These open faced French onion chicken sandwiches top sliced French bread with grilled chicken, sweet tender caramelized onions, and melted Gruyere cheese.  The flavors you love in a French onion soup are packed into these sandwiches, giving them the perfect combination of sweetness and tartness. One sandwich is 7 green, 6 blue, or 6 purple points, but it doesn’t have to be…

Ways to change up this recipe:

There are three main components to these sandwiches: bread, caramelized onions, and cheese. I love all of these ingredients together, but as I ate my sandwich, I intentionally left out the cheese and the bread with some bites just to see if it was still good with and without each ingredient.

What I found: You can leave out the bread or cheese and still have a delicious recipe.

Here are some alterations to the recipe that you may want to consider:

• Swap out the French bread for a bun/roll. I chose to use French bread that was 3 WW SP per slice. If you would like, you could swap out the French bread for a light bun or roll. Check out our post here for a list of buns that are 2 WW SP and breads that are 1 WW SP per slice.
• Leave out the bread. The chicken, onions, and cheese are delicious with or without the bread, so feel free to leave it out all together. According to my calculations, one serving would be 3 WW SP if you leave out the bread.
• Use a different kind of cheese. Can’t find Gruyere cheese in your grocery store? You can substitute the Gueyere cheese with Swiss or provolone cheese, but it will alter the taste, of course.
• Leave out the cheese. Another option would be to leave out the cheese. There is plenty of flavor in the onions that you could leave out the cheese and still have great results.
• Add bacon. If you have some bacon in your fridge, consider chopping up a slice and adding it to the onions for an extra pop of flavor.

So many onions…

Three large sweet onions. That sounds like a lot, right? The onions are packed with so much flavor and are a major part of what makes these sandwiches so yummy, so I didn’t want to skimp on them for this recipe. Having said that, I did choose to leave out the cute little circles in the middle of the slices and just stuck with the large slices.

About the French bread.

When you enter “French bread” into the WW recipe builder, it suggests that one slice is 3 WW FreeStyle SP. For the purposes of calculating points, I used bread that was 3 WW SP per slice. Feel free to use whatever you like. We had a roll of frozen French loaf dough in our freezer, so I thawed and baked it, and to be honest, I am not 100% sure how many points one slice was, but it tasted great!

Okay, let’s get to these Open Faced French Onion Chicken Sandwiches…

Here is what you need:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 large sweet onions, sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Marsala cooking wine
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 6 thin pieces that are approximately 2-3 ounces each
Cooking spray
Additional salt and pepper, to taste
6 slices French bread
3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Here is what you do:

In a large skillet set over medium heat, warm oil. Add onions, salt, and pepper. Cook, covered, 13-15 minutes, or until the onions are tender, stirring occasionally.

Uncover skillet. Mix in brown sugar, cooking wine, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar with the onions and allow to cook an additional 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat, or until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. Transfer onions to a plate.

Add chicken to the skillet used to cook the onions. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook chicken 5-7 minutes on both sides, or until fully cooked.

Place 6 slices of French bread on a baking sheet. Top each bread slice with one piece of chicken, approximately 1/4 cup onions, and 2 tablespoons cheese.

Bake in oven set to 350°F for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 sandwiches.
One sandwich is 7 green, 6 blue, or 6 purple points.

Print Recipe

4.50 from 4 votes

Open Faced French Onion Chicken Sandwiches

7 green, 6 blue, or 6 purple points per sandwich

Makes: 6 sandwiches

Calories: 359

Author: Alisha Hughes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large sweet onions, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Marsala cooking wine
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 6 thin pieces that are approximately 2-3 ounces each
• Cooking spray
• Additional salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 slices French bread
• 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Instructions

• In a large skillet set over medium heat, warm oil. Add onions, salt, and pepper. Cook, covered, 13-15 minutes, or until the onions are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Uncover skillet. Mix in brown sugar, cooking wine, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar with the onions and allow to cook an additional 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat, or until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. Transfer onions to a plate.
• Add chicken to the skillet used to cook the onions. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook chicken 5-7 minutes on both sides, or until fully cooked.
• Place 6 slices of French bread on a baking sheet. Top each bread slice with one piece of chicken, approximately 1/4 cup onions, and 2 tablespoons cheese.
• Bake in oven set to 350°F for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.