Instant Pot French onion chicken breasts is a cheap one pot meal made with Lipton onion soup mix and sliced fresh onions to make a thick gravy your whole family will love!
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Do you love all onion recipes? Us too. It’s a cheap way to bring a lot of flavor to any dish. Instant Pot French onion chicken is one of those greats. Serve this thick gravy on top of your meat and mashed potatoes for a fantastic family meal. One of many easy Instant Pot recipes we have on our site.
A while back we made Instant Pot pork tenderloin. That was amazing so I kept it in the back of my mind to use with other proteins to. I mean onion gravy goes well with so many things right? Comfort food to the max for sure.
Ninja Foodi French Onion Chicken
If you don’t have an IP you can use your Crockpot Express or make as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe as well. They all basically work the same so the brand on the front really doesn’t matter my friends.
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
Yes you could make a batch of caramelized onions + add a bunch of seasonings, or just open this packet here and throw it right in. Along with some fresh onions from the produce section they will essentially do the same thing in your pot. (with no effort from you)
Yes our pressure cooker has in fact changed our lives, in a great way. We’re able to eat together more often (big win) because I can prep and cook an entire meal in about 30 minutes. For something like our French onion pressure cooker roast you’re closer to an hour but still so much faster than any other cooking method.
To enhance the flavors you’ll want lots of butter, don’t skimp my friends, do not use margarine, honestly organic salted is by far the best. ever.
Can you use chicken thighs instead of breasts?
In general yes, but timing may change. First off this really does work best with fresh or defrosted meat. With that being said you could use chicken thighs instead of breasts if you preferred. If you do choose white meat don’t buy those HUGE ones, medium is always best.
Variations
If you want to add cheese at the end and let it melt on top, provolone or pepper jack is usually best. You can use either white or yellow onions, sliced thicker is best so that they stay in tact and don’t disintegrate when cooked under high heat. Served on a bed of Ninja Foodi wild rice.
Can you add potatoes?
Yes!! If you want to make it more of a one pot meal with sides you can cut medium sized russet or red potatoes cut into fourths or so and pop those right on top too. In the 10 minutes they will get nice and tender or you can mash when done and make Instant Pot garlic mashed potatoes with them to serve together.
How to Thicken the Gravy
Note: As the sauce cools it gets even thicker so keep that in mind but if you want to make thicker immediately you can remove everything else but the sauce and in a small dish whisk together 1 tbsp of cornstarch or arrowroot flour (gluten free alternative) with 3 tbsp water until smooth. Set pot to saute and when bubbling pour this in, stir, and it will get thicker. Serve on top to make it really moist.
Instant Pot French Onion Chicken Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 medium chicken breasts, fresh or thawed, medium size
- 2 medium onions, sliced
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 cup beef broth
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 packet french onion soup mix
- 3 slices cheese, provolone, optional
Instructions
- Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper. Turn Instant Pot to saute. Begin to melt 2 Tbsp butter. Add chicken to the pot, brown them all on each side. Once browned, remove chicken from the pot.
- Add remaining 2 Tbsp of butter to the Instant Pot. Add the sliced onions and saute until they become slightly tender and translucent. Add broth, balsamic vinegar, thyme and oregano.
- Stir together. Turn the saute function off. Add the chicken back to the pot. Close lid and seal steam release valve. Cook on high pressure for 9 minutes.
- Once cooking time is complete, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Quick release the remaining. Open Instant Pot, top each chicken breast with a slice of cheese.
- Close lid and let the cheese melt for 1-2 minutes, then remove meat. Add French Onion Soup Mix packet to the pot. Turn on the saute function, bring to a boil. Once sauce has thickened, turn Instant Pot off. Serve sauce along with the chicken. ENJOY
Video
Notes
Adding Potatoes
If you want to add potatoes you can use russet or red, I suggest medium sized. Slice into 4-6 pieces (large bite sized pieces) and lay on top before closing lid to pressure cook.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other easy Lipton Onion Soup Mix recipes you’ll love
I do use this a lot. It is just so easy to add a ton of flavor when you make our quick meatloaf recipe and…. Crockpot French onion soup is always a great
But if you’re in a hurry you can opt to make pressure cooker French onion soup instead Slow cooker roast with onion soup mix turns out fork tender
You can jump to recipe below. There is nutritional info. listed there too but it will vary depending on the meat you choose, weight and fat content.
What to do with leftovers
Let’s talk about leftover chicken recipes and how to save it well. I hate to waste food, period. There is no reason to not save and use in another way the next day. The best way to do this is to wait until it is completely cooled first. You will want all of the onion sauce / gravy as possible too. If you cover the meat with it it will not only marinate in it and get stronger flavors when reheated but also keep it really moist and tender too.
Best way to reheat chicken breasts
Like I said, always save the sauce!! You’re going to save it in a container that is air tight and reheat within 2 days or so. Transfer it from that container on to a microwave safe plate or bowl. Dice the meat into bite size pieces and spoon the gravy over the top of all of it. If you served this with sides, save and re-heat those separately.
Microwave the meat for 45 seconds, stir and heat for another 45 again or until it is as hot as you’d like. This is by far the best way to make it really moist again with tons of flavors you will love (maybe more than day one). Potatoes can be warmed again in a different bowl and then served together but it is best to do them in different dishes.
Ok let’s get going friends!! Remember, choose medium sized breasts so they cook evenly all the way thru to the center. Boneless and skinless is important as well when choosing your ingredients.
If using thighs, how many and would the time change?
there shouldn’t be a huge change, depending on how large they are though…I’d keep the same timing