French onion pork chops are made with your favorite flavors of French onion soup and prepared in a cast iron pan. Seasoned and seared thick cut pork chops are topped with caramelized onions and smothered with melted provolone cheese.
If you like French onion soup, you're going to love this recipe for French onion pork chops. And although they look fancy, they're easy to make for a weeknight meal.
Pan-seared thick-cut pork chops are nestled in a pan of caramelized onions and topped with melted provolone cheese. The time spent caramelizing onions is worth it for this hearty comfort meal!
Serve with creamy mashed potatoes for a complete meal. It's perfect for serving to company at Sunday dinner or even for Valentine's Day at home!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Pork chops - You'll need thick cut boneless pork chops for this recipe. If you only have thin cut pork chops on hand, I've included alternate directions in the recipe card below.
- Onions - You'll need two large, sweet onions for this recipe, like Vidalia onions or yellow onions.
- Provolone cheese - Can be substituted with your favorite melty cheese. Gruyere and swiss cheese are great choices.
- Beef broth - Adds savory flavor to the recipe and creates a gravy with the flour listed in the recipe.
- Flour - Needed to make a gravy with the broth. Cornstarch can work as a substitute if needed.
- Oil - Olive oil or your favorite cooking oil works in this recipe.
- Seasoning - Salt, thyme, garlic powder, and pepper add a mild, savory flavor to the pork chops.
Tips and tricks
Pan size - I used a 12 inch Lodge cast iron pan. If you don't have a cast iron pan, any oven-safe sauté pan will work. If you don't have an oven safe skillet or sauté pan available, the ingredients can be transferred to an oven-safe dish before baking.
Caramelizing onions - If you've never caramelized onions before, it takes more than just a few minutes of browning in a pan. It's best done low and slow on the stovetop and will take up to 30 minutes on the stovetop, plus additional time in the oven.
Low and slow - Keep your heat low to allow onions to cook without burning. Looking dry? Add a splash of water, reduce the heat slightly, and scrape the bottom of the pan to release any stuck onions.
Trust the process - Caramelizing onions takes time. Resist the urge to turn up the heat. The process of caramelizing onions adds an immense amount of flavor to the finished dish that is worth the time and effort.
Finishing in the oven - When using thick cut pork chops, they'll need to be finished in the oven. This time in the oven also gives your onions a chance to finish cooking down.
Checking for doneness - I highly recommend using a meat thermometer to check for doneness and ensure your pork chops don't get overcooked in the oven.
Storage
Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
Frequently asked questions
There's not really a great way to caramelize onions faster. Simply turning up the heat can burn onions before they caramelize properly. Adding a bit of liquid throughout the cooking process can help prevent sticking and steams the onions, which can help them cook a bit faster. However, your onions will take at least 30 minutes on the stovetop, with another 15 minutes in the oven, so account for this in your prep time.
Yes, caramelized onions will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, so you could prep your onions a few days ahead to save time on the day of cooking.
I like serving these pork chops with creamy mashed potatoes or a garden salad on the side.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
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℉.
- 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 25-30 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.
- 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 about 14-15 minutes for 1.5" pork chops, or until center reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- 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 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit in the center.
- 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.
This recipe was the first of the season...Hearty, delicious, and omg the onions turned out perfectly..I truly think the cast iron is the trick..The time was down to the minute! the seasonings were on point, and only thing I did differently was I had chicken broth and had to substitute. Provolone I added after I removed and packed the onions on top of it. Cheese melted perfectly.. Great recipe will definitely make it again and again...served with romaine, current salad.