French Onion Pork Chops are a hearty and comforting meal, prepared in a cast iron pan. Seasoned and seared thick cut pork chops with caramelized onions, smothered in melted provolone cheese.
All of your favorite flavors of French onion soup, made with pork chops! Pan-seared and seasoned pork chops are paired with caramelized onions in a cast iron pan and smothered in melted provolone cheese.
You'll love these french onion pork chops because although they look fancy, they're easy to make on a weeknight. Serve with mashed potatoes for a hearty, comforting meal. Perfect for Valentine's Day or an anniversary dinner.
Ingredients and substitutions
I used thick cut boneless pork chops for this recipe, but thin boneless pork chops will also work. I've included alternate directions in the recipe card below.
Provolone cheese can be substituted with your favorite melty cheese - gruyere cheese and swiss cheese are also great choices.
The amount of onions needed for this recipe may look like a lot, but they cook down significantly.
Cast iron pan
For this recipe, I used a 12 inch Lodge cast iron pan. If you don't have a cast iron pan, any oven-safe saute pan will work. If you're not sure if your pan is oven-safe, make sure it has no plastic handles or other pieces that will melt in the oven. I recommend checking with your cookware instructions or manufacturer if you're not 100% sure.
If you don't have an oven safe skillet or saute pan available, you can transfer the ingredients to an oven-safe dish before baking.
Caramelizing onions
Caramelizing onionsIf you've never caramelized onions before, it takes more than just a few minutes of browning onions in a pan. It is best done low and slow on the stove top. This will take about 15 minutes to caramelize thinly sliced onions for this recipe.
Keep in mind, your onions will continue to cook during the oven finishing step.
You'll want to keep a close eye on your onions. Add a splash of water or beef broth if they look like they're drying out. If they look like they're going to burn, this is a sign that you should turn your heat down and add another splash of liquid.
Finishing in the oven
This dish starts on the stove top, but is finished in the oven. If you are using thin pork chops, you may want to skip this step, which I will go over in the recipe card below.
I used thick (about 1 ½ inches) pork chops for this recipe, so searing on the stove top will not be enough to cook them through evenly. They'll need another 15 minutes in the oven to cook your pork to at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit, for medium-rare pork.
Meat thermometer
Cooking time in the oven will depend entirely on the thickness of your pork, and I highly recommend using a meat thermometer for this step.
When using an oven-safe meat thermometer, you'll stick a probe into the center of your meat, then place it in the oven. It will tell you the exact temperature of your meat while it cooks. This means you won't have to use a timer or guess the thickness of your pork chops.
I can't say it enough - a meat thermometer guarantees your meat will be perfectly cooked every time!
French Onion Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 4 thick cut boneless pork chops
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup beef broth
- 4 slices provolone cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Season pork chops with salt, thyme, garlic powder, and pepper on both sides.
- In a 12 inch cast iron pan over medium heat, add olive oil. When hot, add pork chops and sear on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove pork chops from pan and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onions to pan and cook until softened and deep golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. (If onions begin to dry out, add a splash of water to the pan to rehydrate. If onions look like they're going to burn, reduce heat further and add a splash of water.)
- Add flour to onions and toss to coat. Cook for one minute, then add beef broth, stirring until incorporated, making a gravy.
- Add pork chops back to pan and nestle into onions. Spoon onion gravy over pork chops. Top each pork chop with a slice of cheese, then transfer to oven. Bake for 14-15 minutes for 1.5" pork chops, or until center reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve over mashed potatoes or with a side salad.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- The thickness of your pork chops will alter the time needed in the oven.
- For thin pork chops (½ inch or less): Oven finishing is not required. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on the stove top, allowing cheese to melt and pork chops to finish cooking through.
- I highly recommend using a meat thermometer to check the temperature of your pork chops as they cook. This guarantees a perfectly cooked meat - every time.
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