French onion soup doesn’t get the love it deserves. It also doesn’t get made frequently enough in my home, largely because I don’t want to deal with carmelizing onions forever. But when I heard I could get similar vibes as a full meal with chicken AND remove the work by using a slow cooker, I was into it. This recipe from Half Baked Harvest is simple, saucy, and satisfying.
Place a layer of thinly sliced onions (from 3 yellow onions) directly in the bowl of your slow cooker. Put 3 tablespoons butter and 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken (breasts, thighs, or combo) on top of the onions and toss on 2 tbsp fresh thyme, 2 tbsp fresh sage, 3 cloves garlic (chopped), and salt/pepper over the whole thing. Pour 1 c. dry white wine and 1 c. chicken broth over everything and add 2 c. sliced button mushrooms. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours. Remove the chicken and most of the onions from the slow cooker, place on a baking sheet (you’ll come back to it in a half hour). Make sure slow cooker is now set to high if it wasn’t already, stir in 2 c. orzo and 1 cup water and cook 20-30 minutes (til orzo is al dente). Stir in 1/2 c. heavy cream and 1/2 c. parmesan. Place in a serving bowl. Go back to your baking sheet and place 3 tbsp butter over the onions/chicken, top with 1 c. shredded gruyere, and broil for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melty and getting those brown bubbles you see on the top of the french onion soup bowl.
I thought this one was a miss at first, but it grew on me. I think most of my problems were due to some substitutions (with the herbs and wine) that I made when the store was out of some ingredients. The orzo took some time to tighten up, too. I’d actually say this is one dish that needs to sit. By the end of the night (and definitely by the next day) it was ultra creamy and no longer soupy at all. (Also, 2 cups of orzo was a lot – you could easily half this recipe.) And don’t be shy with the salt. I was sparing with the salt and pepper and when I cranked that up, it made a big difference. The gruyere goes a long way towards helping this taste like french onion soup, but when made in the crock pot, the onions don’t come nearly close enough to caramelized to give them that deep flavor you might be looking for. I would suggest taking some extra time to get those onions nice and dark (which defeats the purpose of this easy crock pot meal) or reframe this dish a bit so you don’t expect full french onion vibes.
Peaches to Apples 