Open-Faced Creamy Chicken Rainier Sandwich with Caramelized Onions and Gruyere
This Open-Faced Creamy Chicken Rainer Sandwich makes a decadent lunch or a great dinner with a side salad. Delicious creamy, caramelized onion filling over a toasted ciabatta bun, topped with chicken and asparagus and dotted with a bit of Gruyère cheese. And it's only 236 calories or 7 WW points. You can make up the filling ahead of time (up to 5-7 days) and have it whenever you want. Have it ready in the fridge, great in various ways - sandwiches, wraps or over salads.
Weight Watchers Points: Blue: 7 Smart Points ; Green: 8 Smart Points; Purple: 7 Smart Points
Ingredients
- 1 large about 19 oz walla walla onion or a sweet onion variety, roughly chopped in bite size pieces
- olive oil spray
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 8 oz. pkg light cream cheese I use Philadelphia Reduced Fat Cream Cheese brick
- 4 1/2 oz Gruyère or swiss cheese divided (save out 8 tablespoons)
- 1/8 t. liquid smoke optional
- a few grinds of nutmeg or a dash of ground nutmeg
- 1 T. light mayonnaise I use Best Foods Light Mayonnaise
- kosher salt as needed
- freshly ground pepper
- 16 oz. chicken breasts cooked or grilled
- 1 c. asparagus steamed and chopped into bite-sized pieces (for an easy way to steam, see notes below)
- 4 ciabatta rolls or French bread rolls sliced in half
Instructions
- Spray a medium/large stainless steel skillet with olive oil spray. For this recipe it's best to use a regular stainless steel skillet. Onions are harder to caramelize in a non stick skillet. Heat to medium high heat.
- Add chopped onions. Spray the onions with a little more olive oil spray. Cook on medium high heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring as needed. Add more olive oil spray if needed. Don't let them burn. Be sure to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Reduce heat to low. Continue cooking onions until brown and caramelized for at least 20 minutes. The onions will stick to the pan, that's ok, just continue to keep scraping up the bits. You may be tempted to consider them "done," but allow the full 20-30 minutes for best flavor. Add minced garlic to the onions during the last few minutes of cooking. Remove from heat.
- While onions are cooking, in a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, Gruyère cheese (minus 8 T.) kosher salt and pepper.
- When onions and garlic are done cooking, transfer them to a food processor and lightly pulse a few times. Add to cream cheese mixture.
- Spread about 1/4 c. over half of bread. Top with chicken and asparagus. Add a bit of gruyere cheese to top.
- Broil in oven or toaster oven until hot and cheese is melted.
Notes
Variations: Turn these sandwiches easily into wraps. Place about 1/4 c. of the filling on a medium tortilla, add the chicken and asparagus. Top with 1 T. gruyere and roll up. Or turn it into a salad: place lettuce greens in a bowl, top with chicken and asparagus and 1/4 c. of the filling. Drizzle balsamic over the top.
To Steam Asparagus Quickly: This may not be a traditional way but it's the way I've been doing it for years. I put asparagus (cut into pieces) in one of my Polish pottery bowls (any microwavable dish will work). I sprinkle a few drops of water over asparagus, cover with a small plate. (Or if you have a lid to the dish, that works too.) Microwave for about 1 1/2-2 minutes. Leave plate on bowl (or lid) for a few minutes and serve it when ready.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sandwichCalories: 236kcalCarbohydrates: 22.9gProtein: 19.2gFat: 7.8gSaturated Fat: 3.9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1.8gCholesterol: 39.7mgSodium: 1260.6mgPotassium: 92.6mgFiber: 1.4gSugar: 2.2gVitamin A: 46.4IUVitamin C: 1.7mgCalcium: 185.2mgIron: 2.1mg
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