These skillet French onion chicken meatballs are a twist on French onion soup and make for a cozy cold-weather dinner. Caramelized onions are simmered in a rich sauce with chicken meatballs seasoned with herbes de Provence. Serve the meatballs with pasta, rice, or bread on the side or pile them into rolls for decadent meatballs subs.

French Onion Chicken Meatballs
In the last almost 10 years of writing this blog I’ve embarked on a few kitchen cooking marathons like beef bourguignon, Espagnole sauce, and penne al Pomodoro plus a few other dishes that are best described as labor intensive. They’re fewer and far between these days because I get the whole “nobody ain’t got time for that” mindset when we are just trying to deal with life and often only have a small window to get dinner on the table. One-pot, 30-minute, 5-ingredient dinners just fit a little easier into hectic days and most days that’s where my head is at, too.
Except sometimes my head’s not in that place and I get a hankering to stand over the stove nursing and doctoring a pan of something takes longer than a hot minute to execute. And these French onion chicken meatballs, while not as time-consuming as the recipes I mentioned at the start, are the latest addition to my repertoire of savory weekend-friendly slow-cooked dishes. It starts with onions cooked until they are sweet and jammy before they simmer in a simple sauce along with chicken meatballs flavored with Herbes de Provence. They’re a twist on the classic French onion soup complete with melted Gruyere cheese but served up skillet-style. They’re a new favorite cold-weather comfort-food dinner.

How to Caramelize Onions
- It starts with white onions that you will slice. So many, in fact, you’ll wonder if it’s too many, but it’s not. About a pound of onions will yield about a 1/2 cup of caramelized onions so for this recipe, I started with about two pounds.
- If you’ve ever read a recipe that says you can caramelize onions in 15 to 20 minutes you have, I’m sorry to say, been lied to. Depending on the amount, the size of the pan, and other conditions it just takes a while to develop that deep golden color. So, we’re probably not going to try and caramelize onions on a busy weeknight when everyone’s starved and there’s actually no time to cook anything. Like I mentioned, we’re caramelizing onions on the weekend when there’s nothing more to do than give them a stir every so often.
- I tested this recipe using a 10-inch skillet and it took an hour and 40 minutes to achieve what you see in the photo above. Perhaps a bigger pan would have shortened the cooking time, but I wanted to keep this to a one-pan cooking adventure and using a larger pan would have messed with the amount of sauce that I wanted to end up with. You may, should you choose to take on this caramelized onion challenge, get the same results in more or less time. Just know if you use a bigger pan, I can’t guarantee how the rest of the recipe will go.
- Others may take different steps, but I find the best caramelized onions start with some butter in a pan over medium heat. Once the butter melts add the onions and then stir them every so often. It will seem like not much is happening for quite a while because in order to caramelize they need to release a lot of their moisture.
- After about an hour, I like to turn the heat down to medium-lowish and keep a closer eye on them with a bit more stirring than before. I’ve read some recipes that recommend adding more liquid or butter to the pan as you go to prevent the onions from drying out, but I find if I monitor the heat and stir the onions they stay soft and moist without having to add anything else. Only at the end, right before you take them out of the pan, add a splash of white wine. This gives them a wonderful flavor and also deglazes the pan.
- So the moral of the caramelized onion story? Be patient because great things will happen if you take your time.
How to Make the Meatballs
- Most of the time for this recipe is spent with the onions during which you can prep the meatballs.
- All you need is some ground chicken, dried breadcrumbs, Herbes de Provence, one egg and some salt and pepper. Mix it all together, roll it into about 1-oz sized meatballs (you should get about 16) and set them aside until the onions are caramelized. After you remove the onions from the pan, increase the heat to medium, add some olive oil and cook the meatballs just until they’re browned all over. They’ll finish cooking in the sauce, which you’ll make next.
How to Make the Sauce
- So the pan now has been used to cook the onions and brown the meatballs which mean there are some browned bits that will go a long way to flavor the sauce. It starts with butter and flour that cook together just until the flour loses its raw flavor. I like to add about a quarter cup of the chicken stock at this point and, as it simmers, I use the whisk to scrape up all the flavor off the bottom of the pan. From there add the rest of the stock and bring it to a boil until it starts to thicken.
- Add the onions to the sauce and reduce the heat enough to maintain a strong simmer. The sauce will continue to thicken and, after about five minutes or so, you can add the meatballs back in. Cook all of it together for another five to ten minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy and the meatballs are cooked through.
Depending on what you like there’s a few ways to serve these French onion chicken meatballs. You can keep them in the skillet, top them with cheese, and pop the skillet under the broiler for a few minutes (like in the photo above) and serve them with some rice or pasta or just as they are with hunks of crusty bread on the side for dunking in the sauce. Or, like in the photo below, pile the meatballs into top-sliced rolls, top with cheese, and serve them up sandwich-style.
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More Cold-Weather Dinner Ideas
- One-Pan Spaghetti Bolognese with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- 17 Hearty Chili Recipes
- Shepherd’s Pie
- French Onion Hot Dogs
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French Onion Chicken Meatballs
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 120
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These skillet French onion chicken meatballs are a twist on French onion soup and make for a cozy cold-weather dinner. Caramelized onions are simmered in a rich sauce with chicken meatballs seasoned with herbes de Provence. Serve the meatballs with pasta, rice, or bread on the side or pile them into rolls for decadent meatballs subs.
Ingredients
For the Carmelized Onions
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 white onions (about 2 pounds), sliced 1/4″ thick
- 1/4 dry white wine
For the Meatballs
- 1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
- 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Caramelize the Onions
- Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions (the pan will be very full). Cook the onions, stirring them occasionally, for about an hour or until they have turned a light golden-blonde colored. At this point, turn the heat to medium-low and keep cooking them, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and a deep golden brown in color, approximately 30 to 40 minutes longer.
- Turn the heat back to medium and pour the wine into the pan with the onions. As it simmers, scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Once the wine has cooked away transfer the onions to a clean plate.
Make the Meatballs
- In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, herbs, salt, pepper, and egg. Add the ground chicken and, using a wooden spoon or your hands, mix it with the breadcrumb and egg mixture just until combined.
- Scoop approximately one ounce of the mixture to form the meatballs. You should be able to make 16 meatballs.
- Once the onions are ready and you’ve removed them from the pan, add the olive oil to that same pan. Heat it over medium heat. Place the meatballs in a single layer and cook them until they are browned on all sides. Transfer them to a clean plate.
Make the Sauce
- In the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk it with the butter until combined. Add about a 1/2 cup of the chicken stock and, whisking continuously, combine it with the butter and flour. As you whisk you should be scraping up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Whisking continuously, add the rest of the chicken stock. Bring the pan to a boil and cook the sauce for about five minutes, or until it starts to thicken. Add the caramelized onions and stir to combine. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Add the meatballs to the sauce and continue cooking the sauce until it’s glossy and thickened about five to ten minutes.
- At this point, you can sprinkle the cheese over the meatballs and either cover the pan to melt the cheese or stick the pan under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Garnish the meatballs with parsley, if using.
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs
- Calories: 483
- Sugar: 6.8g
- Sodium: 658.2mg
- Fat: 31.4g
- Saturated Fat: 13.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15.8g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 20.8g
- Fiber: 2.6g
- Protein: 30.2g
- Cholesterol: 192.2mg
Keywords: French onion chicken meatballs, chicken meatballs recipe, caramelized onions
The nutrition information in this recipe is an estimate only and was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
Lisa says
We loved these meatballs. They were full of flavor. We ate as a sub sandwich with a glass of Viognier. So good together! Next time I’m going to put meatballs over some angel hair pasta.
★★★★★
April Anderson says
I’m so glad you liked the recipe!
Michele says
I do love this. The onions make it more on the naturally sweet side. I personally think it should have a little more spice. I made this to serve with noodles or a chicken meatball sandwich. I will make this again!! Thank you!
★★★★★
April Anderson says
I’m glad you liked it!
Marie challender says
I made this last weekend, turned out great. Instructions were spot on, the onions did take a while but were yummy. Will make it again. The chicken meatballs were tasty not bland like ground chicken can be. Will make it again…..Marie
Next time I will take a picture and I served it with gnocchis.
April Anderson says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Debbie says
I would like to use this recipe for my WW program. Is the fat listed all saturated fat?
April Anderson says
Hi Debbie! I updated the nutrition in the card for this info – keep in mind it’s an estimate!
Phyllis Grossman says
Where are the measurements for the chicken balls
April Anderson says
You should be able to get 16 meatballs approximately 1-ounce big before you cook them
Ruth says
LOVE this recipe. I’ve made it several times and recommend it to everyone. Thank you!! xx
★★★★★
April Anderson says
Oh that’s great! Thank you for letting me know and thanks for the rating!
Patty says
Looks delicious! I’m carmelizing my onions now and making the meatballs so they are ready to go. I’ll check back after dinner tonight.
April Anderson says
I hope you enjoy it!
Patty says
April, I did try it and it is simply out of this world. Thanks for sharing. Also, the tip for carmelized onions is helpful in all sorts of recipes; there seems to be no agreement about how to prepare these but yours are right on!
★★★★★
sheenam | thetwincookingproject says
trying this suuuuuuuuper soon!!
Joe says
These were very delicious. I like that I could use this recipe for a meal or I can make these for an appetizer for a party!
★★★★★
April says
Oh, that’s great! So glad you liked it 🙂
Kristine | Kristine's Kitchen says
This is such a delicious twist on the flavors of french onion soup! I love that it’s quick and easy to make in one skillet, too. 🙂
April says
Lol, well it’s not so quick – takes a long time to caramelize onions 😉