Description
This French Onion Chicken & Rice Casserole blends deeply caramelized sweet onions and tender chicken with flavorful herbs, mushrooms, and spinach, baked together with Gruyère cheese for a rich, comforting one-dish meal that’s perfect for family dinners.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to prepare for baking the casserole later.
- Caramelize Onions: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter with olive oil. Add thinly sliced sweet onions and cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are deeply caramelized. Season with half the salt and black pepper.
- Thicken Onion Mixture: Sprinkle all-purpose flour over the caramelized onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute to remove raw flour taste. Pour in the dry white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the skillet. Let the wine reduce for 2-3 minutes to concentrate flavor.
- Assemble Casserole Ingredients: In a 9×13-inch baking dish, combine uncooked long-grain white rice, chicken stock, cooked shredded chicken, fresh baby spinach, sliced mushrooms, dried thyme, garlic powder, and the remaining salt and black pepper. Stir everything together to mix evenly.
- Layer Caramelized Onions: Carefully spread the caramelized onion mixture evenly over the rice and chicken mixture in the baking dish. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil to trap steam during baking.
- Bake Casserole: Bake the covered casserole for 35 minutes. Then remove the foil, sprinkle the shredded Gruyère cheese evenly over the top, and return the dish to the oven uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
- Rest and Serve: Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the flavors to settle and the casserole to set for easier slicing.
Notes
- For best flavor, use sweet onions like Vidalia or Walla Walla for caramelizing.
- If you don’t have white wine, you can substitute with additional chicken stock or a splash of apple cider vinegar mixed with water.
- To make this dish gluten-free, replace all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend or cornstarch for thickening.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated gently in the oven or microwave.
- You can swap Gruyère cheese with Swiss cheese or mozzarella if preferred.
