French Onion Chicken Thigh Bake (Print)

Tender chicken thighs with caramelized onions and a crisp sourdough bread topping, baked to savory perfection.

# Ingredients:

→ Chicken & Marinade

01 - 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
02 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
03 - 1 teaspoon salt
04 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

→ Caramelized Onions

05 - 3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
06 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
07 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
08 - 1 teaspoon sugar
09 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
10 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
11 - 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

→ Sauce

12 - 2/3 cup dry white wine
13 - 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
14 - 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
15 - 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

→ Sourdough Topping

16 - 3 cups sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
17 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
18 - 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
19 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
20 - 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F
02 - Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken thighs skin side down for 4-5 minutes until golden. Remove and set aside.
03 - In the same pan, melt butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onions, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until onions are deeply golden and caramelized, approximately 20-25 minutes.
04 - Add minced garlic and thyme, sauté for 1 minute. Deglaze with white wine, scraping up browned bits from pan bottom. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
05 - Stir in chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard. Return chicken to pan, nestling thighs into onions and sauce with skin side up.
06 - Transfer pan to preheated oven and bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
07 - While chicken bakes, toss sourdough cubes with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl.
08 - Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses over chicken and onions. Top evenly with oil-coated sourdough cubes.
09 - Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes until bread is golden and cheese is bubbly.
10 - Remove from oven, sprinkle with fresh parsley, and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • Chicken thighs stay impossibly juicy while the skin crisps up, giving you the best of both worlds without any dry, sad bites.
  • The sourdough topping absorbs all the savory sauce and cheese, turning into something between stuffing and French toast that will have people asking for seconds.
  • Once everything goes in the oven, you're basically done cooking, which means actual time to breathe before dinner arrives.
02 -
  • Don't skip the caramelization step or try to rush it, because those onions are what make this dish taste rich and special rather than just like chicken with bread on top.
  • Stale or day-old sourdough is absolutely essential because fresh bread will turn into mush under the weight of the cheese and sauce.
  • The chicken skin only stays crispy if you nestle the thighs skin-side up and don't cover them with sauce, so save the sauciness for the onions underneath.
03 -
  • Brown the chicken skin-side down first, then keep it facing up during cooking so it stays crispy and becomes the textural star of the dish.
  • Taste the sauce before the final bake and adjust the salt and mustard to your preference, because that's your only chance to make it exactly how you want it.
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