French Onion Pork Chops
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Savory, juicy pork chops smothered in rich caramelized onions and melted cheese make these French Onion Pork Chops taste like your favorite winter soup. Easy, comforting, and seriously irresistible!
When the weather starts getting colder I start looking for comfort food. My favorite comfort foods are soups, macaroni and cheese, and pot pies. Unfortunately many of my favorites are super high in calories so I can only have them occasionally.
When I found a recipe for French Onion braised chicken I was intrigued. The recipe only called for a small amount of cheese and none of the bread or croutons that go on top.
WHat is French Onion Soup?
French onion soup is a classic soup made with deeply caramelized onions, rich beef broth, and a splash of wine for extra flavor. It’s slow cooked so the onions turn sweet and golden, then topped with toasted bread and lots of melted cheese, usually Gruyère, before being broiled until bubbly and gooey.
I liked that this dish incorporated one of my favorite soups with poultry to make it a main dish recipe with less calories and fat then the soup. While the original recipe called for chicken I had boneless pork chops in the freezer so I used those instead.
For the cheese I used the classic Gruyère. I like Gruyère because it feels fancy but it’s readily available in most stores. It has a rich, nutty flavor with just a hint of salt.
The most important part of this recipe is caramelizing the onions. While this isn’t hard to do, it takes some patience in order to do it correctly.
How Do You Caramelize Onions?
Caramelizing onions is a slow process. You can’t just put them in a pan and leave them. First melt butter in a saute pan. Add the onions and a pinch of sugar then cook over medium low to medium heat. Stir occasionally for 15-20 minutes or until they begin to brown. At this point reduce heat to low or medium low and stir more frequently or until they are caramelized. Add a pinch of water if they start to burn.
The nice thing about this recipe is that you can caramelize the onions up to 24 hours ahead of time and simply refrigerate them until you are ready to use them.
Ingredients:
- olive oil
- salted butter (or unsalted if you prefer)
- granulated sugar
- sweet onions (or your favorite type of onion)
- garlic cloves
- herbs (I used rosemary and thyme but sage or parsley work well too)
- salt and pepper
- white wine (for a non-alcoholic substitute use 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice)
- beef broth
- boneless pork chops
- Gruyère cheese (or Swiss cheese)
To make this pork first caramelize the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until browned.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Put the onions in the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish then put the pork chops on top. Pour broth over top of the chops. Bake for 30 minutes. Place a slice of cheese on top of each pork chop and broil for 2 minutes.
The pork chops smelled amazing! I was almost convinced we were having French onion soup for dinner that night.
I was surprised by the rich, delicious flavor of the pork chops and broth. The pork is made really tender by baking in the French Onion broth. The cheese on top is broiled at the last minute to give it that classic browned topping of French Onion soup. I really enjoyed this twist on a classic.
What can I serve with French onion Pork Chops?
You can serve a variety of dishes with French onion pork chops. Rosemary mashed potatoes would pair well as would Easy Stove Top Mac n Cheese. For a vegetable Buttery Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower would go well with the pork or you could go with Green Beans with Rosemary Garlic Butter.
If you’ve tried my French Onion Pork Chops or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:
French Onion Pork Chops
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 onions sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound of boneless pork chops
- 4 slices Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- In a heavy bottomed pan heat the olive oil, butter, and half the sugar. Add the onions and let them cook down, stirring occasionally. As you are caramelizing the onions you do not want them to cook too fast so keep an eye on them.
- After allowing the onions to cook down for 15 minutes add in the garlic, herbs, and remaining sugar. Continue cooking for 15-20 minutes or until onions are caramelized.
- Stir in the white wine and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- In a large skillet heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper and brown in the skillet, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour the onion mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish. Place the pork chops on top of the onions.
- In the same skillet that cooked the pork chops, add the beef broth and scrape up any brown bites. Pour the broth over top of the chicken and onions.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the pork chops are fully cooked. Place a slice of cheese on top of each pork chops and broil for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and brown.
This was amazing! I used coconut sugar instead of regular to make it paleo. Definitely be making this again!
SO glad you liked it and great tip for those who eat paleo!
You recipe says to add the remaining sugar in Step 2. You don’t mention sugar and any other time.
Oops! Thanks for catching that. The sugar helps to caramelize the onions. I fixed the recipe. Thank you!
Mmm this sounds delicious! I love French Onion soup and make it a lot in the fall, and love this idea of making a pork dish like this! Thanks for sharing!