramelized. The process does take about an hour and it is worth it!
French Onion Meatballs FAQs
For any leftovers, place any remaining meatballs in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to five days.
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. Freeze the meatballs for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight.
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: Make a classic French onion soup for a cozy soup starter, turkey and caramelized onion sandwich or sliders or you can make a caramelized onion BLTs
Here's other amazing meatball recipes to try!
Did you love this recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you're just as in love with this recipe as I am, please share a comment below and rate it! Better yet, share this recipe with family and friends!! Thank you!
French Onion Meatballs with Ground Chicken
Equipment
- cast iron pan
- baking dish
- wooden spoon or spatula
Ingredients
For the Onions
- 2 large Onions thinly sliced
- 5 tablespoon Butter
For the Meatballs
- 1 lb Ground Chicken
- ½ cup Breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1 large Egg
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 ½ cups Gruyere Cheese shredded
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- To caramelize the onions, slice two large onions into thin slices and add to a cast iron pan with 5tablespoons of butter. Let the sweat and begin to render down, stirring frequently.
- 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.
- In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, seasoning, breadcrumbs, parmesan, and ½ cup of the caramelized onions, chopped.
- Combine the mixture and form meatballs.
- Add the meatballs to a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes at 375º.
- One the meatballs are baked, add to a dish and top with caramelized onions.
- Top with gruyere cheese and thyme and bake at 350º to melt the cheese, approximately 10 minutes.
- Switch the oven to broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Top over orzo, rice, or pasta.
Leave a Reply