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French Onion Meatballs

A delightful twist on classic French onion soup, these meatballs are filled with caramelized onions, juicy ground chicken, and topped with melted cheese.
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Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 27 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 7 minutes
Servings: 14 meatballs
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: French
Calories: 280
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Caramelized Onions
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 large white onions, halved and thinly sliced You can use yellow or red onions as well.
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
For the Meatballs
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella or gruyere cheese, divided
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 large egg
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • cooking oil spray for spraying meatballs before baking
For the Gravy
  • 1 3/4 cups beef or chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon corn flour

Method
 

Caramelizing Onions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the thinly sliced onions and season them with salt.
  3. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until caramelized.
  4. Add balsamic vinegar and fresh thyme, cooking for an additional minute.
  5. Transfer the onions to a plate and let cool slightly.
Prepare Meatballs
  1. Preheat your oven to 410°F (210°C).
  2. Chop half of the caramelized onions.
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, 1/2 cup cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, minced garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper.
  4. Fold in the chopped caramelized onions carefully.
  5. Shape the mixture into meatballs using slightly wet hands.
  6. Place meatballs in the skillet, spray with cooking oil, and bake for 12 minutes.
Final Baking
  1. Remove the skillet from the oven.
  2. Whisk the stock and corn flour until smooth, then pour over meatballs.
  3. Add remaining caramelized onions, sprinkle with remaining cheese and thyme.
  4. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

Notes

For enhanced flavor, consider adding Worcestershire sauce to the meat mixture. Keep hands wet while forming meatballs to prevent sticking.