Made from ground chicken, these cheesy french onion meatballs are a healthy family favorite! From the caramelized onions to the melted gruyere cheese, they taste just like the warm and comforting french onion soup, but in a tasty meatball form.
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📋 About the Recipe
- These french onion chicken meatballs are baked in the oven until golden brown, just like my homemade sweet and sour chicken meatballs. They remain perfectly moist and juicy as they bake. Then, they get tossed in the caramelized onions and coated in sauce just before serving.
- Made with ground chicken, this recipe is light and healthy.
- Inspired by the classic french onion soup with caramelized onions, cheesy gruyere cheese, and crusty bread, it's a family favorite.
- These french onion meatballs are easy to throw together but are filled with tons of restaurant-quality flavor.
- Just add a side of roasted vegetables and you'll have a complete healthy dinner ready to be devoured in no time. You can also serve these meatballs on top of homemade cauliflower mashed potatoes, instead of the toasted bread. Or, serve them up as a bite-sized appetizer.
- It's a family and kid friendly meal that's sure to be a real crowd-pleaser!
🛒 Ingredients
For the Ground Chicken Meatballs
For the French Onion Sauce
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Ground chicken - ground chicken is a light and neutral-tasting meat. It remains tender and juicy when baked in the oven and is the perfect vessel for the rich flavor of the onions, wine, and cheese.
- Breadcrumbs, egg, milk - each of these components helps in binding the meatballs. The breadcrumbs moisten with the help of the milk and bind together with the egg to prevent the meatballs from drying out or falling apart.
- Gruyere cheese - gruyere cheese is the traditional cheese used in french onion soup. It is fruity and slightly nutty, giving the rich broth a contrasting flavor.
- Garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper - these seasonings bring flavor to both the meatballs and the sauce.
- Olive oil, unsalted butter - both the fats in the olive oil and the butter help in caramelizing the onions. They coat the onions to help prevent them from burning or sticking to the pan.
- Yellow onions - yellow onions are pungent and robust. They stand up to the long cooking process and they become perfectly sweet as they caramelize.
- Garlic - garlic adds additional notes of flavor to the french onion sauce.
- Dry white wine - wine, sherry, or vermouth are commonly used in french onion soup to add some acidity to the broth. Using dry white wine makes this recipe taste more authentic.
- Chicken broth - commonly, french onion soup is made with beef broth, but because this is a healthier, lighter version, I've opted to use chicken broth to mirror the flavors of the ground chicken meatballs.
- Crusty bread - french onion soup includes a slice of french bread placed on top of the broth and baked off with some shredded cheese on top. For this recipe, the bread serves as a vessel for eating the cheesy meatballs, giving it that traditional feel with a slight twist.
📓 Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare two sheet pans with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick spray.
2. Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix to combine.
3. Form the ground chicken mixture into 20 even-sized meatballs. Place them on the prepared sheet pan.
4. Bake the meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes, or until they're just cooked through and slightly brown on the bottom.
5. While the meatballs are cooking, place a large stock pot, dutch oven, or high-sided skillet over medium low heat. Add in the olive oil and butter. As the butter starts to melt, add in the sliced onions.
6. Stir the onions every few minutes, making sure they don't burn on the bottom. Continue this process for about an hour. The onions will first turn translucent, then they will start to slowly break down and turn golden brown.
7. While the onions cook on the stove, slice the french bread into 10 1-inch thick slices. Place them on the other sheet pan and toast them in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes, or until they're lightly browned.
8. When the onions are soft, brown, and caramelized, stir in the minced garlic. Cook 30 seconds before pouring in the wine and seasoning with thyme, salt, and pepper. Reduce the wine by simmering it until there's barely any left in the pan.
9. When the wine is reduced, add the chicken broth. Simmer again and reduce the broth for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens to a creamy brown consistency.
10. Add the baked chicken meatballs to the french onion sauce and stir gently to coat them fully in the sauce.
11. Top each meatball with freshly shredded gruyere cheese and cover the pan with a lid to melt the cheese for about 3 minutes.
12. To serve, garnish with fresh parsley and scoop about 2 cheesy meatballs onto each of the slices of toasted bread. Spoon extra sauce and onions over top.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
Instead of ground chicken: you can use ground turkey or ground beef.
Instead of gruyere cheese: you can use parmesan cheese or gouda.
Instead of white wine: you can use dry vermouth, sherry, or brandy.
❄️ How to Store
To store: Allow the french onion ground chicken meatballs to cool completely before placing them, and the rest of the onions and sauce, in an airtight container. Store them in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
Store the crusty bread separately on your counter or in your pantry up to 3 days. Slice it and toast it just before serving.
To freeze: Allow the meatballs to cool completely before placing them, and the rest of the onions and sauce, in an airtight container. Store them in the freezer up to 4 months for best quality.
To reheat: Place the meatballs in the refrigerator and allow them to defrost overnight. When ready to eat, scoop meatballs, onions, and sauce into a large skillet over medium heat.
Stir meatballs constantly so they don't stick or burn and heat them until they're just warmed through in the middle. Serve the meatballs on freshly sliced and toasted bread.
🔍 FAQs
For this recipe, you'll want to use a dry white wine. Wines, such as chardonnay, pinot grigio, and sauvignon blanc, are all great options.
If you don't have a dry white wine on hand, you can also use dry vermouth instead.
Caramelized onions are rich, sweet onions that have been cooked over a long period of time. The long cooking process makes the onions incredibly tender, while it also brings out their natural sugars.
The sugars caramelize the onions turning them soft, somewhat sticky, and sweet.
Sautéed onions, on the other hand, are quicker cooked onions that simply steam in the pan until they're softened by the heat.
They have a less pungent flavor and a softer texture than raw onions, but the quicker cooking process does not allow their sugars to extract and caramelize in the same way as the caramelized onions.
To start, you can cook the onions with the lid on. This will help speed up the initial cooking process and soften the onions.
As the onions begin to soften and turn translucent, remove the lid and cook the rest of the way without it.
This will ensure that you keep your eye on the onions, so they don't burn, as well as allow you to stir them periodically to develop a rich, even caramelization.
💭 One More Tip
Make sure to cook the onions low and slow! If you try to rush the caramelization process, you will end up with burnt, bitter onions instead of flavorful sweet ones.
Also, don't skip out on the butter. Butter provides a rich flavor, as well as a coating of fat to prevent the onions from just steaming.
Continue to stir the onions so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan, cook unevenly, or burn.
For perfectly cooked caramelized onions, follow the instructions precisely and be patient!
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
Cheesy French Onion Ground Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Ground Chicken Meatballs
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup freshly shredded gruyere cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon milk or milk alternative
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the French Onion Sauce
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 yellow onions sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup freshly shredded gruyere cheese
- 1 loaf crusty french bread
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare two sheet pans with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick spray.
- Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix to combine.
- Form the ground chicken mixture into 20 even-sized meatballs. Place them on the prepared sheet pan.
- Bake the meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes, or until they're just cooked through and slightly brown on the bottom.
- While the meatballs are cooking, place a large stock pot, dutch oven, or high-sided skillet over medium low heat. Add in the olive oil and butter. As the butter starts to melt, add the sliced onions.
- Stir the onions every few minutes, making sure they don't burn on the bottom. Continue this process for about an hour. The onions will first turn translucent, then they will start to slowly break down and turn golden brown.
- While the onions cook on the stove, slice the french bread into 10 1-inch thick slices. Place them on the other sheet pan and toast them in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes, or until they're lightly browned.
- When the onions are soft, brown, and caramelized, stir in the minced garlic. Cook 30 seconds before pouring in the wine and seasoning with thyme, salt, and pepper. Reduce the wine by simmering it until there's barely any left in the pan.
- When the wine is reduced, add the chicken broth. Simmer again and reduce the broth for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens to a creamy brown consistency.
- Add the baked chicken meatballs to the french onion sauce and stir gently to coat them fully in the sauce.
- Top each meatball with freshly shredded gruyere cheese and cover the pan with a lid to melt the cheese for about 3 minutes.
- To serve, garnish with chopped fresh parsley and scoop about 2 cheesy meatballs onto each of the slices of toasted bread. Spoon extra sauce and caramelized onions over top.
Storage
- To store: Allow the meatballs to cool completely before placing them, and the rest of the onions and sauce, in an airtight container. Store them in the refrigerator up to 4 days.Store the bread separately on your counter or in your pantry up to 3 days. Slice it and toast it just before serving. To freeze: Allow the meatballs to cool completely before placing them, and the rest of the onions and sauce, in an airtight container. Store them in the freezer up to 4 months for best quality.To reheat: Place the meatballs in the refrigerator and allow them to defrost overnight. When ready to eat, scoop meatballs, onions, and sauce into a large skillet over medium heat. Stir meatballs constantly so they don't stick or burn and heat them until they're just warmed through in the middle. Serve the meatballs on freshly sliced and toasted bread.
Notes
- Wines, such as chardonnay, pinot grigio, and sauvignon blanc, are all great options. If you don't have a dry white wine on hand, you can also use dry vermouth instead.
- If your onions are drying out or burning, turn the heat down to low and stir constantly. You can also add in a bit more oil or butter to prevent the onions from sticking.
Nutrition
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Mike L. says
We made this recipe for dinner last night. It was fantastic. The onion and cheese sauce made the meatballs taste like French onion soup. Flavors were outstanding.
Alana Lieberman says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Josh says
This will become a regular on our meal list! What great flavors - we really enjoyed it.
Alana Lieberman says
So glad to hear! Thank you!
Marni says
This was AMAZING!!!! Filled with flavor and so delicious - we loved it and will definitely make it again.
Alana Lieberman says
Thank you for your kind review! So happy you liked it.
Tina says
Loved this unique recipe!
Alana Lieberman says
It's definitely a great one! Thank you 🙂