French Onion Chicken Pasta

This French onion chicken pasta has all the flavors of classic French onion soup but in pasta form! Loaded with jammy caramelized onions, chicken, pasta, and melty gruyere cheese, it's the perfect cozy winter meal!

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, French, Italian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 20

Servings

Calories 755kcal

Author Kyleigh Sage

Equipment

large skillet

Ingredients

Chicken

3 large chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Sauce

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large yellow onions thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
½ cup marsala wine
3 cups beef stock substitute chicken stock or vegetable stock
¼ cup pasta water
1 ½ cups gruyere cheese shredded

Pasta

16 ounces short pasta
½ cup gruyere cheese shredded

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large, oven safe skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
Cook the chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until fully cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside. [Since the caramelized onions take so long to cook, I recommend keeping the cooked chicken in the fridge until ready to use.]
Thinly slice the onions and garlic.
In the same skillet, melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add in the onions and garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook slowly over low heat, until deep golden brown and caramelized, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Be sure to stir occasionally so that the onions don't burn.
Add in the flour and fresh thyme and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Pour in the marsala wine to deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot!
Then slowly mix in the beef stock until fully combined, then reduce the heat to low. Stir occasionally and continue to cook until the sauce begins to simmer and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
While the sauce is cooking, go ahead and cook your pasta according to package directions. Make sure you heavily salt the water and cook the pasta for about 1-2 minutes less than the listed time for perfect al dente pasta! Before draining, scoop out about ½ cup of the starchy pasta water and set aside. Then drain the pasta (but do NOT rinse it).
Add in the al dente pasta, cooked chicken, gruyere cheese, and ¼ cup of the pasta water to the sauce and toss gently to combine for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens up and coats the noodles. If needed, loosen the sauce with the remaining pasta water.
Once the noodles are coated in the sauce, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
If desired, sprinkle the top of the pasta with the remaining ½ cup of gruyere and broil for 3-5 minutes.
Serve immediately while warm!

Notes

This French onion pasta is best eaten the same day, but will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

The pasta will soak up the sauce in the fridge, so it's best to gently reheat on the stove with a little beef stock, cream, or water to add more moisture.

Nutrition