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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!
I wasn’t feeling like making meatballs, so I opted for straight-up ground chicken. Very enjoyable.
Hey Djienne,
Happy Wednesday! ⛅️🌈 I’m so glad to hear that this recipe worked well for you and I appreciate you giving it a try! xx
This is my favorite recipe. Hearty. Comforting. If you love French onion soup, you must make this. Plus, it just looked gorgeous. This is on fairly regular rotation here. Thank you!
Hey Julie,
Happy Monday!!💐 Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xx
Delicious!! Wasn’t able to follow the exact recipe, did turkey instead of chicken and had to to cheddar cheese instead of the other and didn’t incorporate the bread because I did read the full recipe before making dinner. BUT still turned out amazing! Will definitely be adding this in my rotation.
Hey Brittney,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend:)
Hi, has anyone made this dish with ground beef and if so did you make any ingredient changes….and was it still tasty?
Hey Chris,
Sure you could use ground beef and follow the recipe as written:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Actually, yes. I’m making it now and will put in the freezer until needs next week.
I made the recipe up to step five but didn’t put the cream in. Should it go or can it go in after thawing and before step 6?
You can add the cream after thawing:)
I made these for dinner last night so good my family loved them .
Hey Susan,
I am delighted to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
So, listen… I was in the kitchen for 2 + hours making this but it is the BEST French onion soup to ever grace my tastebuds. The sage and thyme flavors gave it extra magic. I ladled this into individual bowls so everyone has the same amount of toppings and it was less messy. I put the bowls onto a baking pan when it was time to broil. I ended up taking the leftover bowls to work the next day and sharing with coworkers that said “You could get a man to marry you off this.”
Hey Paige,
Happy Friday!!❄️🧑🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Lol sorry this took longer than expected! xx
Any substitutions for the mushrooms? We are not fans. Looking forward to trying this!
Hey Beckie,
Just skip the mushrooms:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this recipe turns out well for you! xx
This recipe is so freaking good! My husband and I both went back for seconds 🤤 The only thing I did differently was that I seasoned my chicken with Natures seasoning to add more flavor to the meatballs. So good! ❤️👌🏼
Hey Chelsea,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and sharing your review:) Happy Thanksgiving! 🍽
This is awesome advice, thank you!
Wish I could walk in a restaurant and order this! Or any of your meals! I love how appetizing your recipes always look! They make my stomach rumble with hunger pains!
Awe thanks so much! Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
I made this and it was delish!
Any tips on making ahead? I’m entertaining and want to be in the kitchen as little as possible. Could it be assembled, minus the French bread and then reheated (broiling with bread/cheese at the very end after reheating)? Thanks!
Hey Sarah,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:) Yes, that would be just fine!! xT
I tried making this tonight and used my 4qt Dutch oven since it is one of the oven safe dishes I own. It did not work well as it was too much liquid. I think you should specify in the recipe what kind of oven safe dish should be used as this seems to make a big difference for this recipe. I transferred everything to a large cast iron pan and it reduced much better.
Hi Sadia,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry it didn’t turn out in the dutch oven for you! xx
We loved this, thank you!!! How do you recommend reheating it another day?
Hey Chris,
Awesome!! 🍂 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for trying it out! I would cover with foil and reheat on low. xx
Not sure why cream was added it didn’t thicken the sauce. Meatballs needed more flavor anything that could be added?
Hi Evelyn,
Thanks for trying this recipe, I like the cream to give it a creamy texture, you can add more seasonings to the meatballs to your liking. I hope this helps! xT
I felt like I messed this up (scorched the onions 😅) but it was still delicious! Trying the creamy white lasagna soup today. Thanks for sharing your amazing recipes with us!
Hey Sheena,
Thanks so much for your kind message and trying so many recipes! Sorry to hear about the onions with this one! I hope you love the lasagna soup! xx
WOW. This was so, so delicious. Ended up with a perfect amount for 4 people. Will definitely be coming back to this one!
Hey Kelly,
Happy Friday!!🌻 I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it and sharing your review:) xT