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Simple, cheesy, Baked French Onion Meatballs. For those cold fall and winter nights when you want a fancy slow-cooked french onion soup…but you want something hearty too! Made easily with oven-baked chicken meatballs, white wine, caramelized onions, herbs, and that classic cheesy french bread topping. This dish is warm, flavorful, comforting, and so delicious. Equally great for a simple family dinner or holiday entertaining.
Happy November everyone! My original plan was to share our 2021 Thanksgiving menu today, but I need a couple more days to put the finishing touches on the post. Very excited to share, but honestly?
I’m equally excited to share these delicious french onion style meatballs. If I had to choose the recipe for you to all be making this week, tonight even, it would be these meatballs. Perfect dinner to welcome in the chilly month of November.
When I made these meatballs before heading to Los Angelas the other week, my oldest brother, Creighton, was in town. And while I feed him a lot of meals when he’s here, he declared these meatballs his favorite. He LOVED them, so I think it’s safe to say this is a very good recipe.
The process is simple, here are the steps
Start with the bread. I mentioned this last month, but when my grandma made meatloaf or meatballs, she used to wet the bread first. She’d then ring out the excess water and tear the bread into super fine pieces. This is the key to a juicy, non-dry meatball.
Add the bread to a bowl along with ground chicken, an egg, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix that all together, and you’re ready to roll your meatballs.
Then bake! I love baking meatballs. It’s so much easier and cleaner, not to mention healthier, than frying them up in a skillet.
While the meatballs are cooking, caramelize the onions
Start with sweet onions, butter, and dry white wine.
I use a dry white wine, which is pretty traditional in most French onion soups. You’ll cook about half of the wine into the onions. Not only does this help the onions to caramelize quickly and evenly, it also infuses the onions with incredibly rich flavor.
It’s delish.
If you prefer not to cook with wine, I recommend using about half a cup of apple cider or apple juice to caramelize the onions. For the remaining amount of wine (another half cup), use chicken or vegetable broth.
When the onions are caramelized, add the mushrooms and let those cook a minute. Then add in the broth.
Now, grab the meatballs and add them to the sauce. Simmer a bit until cooked throughout.
Finish it up
When you’re ready, switch the oven to broil.
Top the skillet full of meatballs with crusty french bread, and a layer of cheese. Then place under the broiler to melt. Watch closely, the broiler works fast.
Then simply pull out of the oven and experience the bubbling cheese and the delicious flavors of a truly good bowl of French onion soup…with the addition of yummy meatballs.
This is truly one of those roll your eyes back, crave-worthy, fall-winter comfort foods.
My favorite way to serve these meatballs is with a side salad. You could add pasta or mashed potatoes, but they’re also not needed.
Perfect dinner, right? I’m excited t have this one in my back pocket for the upcoming holiday season. I already know it’s going to be a go-to recipe once my family arrives and the craziness begins in a few weeks! Thanksgiving is so soon!
Looking for other meatball recipes?? Here are my favorites:
30 Minute Coq au Vin Chicken Meatballs
Simple Baked Cheesy Italian Chicken Meatballs
Weeknight 30 Minute Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs
Lastly, if you make these , be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Baked French Onion Meatballs
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 689 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
- 1 slice soft whole grain bread
- 1 egg, beaten
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 3-4 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 cups cremini or wild mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup whole milk, cream, or canned coconut milk
- 6 slices french bread
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with olive oil.2. Take the bread and run it under water until dampened but not soaked. Gently squeeze the excess water out of the bread and then crumble the dampened bread into pieces.3. In a bowl, combine the chicken, bread crumbles, egg, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Coat your hands with olive oil, then roll the meat into balls about the size of 2 tablespoons, and place them into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are crisp on the outside, but not yet cooked through on the inside.4. Meanwhile, melt together the butter and onions in a large oven safe skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes. At this point, you'll want to slowly add 3/4 cup of the wine, 1/4 cup at a time, until the wine cooks into the onions. Continue to cook another 10-15 minutes until you've used all of the 3/4 cup of wine and the onions are deeply caramelized. 5. Add the garlic, mushrooms, thyme, and sage. Season with salt and pepper, cook another 3-4 minutes. Add the the broth and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high and bring to a low boil. Add the meatballs and simmer 10 minutes, until cooked through. Stir in the cream.6. Arrange the bread on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes, until very dry. Switch the oven to broil. Place the bread on/around the meatballs. Top evenly with cheese. Broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Top with fresh thyme. Eat!
Made this last night. I personally didn’t think it would have been enough for 8 people – more like 4. With each person getting four meatballs. I didn’t use mushroom just added in more onions
Next time I will season the meatballs more by following some of the comments
Hey Ruth,
Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry you felt it wasn’t enough food! xx
I made this tonight and it was incredible, we absolutely LOVED IT!!!! Once again you have hit it out of the park with the layering of flavors etc…… This is just another of many recipes of yours we love, love, love! As a matter of fact we have never made a recipe of yours that we didn’t love.
Hey Colleen,
Happy Monday!! 🍁 Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! xT
In the video you add a couple of shakes of a brown liquid. Is it Worstershire sauce?
Hi Marilyn,
Yes, feel free to add a couple dashes if you like! I hope this recipe turns out well for you, let me know if you give it a try! xT
I seasoned the meatballs with Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, dried minced onion, s&p, and ginger. The onions took me almost an hour to caramelize. This is great. So good I would make for guests!
Hey there,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
Huge HBH fan and I was excited to try this one. Overall the recipe is fantastic and pretty easy. I did a few small modifications: added a bit of rosemary, tossed in a bay leave when I added the broth, and used more bread than called for (the loaves I had were thin so I had to or it would’ve been like croutons). My only criticism is the chicken falls a bit flat.
I think maybe adding some seasoning to the chicken meatballs would take it up a notch. Everything was bursting with flavor until you bit into the meatball. Maybe maxing in a little of the thyme/sage, a bit of garlic and onion into the meatballs would make them pop a bit more so there’s more consistency.
I will make again as it was good but will probably season the chicken a bit.
Hey Kelly,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback and what worked well for you! I’m so glad to hear it was enjoyed:) xx
Can you use ground beef ? Or anyone used ground beef with success?
Hey Angea,
Sure, ground beef would work well for you! I hope this recipe turns out tasty, let me know if you give it a try! xT
Hi Tieghan!
I plan to make this for company coming on Monday night for Halloween. Do you have any recommendations for making ahead of time? Can I do everything ahead except the bread part, bring to room temp on Monday then reheat and bake with bread and cheese right before guests arrive? or do you have a different recommendation? Going to also make your broccoli cheese soup for another option and excited for both!
Hey Kara,
Totally, that sounds like a perfect idea!! I hope this recipe turns out tasty for you, let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Amazing. I have made this twice for a weeknight dinner. Even my kids liked it! There were no leftovers the first time around. The flavors are better if you take the time to deeply caramelize the onions. (I was in a hurry the second time around, and it showed!).
Hi Melissa,
Wonderful!🤩 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xT
This was AMAZING! I used 2lbs of chicken and there was plenty of the broth for it. Excellent leftovers the following day as well
Hi Julie,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review! xT
what can I use instead of the wine?
Hi Dawn,
You can use chicken broth in place of the wine. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I loved this recipe! It was straight forward and for the most part a one dish wonder. Not to mention delish!!
Cooking is my thing and I love new recipes with a twist. My daughter turned me on to your website. I plan on exploring the many different options you offer. So thank you Tieghan!
Hey Candy,
Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan
This was delicious! Tons of flavor and the leftovers tasted great as well. Will definitely be making again!
Hey Rita,
Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe:) I am so glad it was enjoyed! Hope you’re off to a great Monday! xxT
So good! A big hit with my friends. Have regular get-togethers with a group of friends where everyone brings wine and food to share. Made this on Saturday night and sadly no left-overs for me, which shows how much everyone liked it. I ended up making a few tweaks, mainly to make use of things I had on hand.
– I used Italian-style meatballs I already had in the fridge. They were fresh (not frozen) that I had leftover from a package from my grocery store. I ended up mixing them together and then making smaller meatballs that were more in-line with the 2T size indicated in the recipe.
– I used beef bouillon cubes to make the broth (again, already had it on hand)
– I left out the mushrooms (several people in the group don’t care for them)
– I used dried thyme and poultry seasoning
Because I wanted to minimize the amount of cooking I had to do once people were there, I took the recipe through the first part of Step 5 (added the seasoning and cooked for a few minutes). I then took took the onion mixture from the skillet and added it to a bowl where I had the beef broth and put it to the side for about an hour. About 20-30 minutes before people were scheduled to arrive, I put my meatballs in the oven to cook, and put the broth and onion back into the clean skillet and followed the rest of the recipe (although I did cut the meatballs in half because of how I planned to serve it).
The last tweak I did was to not toast the bread – I found a loaf of onion and garlic bread in the bakery section of my local grocery store – the bread was very dense and slices were larger than a baguette but smaller than an Italian loaf. To make it more of a finger food, we spooned the onion mixture onto the slices of bread.
Will definitely make again – can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
Hey Jan,
Wonderful!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback and all that worked well for you! I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have a great week! ?xxT
This was delicious. Just like every other recipe I’ve tried of yours!!
Hi Heather,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving it a try!! Have the best day:) xx
Made this tonight! Wow! So much flavor! My husband and I love French Onion Soup so I knew we would love this! ?
Hi Clarissa,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx