Almost everyone keeps a bag of onions on hand, which makes this keto-friendly pork chops with balsamic caramelized onions recipe a convenient choice for a weekday night dinner. The sweetness from the caramelized onions and balsamic vinegar make a wonderful pairing for pork chops without the need for a trip to the store for specialized ingredients.
Keto Pork Chops with Balsamic Caramelized Onions Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1b boneless pork chops (around 3-4 pieces)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- ¾ cup pearl onions or diced yellow onions
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon gold erithrytol monk fruit sweetener or Swerve Brown
- ¼ cup chicken bone broth
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Fresh thyme, for garnish (*optional)
Directions:
Around 12-24 hours before you plan to eat, sprinkle the pork chops with kosher sea salt then return to the fridge. When you're ready to prepare your meal, take the pork chops out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature while you prepare other ingredients, around 20 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. (*If you aren't able to do this ahead of time, take them out and salt them 40 minutes beforehand instead.)
Preheat the oven to 350F. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat then add the pork chops. Leave the pork chops to sear for 1-1-2 minutes without touching them so that they form a nice golden crust before flipping and cooking for another 2 minutes on the other side. Remove the cooked pork chops from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Lower the heat to medium and then add in the onions and garlic. Sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt and leave to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions should be golden in colour and begin to caramelize.
While the onions are cooking, combine the sweetener, chicken stock, thyme, balsamic vinegar and mustard in a blender and blend until completely smooth.
When the onions are golden and starting to caramelize, pour the sauce into the pan and stir so that the onions are well coated. Return the pork chops to the pan and spoon some of the onions overtop. Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes until the pork chops have an internal temperature of 145F. Remove from skillet and add to plate to rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh thyme before serving.
Did you make this keto pork chops with balsamic caramelized onions recipe? If so, please let me know how it turned out in the comments. Or if you share pics of your creations on Instagram, please tag me so I can see them. Enjoy!
