French Onion Chicken and Orzo (Dump and Bake)
All the classic flavors of a rich, comforting bowl of French Onion soup, but made into a complete meal. Here, onions caramelize—hands-free!!—in the oven, and are later joined by orzo, beef stock, chicken, and gruyere cheese, for a cozy one-pan meal.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 pound yellow onions, thinly sliced (ideally on a mandoline)
- 3 whole cloves garlic skin-on
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more for seasoning
- 1 ½ cups orzo
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- ¼ cup heavy cream or ¼ cup more beef broth
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon butter cut into small pieces
- pinch of fresh or dried thyme
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- Lemon wedges for serving optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
- Grease a large baking dish (at least 9×9) with a thin layer of oil. Add the onions, skin-on garlic cloves, olive oil, and salt. Mix to combine well. Cover with foil and bake for 50 to 70 minutes, or until the onions have reduced by about half, softened, and are starting to golden. I like to stir the onions 1 to 2 times throughout the baking time.
- Remove the dish from the oven and reduce the heat to 375F (190C). Using tongs or a fork, transfer the cooked garlic to a plate or cutting board and let cool for a few minutes.
- Working carefully so as not to burn yourself, to the hot baking dish, add the orzo, broth, chicken, butter, and thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper. Carefully squeeze the hot baked garlic from its skin and add that to the dish. Stir everything well. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and return to the oven.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the orzo is cooked to your desired doneness and the chicken is fully cooked (the juices should run clear when cut into with a knife and a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a piece of chicken measures 165F [80C]).
- Carefully remove the pan from the oven and take off the foil. Set the broiler to high. Sprinkle the orzo all over with the shredded gruyere. Return the dish to the oven (uncovered), and let broil until the cheese is melty and starting to brown, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Squeeze the lemon wedges over the top, if using.
Notes
- Using a mandoline slicer is a quick way to make even-sized, super-thin slices of onion. The thinner the onion slices, the faster they caramelize in the oven.
- The chicken is cut into cubes for even and quicker cooking. Pieces larger than 2-inch chunks will require a longer cooking time, which may cause the orzo to overcook.
- This recipe has been developed and tested with orzo, a tiny pasta shaped like rice. While rice would likely work here, it may impact the quantity of liquid needed and cook time.
- Want to add more vegetables to this dish? Frozen peas, roughly chopped fresh spinach, frozen or canned, quartered artichoke hearts, or thin strips of bell pepper all work well here. Stir your vegetable of choice into the orzo, along with the chicken and broth. You could also separately saute some mushrooms and add them into the orzo.
- Gruyere lends that classic french onion soup flavor: nutty, rich, and smooth. But you can also use shredded mozzarella, parmesan, or another nutty, grated cheese.
- Letting the dish sit at room temp for 10 minutes once out of the oven, allows the orzo to continue absorbing all the delicious broth.
- You can use low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth here, but it won’t give that same classic French Onion flavor that beef stock does.
- The optional lemon wedges squeezed on top of the finished orzo add a bit of brightness and acid to balance out the richness of this dish.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 431kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 661mg | Potassium: 653mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 432IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 264mg | Iron: 1mg
