The French Twist That Takes Chicken Parmesan To New Heights

Chicken parmesan is the ultimate Italian American comfort food, featuring a breaded chicken cutlet smothered in marinara sauce and finished with melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese. It's decadent as is, but you can add even more opulence with a cheesy and aromatic twist that infuses the dish with French onion soup flavors.

Both French onion soup and chicken parmesan are savory dishes topped with a gooey and rich layer of melted cheese and breading. French onion soup also has a meaty broth base to balance the sweetness of the caramelized onions. So, combining the two will take flavors and textures to new heights. To fuse these famous dishes together, you'll essentially swap the beef broth for chicken cutlets, the tomato sauce for caramelized onions, and the mozzarella cheese for Gruyère. The sharper and creamier Gruyère blends with the parmesan as the ultimate salty and savory complement for sweet and aromatic caramelized onions.

You can follow our recipe for the crispiest chicken cutlets to pound, bread, and pan fry the meat. Then, you'll spoon a generous layer of caramelized onions over the fried cutlets, followed by strips of Gruyère and freshly grated parmesan, before sliding them into the oven to bake until the cheese is gooey. You'll want to ensure your oven is a hot 425 degrees Fahrenheit to melt the cheese while also keeping the cutlets nice and crisp, which should only take around 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, and parsley.

For the crispiest chicken cutlets, panko breadcrumbs are ideal, but you should season them with Italian seasoning for that classic chicken parmesan taste. For vegetarians, a panko-breaded and fried oyster mushroom makes the perfect substitute for chicken. Another vegetarian option would be to add a French onion twist to an eggplant parmesan recipe. 

Caramelizing the onions is one of the biggest challenge for this fusion of French and Italian American specialties. Patience and attention is required as they need consistent stirring and take around 45 minutes to prepare. Since they will cook down to a fraction of their size, count on using three large onions for four cutlets. A blend of butter and olive oil — and a dash of broth and white wine — will bring that French onion soup flavor and create a more saucy, jammy consistency. You can also try making caramelized onions in a slow cooker for a hands-off approach.

Draw inspiration from both the Italian American and French culinary repertoire for side dish pairings. French onion soup often has mushrooms in it for added umami, so you could likewise add sauteed cremini or Baby Bellas to top your French onion chicken parm. A cheesy, sweet, and savory chicken cutlet would also taste delicious atop a bed of spaghetti aglio e olio or buttered egg noodles. Roasted garlic mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy would be an even heartier foundation.