Air Fryer French Onion Pork Chops
These French Onion Pork Chops are one-pan comfort food that is ready in a flash. Create juicy and tender boneless pork chops in the air fryer, while whipping up a quick and flavorful pan sauce on the stove.
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These boneless pork chops in the air fryer are so tender and juicy, and I guarantee you’ll be gobbling the french onion sauce up with a spoon.
A dinner this delicious should take hours, but you’re actually going to get this meal on the table in just about 20 minutes. And if you don’t have an air fryer, you’ll find stovetop instructions in the recipe card notes.
There are a few handy tools that will make your life easier when cooking this recipe. We have and love this air fryer. A heavy-bottomed pan (like this one or this one) that goes from stovetop to oven is important. And an instant-read thermometer will keep you from overcooking your pork chops.
What to Serve With Air Fryer Pork Chops
This dinner is pure comfort food, so you can really lean into that and serve over Fluffy Mashed Potatoes or Instant Pot Jasmine Rice, or Garlic Butter Rice. If you go that route, I highly recommend doubling the sauce so you can spoon some over the potatoes or rice.
Looking for quick and easy veggie sides to serve? Try Roasted Frozen Broccoli, Healthy Coleslaw, Garlic Butter Green Beans, Kale Chopped Salad, or Roasted Frozen Cauliflower.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Make-ahead tip: you can “marinate” the pork chops in the olive oil/spice mixture for up to 24 hours. Keep them covered in the fridge in a shallow container with an air-tight lid.
- If possible, allow the pork chops to sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes prior to cooking. Taking the chill off the meat will lead to juicier chops.
- Pork is fully cooked at 145F, but with this recipe, it is ok if the chops register at 140F coming out of the air fryer, as long as the juices are running clear. The chops continue cooking while they rest for a few minutes and then also go under the broiler to melt the cheese.
- Allowing the chops to rest for 5 minutes will let the juices redistribute to the entire cut, instead of all running out when you cut into them.
- You can sub in chicken breasts and still get an amazing dinner. Cook boneless chicken breasts at 370F for 8 minutes, flip, and cook for another 8-10 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 160F.
More Delicious Fast Dinners You’ll Love
- Chicken and Bacon Risotto
- Air Fryer Calzones
- Fried Gnocchi and Veggies
- Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs
- Air Fryer Tofu
- Puff Pastry Pizza Pockets
- Easy Ravioli Bake
- Pizza Crepes
- Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
- Paleo Salmon Cakes
- BBQ Chicken Mac and Cheese
Air Fryer French Onion Pork Chops
Ingredients
Pork Chops
- 4 boneless pork chops {~6 to 8 oz each}
- 2 tbsp olive oil {+ a bit more for the air fryer basket}
- 1.5 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
French Onion Sauce
- 3 cups white or yellow onion {~1 extra large onion sliced thinly}
- 3 tbsp butter {salted or unsalted is fine}
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup beef broth
- 4 slices provolone {or sub in mozzarella}
Instructions
Prep the Pork Chops
- Mix garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, ¼ tsp dried thyme, and smoked paprika in a small bowl.
- Brush all sides of pork chops with olive oil.
- Sprinkle the dry seasoning mix over the pork chops, making sure you get the sides as well.
- {optional}: refrigerate pork chops covered for up to 24 hours. If possible, remove pork chops from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking them.
Start French Onion Sauce
- In a large heavy bottomed pan, melt butter over medium-low heat.
- Add olive oil and onions, and cook, stirring often while the pork chops are cooking in the air fryer.
Start Pork Chops in Air Fryer
- Brush olive oil on the air fryer basket and add pork chops.
- Bake at 370F for 10 minutes, flip and bake for another 2-5 minutes.
- Using an instant read thermometer, check each pork chop to make sure it registers 145F.
- Remove pork chops to a plate, loosely place a piece of foil over them, and allow them to rest for 5 minutes.
Finish French Onion Sauce
- When the onions are browned and caramelized (about 10 minutes from starting them), sprinkle 2 tbsp of flour and ½ tsp dried thyme over the top and stir. Cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly stir in beef broth, scraping the bottom of the pan as you go. Cook for about 1 minute, or until the broth is bubbling and has reduced by about 1/3.
- Cook for about 1 minute, or until the broth is bubbling and has reduced by about 1/3.
- Turn off the burner, and nestle the pork chops in the pan with the onions. Top each pork chop with 1 slice of provolone.
- Broil on high for 1-3 minutes (watch closely so it doesn't burn) or until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly.
- Serve each pork chop topped with the french onion sauce.
Was planning to cook pork chops for dinner last night and this recipe popped up in my email. I don’t have an air fryer, so used the pan method and it turned out great! We only had chicken stock, instead of beef, so it was a little bit lighter, but oh so delicious. We will definitely be making this again. Thank you Sarah for elevating what would have been a plain jane dinner to the HNL (for any MadTV fans out there).
Sara (great name), I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And I love using chicken stock instead of beef in this recipe and others. So, great switch. 🙂
These were so goood! I did not do the French onion soup but the pork chops were so flavorful and juicy. Excellent and I will be adding this to my weekly rotation
Lisa, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂
I hesitated to post my review because I made a lot of substitutions.
I omitted the cheese, just because I wasn’t feeling it, I used red onions (because that’s what I had), and I used a frying pan. My air fryer is a T-Fal, with a paddle. So I opted to make air fries to go with it.
I “marinated the pork chops, as suggested.
They tasted really good and hubby enjoyed the extra sauce/gravy on his fries.
This will definitely go into our rotation.
I’m totally happy when people make one of my recipes their own. The problem is when someone does a ton of substitutions and then complains about the recipe that they essentially didn’t make.
The sauce on the fries sounds fantastic!