Oh my word! You guys. On Sunday morning I set out to make a recipe that I had kind of played around in my head with ever since having my sister’s French Onion Soup during Christmas time. Since then, I’ve lightend up her version of the soup into my version of the soup. You can find that recipe here, the soup was so rich and so tasty. I dreamed about it being with some meat, cheese, and on a hard roll of some sort. I love French Dips and Italian Beefs! Apparently, Italian beefs aren’t a thing everywhere. I have a friend who moved to California years ago, and she could not find a Italian Beef if her life had depended on it! I still can’t believe it. So, I am not sure where these types of sandwiches are popular… but let me tell you, there’s a reason they are popular here. I decided to go with chicken as the protein to pair with the au jus. I knew it would keep the sandwich much more lean and let’s be honest, I wanted it with some dreamy cheese on top! That’s where I got nervous about this. I kept putting it off because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, and I was so hopeful that I really, really did not want to be disappointed! Sunday morning I finally said enough was enough and quickly popped it into the slow cooker. I kept peaking at it all dang day. Finally when enough time had passed, I set out to make these sandwiches. Eric and I split a sandwich seconds after I was done because I could not wait another minute. 8 hours in the crockpot was entirely too long, but it WAS WORTH THE WAIT. I might have burned my tongue while gobbling the goodness, but that was JUST FINE! The chicken was perfectly tender with just the right amount of flavor. The au jus is definitely where it’s at when it comes to the french onion flavor so make sure to dip your sandwiches to your hearts content!
At this point, I’m thinking I could eat this sandwich every single day of my life. You can really use any type of bread/roll with these if you would like. This is not a sponsored post and I doubt S. Rosens Bakery even knows who I am, but I love their french bread rolls! I have been able to find them at just about any grocery stores in my area, so I hope you can too. They are low-ish in points for any weight watcher reading this, and the calories aren’t half bad either! For those wanting lower carbs/calories…. I also ate this as an open face sandwich using only half the roll with au jus poured all over it… guess what? It was amazing.
I’ll keep this short and sweet because I want you to make this… like right now.
First things first. Slice up a large yellow sweet onion!
In a skillet over medium-high, add olive oil and light butter heat for a minute. Add onions and toss them with the butter and olive oil. Cook until the onions are super soft. (about 6-8 minutes)
In a crockpot add three trimmed large chicken breasts. (2 lbs) Pstt.. It’s okay if you have a little over the two lbs.
Add the cooked onions on top of the chicken! I a d o r e the smell of the kitchen at this moment.
YUM! (okay, not so much the raw chicken part.. but those onions!)
Now, add a few teaspoons of minced garlic (or a 4-5 minced fresh cloves!) Do whatever ya want. In the french onion soup recipe I used fresh garlic. I only had some of the refrigerated stuff on hand this time around, and you know what? It tasted great! So use what you have! Also, add a few teaspoons of kosher salt and a healthy amount of some fresh cracker pepper… or regular pepper out the shaker. I’m not judging.
Add two tablespoons of flour to two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce! (Again, my least favorite word to spell in the entire world.. not even spell check knows what I am doing.)
Add chicken broth on top of the chicken breast and onions. Add the flour and Worcetshire mix into the pot too!
Whisk the flour mixture into the broth on top of the chicken. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.
7-8 hours later… it’s time! It’s finally time!!! I all but danced around the kitchen when this happened as I had been peaking one too many times all day long. Your kitchen should smell amazing at this point. You’re welcome!
Take the chicken out and place on a plate or cutting board.
This chicken will be melt in your mouth, fall of the bone (if there was a bone) stuff! I didn’t really want it to be shredded. In fact, next time I might just cut the chicken into smaller strips, but it’s so tender that it will shred a bit without you even trying. If you want it shredded, it more than likely will taste the exact same. I have a weird brain. My brain wanted “slices’ on the sandwich.
Here’s the buns! I love these guys. Now like I said, you don’t have to use these, you can use something smaller, bigger, wheatier, circular, half of one. Whatever your heart (or waist) desires! Bread is bread and bread is life.
Time to assemble these babies! (I promise this is faster than the time it takes to read!) Split some hard rolls and pile up some chicken on the bottom half. (You can either spread evenly or if you like being super precise about 4 ounces on each half)
Now pour 1/4 cup of the onion and broth mixture on top of the chicken. Swoon! (Side note: Someday I’ll go get a nice relaxing manicure. Cough cough Eric… if you’re reading this… )
This tastes one billion times better than it looks at this point, I swear.
Time for cheese! (Always my favorite part) I add about two tablespoons on top of the chicken. So, all together you’ll need about 3/4 cup. You could also be rebel and add as much as you want. I wish I could!
Top with the top half of the roll. (If you’re going the full sandwich route, the first time…. you should.)
Pop’m into a 415 degree oven for about 10 minutes until the bread is a bit crunchy and the cheese is gorgeously melted onto the chicken.
and then you’ll have this.
and this.
and this.
I don’t think we will be going very many weeks without these for the rest of our lives.
I am being completely honest.
And I’ll leave you with this again. Eric called this “the money shot” Honestly, I don’t know what that means, but I drool a little bit every time I look at it.
Let me know how it went!
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Star
Chicken French Dips!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast raw
- 1 large yellow sweet onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp light butter I like land o lakes
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cups of 98% fat free chicken broth
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp all purpose white flour
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- freshly cracked pepper
For the sandwiches:
- 1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella
- 6 hard rolls or bread of choice
Instructions
In a large skillet over medium heat add olive oil and butter. Add thinly sliced onions, a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for about 12-15 minutes until the onions become very soft and a little caramelized.
Add 3 large chicken breasts to a slow cooker, followed by the cooked onions, minced garlic, chicken broth, and kosher salt & black pepper.
In a small bowl whisk together flour and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk the mixture into the broth on top of the chicken. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.
Remove the chicken, place onto a cutting board, and cut into pieces or lightly shred.
To assemble the sandwiches: Preheat oven to 415 degrees. On a sheet pan lay bottom of the roll down, top each roll with about 4 ounces of chicken, 1/4 cup of the au jus from the slow cooker, two tbsp of mozzarella, and then the top of the bun.
(Note: These totally work as open faced sandwiches for those who want to cut back on carbs or calories)
Place sheet pan into oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the bread is crispy and the cheese is nicely melted. Serve with 1/2 cup of au jus for dipping! Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
[social_warfare]
*Points and Nutrition do not include hard roll because bread can vary due to size and brand.
This recipe has become one of our FAVORITE recipes!! So delicious both the day you cook it & for leftovers!! I use thin sliced chicken breasts so I typically only cook them in the slow cooker for around 6 hours which is perfect to keep them moist!
Thanks for the info on thin sliced chicken breasts and less time. So happy you enjoy these! These have become one of those things I like have on hand in the freezer ready to go too!
These were amazing!! My kids 3, 6 and 8 are so picky that I didn’t even plan on them eating these but when my husband and I couldn’t stop making yummm noises while we were eating they wanted to try – and they LOVED them. I ended up making them sandwiches too. My onions kind of disintegrated into the sauce but it was great because the flavor was all mixed together and the kids even ate the onions!! So easy to make. Love, love, love that so many of your dishes are kid friendly.
I’m so happy your lil picky eaters love these too!! Mine wouldn’t eat them at first, but now she does!
This was delicious!! Everyone agreed it needs to go in the meal rotation!! I doubled the amount of chicken. I also put frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot and cooked on high for 4 hours, then switched to low. Turned out perfect! Thx for the yummy recipe! I can’t wait to try more!!
Amazing recipe. I’d never had a French dip sandwich before and this did not disappoint. It was so good I made the recipe for at least 3 weeks straight. Seeing the post on Instagram made me add it to my next weeks meal plan. We never get tired of it, the leftovers are even better….thank you for another amazing recipe.
This is my absolute favourite of your recipes. It saddens me that you say it isn’t one of your most popular recipes. It really should be! I made it again today and it was amazing as always. Thank you so much for everything you do.
I love this! We’ve had it on mashed potatoes instead of bread and it’s delicious!
to prevent soggy bread, couldn’t you toast the bun. I also usually do open face sandwich to save half the crabs of bread; but, love this recipe
Hi Carolyn! You can for sure toast the bread prior to adding the chicken and cheese on top! I would personally put it on the sheet pan, spray a bit of avocado oil cooking spray on each roll and then toast them on their own for maybe 5 minutes before adding the chicken and cheese. Then pop back in the oven all together. I hope that helps!
Do you think it would be ok to cook the onions in the crockpot over night on low and then add the other ingredients to cook all day? I just can’t fathom waking up before work and cooking onions lol.
Made these last night in the instant pot! So yummy and the house smelled so good! I used the sauté setting for the onions, then added everything in and cooked on the poultry setting for 17 minutes. A few minutes of natural release and these were perfect! I strained the broth after removing the chicken to make it easier to assemble and store. We couldn’t find good crusty rolls so used an italian-seasoned sub roll from the bread isle at Kroger. It was soft and I will definitely need to decrease the broth added to the sandwich for tonight’s leftovers because the bottom got soggy (but still delicious).
Thanks Star!!
These sandwiches are amazing, they taste so good, and the smell throughout the house while they cook makes it hard to wait for them to get done.
So Yummy. And easy! And healthier than the beef French dip
Trying these tonight but got them in the crackpot kind of late. Could I do some hours on low and then bump up to high to finish?
I’m married to the World’s Fussiest Eater! His list of NO foods is short but pretty critical (I’m telling you, this lovely man can smell mustard 3 blocks away). Sadly Worcestershire Sauce is on his NO list and there’s no hiding the bottle and hoping for the best. Any ideas on what I might substitute? Or can I just skip the Worcestershire sauce? I’m a novice cook on a good day so I hate to just throw something in the mix. I LOVE your site and have tried many recipes. Such good stuff!! Thanks
The Worcestershire sauce just adds a little extra layer of flavor. I honestly can’t really think of anything to sub it with aside from maybe a little soy sauce? But, that might totally throw it off. I would just skip it! I hope you enjoy this one too, Kellie!
Omg made these tonight slamming sandwich only question is seems lije so much au jus left over anything else can use for hate to toss it ?
Hey Marci! I’m so happy you enjoyed. You could save the broth/freeze it and use it for a soup base!
How would I do this in the instant pot?
Hi Val, I don’t have that info handy at this time because I don’t have an Instant Pot. My advice would to be follow instructions for how to cook poultry and go from there.
30 mins in the instant pot and it came out perfect. I followed the instructions otherwise.
We had this tonight. It was so good! I can never pass up a French dip and I didn’t even miss the beef. I thought about trying to find a low point roll but I’m so glad I went with a big Italian roll. Thanks for all of the great meals. We’re looking forward to leftovers tomorrow!
Can I cook on high?
Should be fine, I’d reduce time 4-5 hours
Can I cook on high?
Should be fine, I’d reduce time 4-5 hours
I can’t wait to try this! Am I able to make it up the day before and then let it sit & put it on the next day? Or will it affect everything!?
I can’t say for sure because I haven’t tried it. I feel like it should be fine though if anything it’ll act more as a marinade at should make the chicken even more flavorful. I hope you enjoy!
I can’t wait to try this! Am I able to make it up the day before and then let it sit & put it on the next day? Or will it affect everything!?
I can’t say for sure because I haven’t tried it. I feel like it should be fine though if anything it’ll act more as a marinade at should make the chicken even more flavorful. I hope you enjoy!
does the points reflect the bread as well?
No, just the chicken, cheese, and au jus
does the points reflect the bread as well?
No, just the chicken, cheese, and au jus
Have you ever tried doubling the recipe? I need to make for 8 adults and 6 little ones. Would I just double all the ingredients in the crock pot and would the cooking time stay the same? Thank you!!
Have you ever tried doubling the recipe? I need to make for 8 adults and 6 little ones. Would I just double all the ingredients in the crock pot and would the cooking time stay the same? Thank you!!
How come when I calculate the points in the WW calculator, it comes out to 9 points? Either way..It’s in my crock pot smelling dee-lish!
In the Weight Watchers App I figure the points value using the Recipe Builder. If calculating with the nutritional info stated it will likely come out differently. I hope that helps. Enjoy!!
How come when I calculate the points in the WW calculator, it comes out to 9 points? Either way..It’s in my crock pot smelling dee-lish!
In the Weight Watchers App I figure the points value using the Recipe Builder. If calculating with the nutritional info stated it will likely come out differently. I hope that helps. Enjoy!!
Thanks for sharing your recipes. Where do you buy that brand of French rolls.
You’re welcome! I usually buy S.Rosens French Rolls when making sandwiches like this one, meatballs subs, or italian beefs! So good. There is a picture of the rolls/packaging within the post. =) Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing your recipes. Where do you buy that brand of French rolls.
You’re welcome! I usually buy S.Rosens French Rolls when making sandwiches like this one, meatballs subs, or italian beefs! So good. There is a picture of the rolls/packaging within the post. =) Enjoy!
I made these yesterday and the flavor was amazing. Unfortunately, the bread on the bottom of my sandwich turned into a soggy mess! Any suggestions on how to combat this? Thanks for posting all these delicious recipes!
I’m so happy you liked them! If you’re using something a little lighter than a hard roll, pour about 2 tablespoons of the au jus on top of the chicken instead of 1/4 cup! I hope that helps!
I made these yesterday and the flavor was amazing. Unfortunately, the bread on the bottom of my sandwich turned into a soggy mess! Any suggestions on how to combat this? Thanks for posting all these delicious recipes!
I’m so happy you liked them! If you’re using something a little lighter than a hard roll, pour about 2 tablespoons of the au jus on top of the chicken instead of 1/4 cup! I hope that helps!
I made these last Sunday for the big game, and my LAWD, they were a hit with the men in my house!!! In fact, when I served four sandwiches in the first batch, one of the guys already claimed the last one left for their lunch the next day. I added just a small pinch each of rosemary, thyme, and poultry seasoning to the onions as they cooked down as my own little personal touch, and when I went outside to take the trash out and came back into the house, it was an eye opener of how good it really smelled, and you were right that it makes your home smell like heaven! These are on the top of my “To Make Again!” list! Thank you for such a great recipe!!
I am SO happy to hear that! I always test my food on Eric, who’s not watching his weight whatsoever. He got the tall & skinny genes. (Jealous!) and I know if he thinks they are good, then most men probably will! And my biggest aim is please not just the person watching their weight, but the whole family! So this makes me super happy! Thank you for letting me know!
I made these last Sunday for the big game, and my LAWD, they were a hit with the men in my house!!! In fact, when I served four sandwiches in the first batch, one of the guys already claimed the last one left for their lunch the next day. I added just a small pinch each of rosemary, thyme, and poultry seasoning to the onions as they cooked down as my own little personal touch, and when I went outside to take the trash out and came back into the house, it was an eye opener of how good it really smelled, and you were right that it makes your home smell like heaven! These are on the top of my “To Make Again!” list! Thank you for such a great recipe!!
I am SO happy to hear that! I always test my food on Eric, who’s not watching his weight whatsoever. He got the tall & skinny genes. (Jealous!) and I know if he thinks they are good, then most men probably will! And my biggest aim is please not just the person watching their weight, but the whole family! So this makes me super happy! Thank you for letting me know!
I’ve got pork on tap for next week, but these are definitely going on the week after’s plan! I’m lazy though so I’ll probably just put the raw onions in the crockpot and hope for the best. *grin* I bet the chicken and au jus would be good over rice, too! Can’t wait to try it!!
Hey Casey. I’m totally lazy too sometimes. I just want to let you know that the onions might not be super “soft” if not cooked down first, but if that doesn’t bother you then go for it, girl! I hope you like it! I was also thinking mashed potatoes… Rice sounds delicious too!
I’ve got pork on tap for next week, but these are definitely going on the week after’s plan! I’m lazy though so I’ll probably just put the raw onions in the crockpot and hope for the best. *grin* I bet the chicken and au jus would be good over rice, too! Can’t wait to try it!!
Hey Casey. I’m totally lazy too sometimes. I just want to let you know that the onions might not be super “soft” if not cooked down first, but if that doesn’t bother you then go for it, girl! I hope you like it! I was also thinking mashed potatoes… Rice sounds delicious too!
If I already have cooked frozen shreded chicken made. How would this work? Or should I buy more chicken breast?
I encourage you make the chicken in the slow cooker with the au jus as a whole to really get all the flavors to mingle. You could do it separately, I’m sure it would taste just great, but I can’t guaruntee it that way. Let me know how it goes!
If I already have cooked frozen shreded chicken made. How would this work? Or should I buy more chicken breast?
I encourage you make the chicken in the slow cooker with the au jus as a whole to really get all the flavors to mingle. You could do it separately, I’m sure it would taste just great, but I can’t guaruntee it that way. Let me know how it goes!
We love making french dips at home, it’s been awhile. Sometimes we throw some green peppers and or mushrooms in with the onions. And if I’m extra naughty I’ll add a little thousand island on the bun, weird, I know! I love your version & I will forsure be making it! Thanks for sharing!
Ooooo! Thousand Island sounds so dreamy. I’ll have to try that next time. I am not a mushroom person, but the green peppers sound delicious! I hope you like them, let me know how it goes, Angie!
We love making french dips at home, it’s been awhile. Sometimes we throw some green peppers and or mushrooms in with the onions. And if I’m extra naughty I’ll add a little thousand island on the bun, weird, I know! I love your version & I will forsure be making it! Thanks for sharing!
Ooooo! Thousand Island sounds so dreamy. I’ll have to try that next time. I am not a mushroom person, but the green peppers sound delicious! I hope you like them, let me know how it goes, Angie!
You could also scoop out some of the bread to save some calories. Makes more room for filling.
Yes! Very good idea!!
You could also scoop out some of the bread to save some calories. Makes more room for filling.
Yes! Very good idea!!
These look amazing!!….I can’t wait to try….:)
Thank you! I hope you enjoy. Let me know how it goes, Denise!
These look amazing!!….I can’t wait to try….:)
Thank you! I hope you enjoy. Let me know how it goes, Denise!
These look amazing! Have you tried freezing the leftovers? There’s only two of us in my household so I’m curious.
I have not yet, but I absolutely don’t see why not. I would freeze the chicken and au jus separately in freezer bags. I freeze chicken and brothy-soups all of the time! I hope you enjoy. Let me know how it goes!
These look amazing! Have you tried freezing the leftovers? There’s only two of us in my household so I’m curious.
I have not yet, but I absolutely don’t see why not. I would freeze the chicken and au jus separately in freezer bags. I freeze chicken and brothy-soups all of the time! I hope you enjoy. Let me know how it goes!