Boneless pork chops cooked in the Instant Pot, smothered with a creamy gravy and topped with crispy bacon. Keto, low carb, and gluten free.
Recipe Overview
Pork chops are a lean cut of meat, available as both boneless and bone-in. This recipe uses a boneless center cut, about six to eight ounces per individual chop.
Bacon plays multiple roles in this dish, providing grease for frying the pork chops as well as forming the base for a flavorful creamy sauce. The crispy bacon bits add extra richness and crunch that well complements the creaminess of the dish.
Similar to my pork tenderloin dishes — both roasted and pressure cooked — these pork chops are paired with a Dijon mustard gravy that’s very low carb and fantastic for anyone on a keto diet, coming out to only 3g net carbs per serving.
Selecting and Preparing Ingredients
The boneless pork chops should be as evenly sized as possible. Pay attention to their thickness when selecting them at the grocery store; ideally, the individual chops should be less than 1 inch thick. If you have thinner or thicker pieces, they will not cook at the same rate and you may need to pressure cook for shorter or longer periods of time to compensate.
The bacon should be diced. Line up the bacon slices on top of each other so you can cut through multiple slices simultaneously. Another way to dice them is to use kitchen shears and snip through them, which you might find easier than using a knife and cutting board.
I developed this recipe using boneless pork chops and uncured bacon from my local Trader Joe’s store.
Pressure Cooker And Natural Release
I use a 6 quart Instant Pot, but it should also work with other sizes since the pork chops don’t take up a lot of space in the pressure cooker.
I recommend using a full natural release, which took 18 minutes for my pressure cooker. You’ll know when it’s done because the pin will drop when the pressure has completely released.
Avoid a quick pressure release because the pork chops may come out tough. During natural release, the pork chops are still cooking, and you’ll be skipping that part if you do a quick release.
Serving and Leftovers
If you’re wondering what to serve with pork chops, I suggest a side dish of mashed cauliflower, steamed broccoli, or brussels sprouts.
Leftovers? These pork chops reheat well in the microwave and maintain their tenderness. They should be reheated with the creamy sauce, but not with the bacon. Store the bacon separately to keep it crispy.
Instant Pot Boneless Pork Chops With Bacon & Gravy (Keto)
DESCRIPTION
INGREDIENTS
- 3 boneless pork chops (<1 inch thick, 1 - 1 1/2 pounds total)
- 3 slices bacon diced
- 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup water
- salt and pepper
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (sandy consistency)
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels. Trim off any excess fat. Generously season all sides with salt and pepper.
- Select the sauté mode on the pressure cooker for medium heat. Add diced bacon, spreading them out in the pot. Stir frequently as it cooks. As they turn crispy, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a paper towel lined plate to drain, leaving the bacon grease in the pot.
- Add pork chops to the pot in a single layer and fry in bacon grease, a few minutes per side. Transfer them to a plate.
- Add onions and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off the saute mode.
- Add water, stirring and briefly scraping up flavorful brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Return the pork to the pot, arranging them side-by-side on top of the onions.
- Secure and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes, followed by a full natural pressure release (about 15-20 minutes). Uncover and transfer only the pork chops onto serving plates.
- Turn on the saute mode. Add heavy cream and dijon mustard to the pot, stirring together. Bring to a boil. Let the liquid boil for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken, stirring occasionally. Turn off the saute mode and stir for a minute to let the boiling subside. Stir in parmesan cheese until melted.
- Spoon the sauce on top of the pork chops. Top with crispy bacon and serve while hot.
NUTRITION
| Nutrition Facts Per Serving |
| Calories 500 | |
| Total Fat 29g | 45% |
| Saturated Fat 15g | 76% |
| Trans Fat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 176mg | 59% |
| Sodium 820mg | 34% |
| Potassium 10mg | 0% |
| Total Carb 3.5g | 1% |
| Dietary Fiber 0.5g | 2% |
| Sugars 2g | |
| Protein 50g |
I have made this recipe at least four times, it is my all time favorite, cozy time food. So delicious, I can eat half the recipe in 1 meal. Nobody should really do that, I just have no self control… what can I say? It’s just too good.
I just made this. It was wonderful. I would like the gravy a little thicker.
I don’t have many staples in my home but this has become one! It’s delicious! Comes out perfect every time! Thanks for sharing!
Can you use a different cheese?
Sauce is to die for! Chops still came out dry. Used <1" and didn't change anything. Would cooking less time help? Suggestions please?
Julia Hi I would love to cook all of you recipes but I do not have and Instant Pot, what do you suggest, I just started losing weight using your recipes I don’t want to stop now what can I do for the recipes that call for the instant pot?
Hi Robin! The easy solution would be to simply skip them — the Instant Pot recipes all contain the phrase “Instant Pot” in the title so you can simply avoid clicking on them. Depending on the recipe, some of them can be easily converted to a stovetop version if you’re confident about experimenting. Another thing you can do is leave a comment on recipes that you’re interested in, and I can chime in to provide suggestions on how to make this without an Instant Pot. Also, keep in mind that the Instant Pot is just an electric pressure cooker, so… Read more »
I want to make for dinner tonight.. can I do more than 3 chops? Feeding 6 people!
You can proportionally increase the ingredients as needed, and the pressure cooking time should remain the same. Some things need to be adjusted, like searing the pork chops in batches since they won’t all fit simultaneously.
In your recipe it says layer in a single layer. How will this cook with multiple pork chops layered on top of each other?
I’m able to fit the pork chops side-by-side in a single layer. If you can’t, then in Step 2 saute them in batches and in Step 5 you can let them overlap each other.
These look delicious and I will be trying them, but they make me wonder about something else. In your chicken in mushroom gravy you said you wanted to do it with pork chops but weren’t sure how to do them in the Instant Pot. Now that you have figured out how to do pork chops, I wonder if you have tried them with the mushroom gravy? It reminds me of the pork chops my mom made that was a favorite of mine. She would brown them and then cook low and slow in an electric fry pan and it seems… Read more »
Hi Judy! I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work well with this recipe. Take the mushroom gravy ingredients (cream, water, cheese, etc.) from the Instant Pot Mushroom Chicken recipe and add them after the pork chops have finished pressure cooking. Turn on the saute mode and stir as it thickens up. Hope that’s helpful 🙂
Thanks Julia! Yes that is helpful. I’m going to try this sometime later this week and will let you know how it turns out.