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Crockpot Creamy French Onion Chicken and Orzo. This comforting French onion chicken dish is cooked with white wine, herbs, and butter, then served over a creamy parmesan orzo, it’s so delish. And it’s all made in the crockpot for an easy dinner recipe to have on rotation. It’s the perfect hearty and delicious meal to enjoy on busy nights.
I’ve entered my “cozy” mode and it’s in full force this season. Our weather has been beautifully sunny this week, but cold at night. It’s been so chilly that everything in the greenhouse froze over the weekend.
This has me craving cozier fall food. And with the beginning of October this Sunday, I imagine I’m not the only one!
You seem to really enjoy my simple, all-in-one crockpot dinners, so I’ve been brainstorming what new flavors and variations to share with you all.
I have so many great recipes coming up! It’s going to be yummy!
But for today, we have one that everyone will enjoy. It’s like a French onion soup, but made with chicken and served with a side of creamy parmesan orzo.
It is so delicious!
All of the details
Step 1: layer everything in the crockpot
It’s important to layer this dish in order. Arranging the onions on the bottom of the crockpot will ensure they receive the most amount of heat, which is ideal. We want the crockpot to really get the onions very, very soft.
Layer as follows, onions, butter, then chicken. Now, I love to add a sprinkle of thyme and sage. I usually use fresh, but dried herbs will work really well in this recipe. Then add some garlic, salt, and pepper.
Pour over dry white wine and add some mushrooms. Then start cooking. Go low and slow for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-2. Either or is totally great!
Step 2: mix in the orzo
When the chicken is cooked, pull both the chicken and onions out of the crockpot and set on a baking sheet.
Now mix the orzo into the crockpot. Add some water and let the orzo cook.
Step 3: broil the chicken and cheese
Next, add butter to the onions on the pan, and cheese to the chicken. Broil until the cheese is very melty.
During this time, the onions should darken a bit in color.
Step 4: finish the orzo
Mix the parmesan cheese into the orzo.
It will be very creamy.
Step 5: serve and enjoy
Serve the creamy orzo topped with the onions and chicken. I add fresh thyme or parsley too.
Serve this with a bright salad. This pretty harvest salad has been my go-to in the fall. Ooh, and maybe some crusty bread too! Yum!
Looking for other French onion dishes?? Here are my favorites:
One Pot French Onion Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
Cider Braised Short Ribs with Caramelized Onions
Caramelized Onion, Spinach, and Cheddar Flaky Pastries.
Creamy French Onion and Mushroom Soup
French Onion and Apple Grilled Cheese
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Creamy French Onion Chicken and Orzo, 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!
Crockpot Creamy French Onion Chicken and Orzo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 679 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3-4 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 cups dry orzo pasta
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
Instructions
Crockpot Pot
- 1. In the bowl of your slow cooker, layer the onions, 3 tablespoons butter, and then the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with thyme, sage, garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the wine and broth. Add the mushrooms. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours.2. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the chicken and most of the onions from the slow cooker and place on a baking sheet.3. Crank the heat on the slow cooker to high. Stir in the orzo, and 1 cup water. Cover and cook 20-30 minutes, or until the orzo is al dente. If the orzo needs more liquid, add additional water. Stir in the cream and parmesan.4. Arrange 3 tablespoons butter over the onions, top the pan with gruyere. Broil 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melty. 5. Serve the chicken and onions over the orzo. YUMMM!
Stove Top
- 1. In a large soup pot, add the onions and 3 tablespoons butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring every 3-4 minutes, for 10 minutes. Add the chicken, thyme, sage, garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the wine and broth. Add the mushrooms. Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. 2. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the chicken and most of the onions from the pot and place on a baking sheet.3. Arrange 3 tablespoons butter over the onions, top the pan with gruyere. Broil 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melty. 4. Cook the orzo according to package directions. Mix in the reserved mushrooms and any liquid left in the pot. Add the cream and parmesan.5. Serve the chicken and onions over the orzo. YUMMM!
French Onion soup is my favorite so we thought we would try this. Unfortunately we just didn’t like it. The 2 changes we made were we didn’t add mushrooms, we don’t like them. We used dried herbs instead of fresh. Visually that gave it a muddy appearance. Overall it didn’t have a lot of flavor.
Hey Heather! I’m really sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thank you for the feedback! xT
This is incredible! Whoever the haters are, I don’t know where you went wrong. This is FULL of flavour! I used my insta pot on both sauté for the initial onions/garlic and after for the rice, and the insta feature for 20 mins inbetween to cook the chicken in the broth. It worked great and was done in under an hour! I made a few adjustments to make it a bit healthier, cut 2/3 of the butter, some of the cheese & swapped the heavy cream for Greek yogurt and it’s still wildly delicious! I will definitely be making this regularly. I absolutely adore French onion soup, so this one is a must!!
Thank you sooo much Katie! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! xT
Recipe is a little unclear. I’m removing the chicken and onions onto a baking sheeti. But then broiling the onions covered in grueyere on a pan.
Should I be using the baking sheet and broiling it all covered in cheese? Or transferring the onions from the sheet to a pan and then broiling just the onions with cheese?
didnt work out for me. was kinda bland but probably my fault since I had never used the crock pot before and left it more than I should have
Thanks for the input Maram! xT
Really wanted to like this. It had potential, onions, lots herbs, Gruyère, ect, but it was bland and had zero flavor. Cooked on low 4 hours and the onions were pale and crunchy. Tried to salvage by scooping out the onions and caramelizing them but it didn’t help. Couldn’t add enough salt
Hi Becka! I’m really sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thank you for letting me know, I appreciate it! xT
This recipe was delicious! I left it in the crockpot a little longer than 4 hours, only because I was busy throughout the day. I did add a tiny bit more chicken broth and wine than suggested too because I love my meal sauce-y. Topped this meal with a little bit of crushed red pepper because we like spice! Very good comfort food meal
Hi! I’m so so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for giving it a try! xT
I made this on the stovetop and everything turned out perfectly and it was delicious! A hit with everyone at dinner! Anyone who says the spice isn’t enough needs to figure out how to season a recipe themselves and not blame a recipe. Thanks again for a wonderful meal Tieghan!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for trying it out and leaving such a kind comment! xT
Cooked this dish as instructed via the high setting for 2 hours. The chicken did not cook all the way through. I didn’t realize until after the first bite of chicken. Ended up with food poisoning. Will not try to make this again.
Oh no!! I am SO sorry this recipe didn’t turn out, and I am so sorry that it made you sick! Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help! xT
Could I swap arborio rice for the orzo?
Hi Sam! I haven’t ever tried this recipe before so I can’t say for sure! So sorry! xT
Made this tonight. I did not have the same cooking issues as the other reviewers. Cooked on high for 2 hours then added the orzo for :30 more minutes and it cooked properly. Dinner was a hit.
Thank you SO much! Always love to hear when a recipe is a success! Hope you have an amazing New Year! xT
Made this tonight and it turned out perfect as written. I did the fast crockpot method. I did add 30 minutes extra to the cook time …. just because I wasn’t ready to eat yet. I did not add the extra water to the orzo as it seemed that a lot of water came out of my chicken.
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing New Year! 🙂 xT
Made the recipe exactly as written for crockpot. The flavor is amazing, but I should have broiled the onions alone then added chicken on top to broil more.
The orzo is amazing, but had to add an extra 10 minutes to cooking time.
I should have mentioned it needs way more salt and pepper. The base flavor is good, but as others said the onions are still crunchy.
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing New Year! 🙂 xT
Had high hopes but it was just ok. Pretty bland, we had to season it much more than recipe says.
Hey Megan! I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thank you for letting me know! xT
I wanted to love this. I really did. It was *fine* at best, disappointing at worst. The onions definitely need to be caramelized separately. They were still crunchy after I cooked 2 hours on high and one on low. If I make this again, I’ll tweak the instructions to work for us.
Hey Jenn! So sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thank you for letting me know! xT
This was just okay. What I thought would take me a few hours ended up taking over 6 hours. I did the crockpot route and after 2 hours the onions and chicken were nowhere near done. I ended up taking the chicken out and continuing to cook the onions. Then I took the onions out and tried to broil them for a while to “caramelize” but I ended up giving up because I needed to eat. I cooked the orzo for over 30 min and I don’t think it’s done either. All of that waiting and work and it is bland. If I were to make this again I would set aside at least 10 hours to make sure the onions got caramelized in the crock pot and use some sherry or red wine and beef broth instead of white wine and chicken broth.
Hey Kaitlyn! I’m really sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you! Thank you for letting me know! xT
Luckily I made this on a weekend. I tried the quicker crock pot version and after 2 hours the chicken was still raw. I put the liquid in the bottom of the instant pot and cooked the chicken in there, then shredded it. I caramelized the onions on the stove and cooked the orzo separately with all the cheese and the liquid from the instant pot. Next I mixed it all up and let it sit on warm in the crock pot for a few hours to let all the flavors come together. It ended up tasting good but it was a much longer process than anticipated.
While I agree that this recipe didnt hit home… Setting aside ten hours to caramelize your onions is just over the top. There are faster methods. No need to be dramatic 😑