This Instant Pot French Onion Chicken recipe is so easy to make and it’s packed with flavor. This is a chicken dinner that your whole family will love! Serve it over rice or pasta for a complete meal.
Coming up with a new dinner idea every night isn’t always easy! This chicken dinner will help bring a little creativity to your dinner table. Plus, it’s quick and easy so it won’t take you long to make this delicious and healthy chicken recipe.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This chicken recipe is packed with flavor, yet it’s so simple to make.
- The Instant Pot does all the work for you!
- In just a few minutes, you can have a quick and easy chicken dinner on the table that your whole family will love.
Ingredients
- boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 pounds
- olive oil divided
- large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- minced garlic
- Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- beef broth
- flour all-purpose
- Swiss cheese
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Instant Pot French Onion Chicken
Step 1: Saute the onions until they are clear
Turn your instant pot onto sauté mode. Once your Instant pot is hot, add 2 tablespoons of oil and thinly sliced onions. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until the onions are translucent. Remove and set aside.
Step 2: Sear the chicken breasts on both sides
While your instant pot is still on sauté mode, sear your chicken on each side for about two minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian season.
Step 3: Add broth and onions to the pot
Add the broth and onions.
Step 4: Pressure cook the chicken breasts
Seal the lid and pressure valve and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Make sure the internal temp of the chicken is 160°f.
Step 5: Quick release the pressure
Quick pressure release and remove the chicken. Set aside.
Step 6: Make a gravy
Set the instant pot to sauté and once the Au jus starts to simmer, whisk in the flour to thicken au jus into a gravy.
Step 7: Return the chicken to the pot and top chicken with cheese slices
Return the chicken and place cheese on top of the chicken. 2 slices per breast. Let the chicken cook until the cheese is melted.
Hint: Make sure there are no stuck onion bits on the bottom of your pot before adding the chicken otherwise you may get a burn notice.
Substitutions
Don’t have everything you need on hand to make this recipe? Here are some of my favorite tried and true.
- Swiss cheese – what happens if you don’t have swiss cheese on hand? Provolone and mozzarella are great substitutes for swiss cheese.
- Chicken breast – while it’s fantastic to use chicken breast if you don’t have it on hand, then using a different type of chicken cut is more than okay! Use what chicken is on sale to make this dish work for you and your budget.
- Garlic – don’t have minced garlic on hand? You can use garlic powder instead.
Variations
Do you want to change up this recipe and make it your own? There are several things you can do to change up this recipe!
- Spicy – add chili pepper flakes or banana peppers while cooking to imbue heat into the dish. Spiciness always does so much for me when I make a dish. You can make a spicy version and a non-spicy version.
- Rice – serve this chicken on a bed of rice, you can’t go wrong by adding a little carbohydrate to your meal. You can also serve this chicken with your favorite pasta or veggie side.
- Kid-friendly – cut the chicken up into chunks to make it easier for kids to eat.
See this Instant Pot Whole Lemon and Garlic Chicken for dinner tomorrow!
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- measuring cup
- measuring spoon
- whisk
Storage
If there is one thing I love about chicken recipes is that it’s so easy to store. Place the cooled-off chicken meal into an airtight container. Place it in the fridge and consume it within 3days.
Reheat leftovers in the oven at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or on the stovetop over medium heat until heated through. You can also microwave leftovers if you are in a hurry.
Freezing
This chicken recipe can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months! Just place it into a freezer-friendly container after it has cooled down and store it in the freezer. When you’re ready to enjoy, just reheat in the oven or on the stovetop until heated through.
Tips
Here are some tips and tricks I have learned over the years to help make this recipe even better!
- If you want to save some time, then you can use pre-sliced onions from the grocery store.
- Add some green onion for a little bit of color.
- Make sure that the cheese is evenly distributed on top of the chicken this will give it the best flavor possible.
- Try serving this chicken over mashed potatoes for a heartier meal.
- If you are using a different cut of chicken you will need to adjust your cook time accordingly, see the manual of your device for proper cook times.
- I prefer to use yellow or sweet onions for this recipe. But, you can use white onions also. I don’t recommend using a red onion, however.
- I was able to keep the gravy from becoming lumpy by whisking vigorously when adding the flour to thicken it. if you want to play it on the safe side you can mix the flour with one tablespoon of water, and then add it to the au jus to make the sauce.
FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Yes, you can put onions in an Instant Pot with chicken. Just make sure that the onions are sliced thinly so they cook evenly.
The chicken is done cooking when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yes, you can overcook a chicken in an Instant Pot. If you overcook the chicken it will be dry and tough. To avoid this, make sure to use the manual setting on your Instant Pot and cook the chicken for the recommended amount of time.
Yes, you can use frozen chicken for this recipe. However, I recommend that you add five minutes to your cook time so that your chicken has time to come up to the proper temperature.
More Chicken Recipes
Do you enjoy chicken recipes? Try these delicious recipes:
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker White Bean and Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Instant Pot French Onion Chicken
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Instant Pot French Onion Chicken
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Measuring cup
- measuring spoon
- whisk
Ingredients
- 4 boneless chicken breasts about 2 pounds
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided into 2 / 1
- 1 ½ large yellow onions thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons flour all purpose
- 8 slices Swiss cheese
Instructions
- Turn your instant pot on to sauté mode. Once your Instant pot is hot, add 2 tablespoons of oil and thinly sliced onions. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until the onions are translucent. Remove and set aside.
- While your instant pot still on sauté mode, sear your chicken on each side for about two minutes. Season with salt, pepper and Italian season.
- Add the broth and onions. Seal the lid and pressure valve and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Make sure internal temp of chicken is 160°f.
- Quick pressure release and remove the chicken. Set aside.
- Set the instant pot to sauté and once the Au ju starts to simmer, whisk in the flour to thicken au ju into a gravy.
- Return the chicken and add the cheese, 2 slices per breast.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If you are using a different cut of chicken you will need to adjust your cook time accordingly, see the manual of your device for proper cook times.
- I prefer to use yellow or sweet onions for this recipe. But, you can use white onions also. I don’t recommend using a red onion, however.
- I was able to keep the gravy from becoming lumpy by whisking vigorously when adding the flour to thicken it. if you want to play it on the safe side you can mix the flour with one tablespoon of water, and then add it to the au jus to make the sauce.
Nutrition
