I just love stuffed pork chops. A local store carries them pre-made and while they taste good overall, I wanted to have a recipe that included more whole grains, less sodium (stuffing can be SO salty!), and a cheaper price tag! Pre-made meat products like that can really be expensive.
I searched around for a while for a stuffed pork chop recipe but I would either find nothing or everything used a box of stuffing (again with the high sodium [or other strange ingredients!] and lack of whole grain). So after doing some looking around, I threw together my own recipe for these fantastic little pieces of pork chop heaven. 😉
And as a bonus – I was able to use up some of my homemade wheat bread that had gone a bit dry for the stuffing. What a great use for bread that is a bit dry (that and making your own croutons or breadcrumbs!).
As you know, I’m a mom to 2 young girls. While my kids will try a new thing, I’ve found that neither of them are big fans of really herb-y food. So for this recipe, I tried to keep my stuffing milder. I added in parsley but you could increase that amount and also add some ground or dried sage to it to give it more of that traditional flavor. This recipe was a hit with everyone (though my oldest is not really a stuffing fan no matter how I make it).
Oh and sorry for the pic of the pork chop – it was an incredibly hard item to photograph! It looks much more appealing in person. 😉
Stuffed Pork Chops (gluten free)
Ingredients
For the chops
- 3-4 slices gluten free bread cubed into 1″ cubes (= 3 cups)
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- ¼ c yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 T unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 egg white beaten
- ½ t parsley or 2 T fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ t salt
- ¼ c chicken broth/stock
- 4 thick cut boneless pork chops
For the sauce
- 3 T unsalted butter
- ⅓ c gum-free gluten free flour blend
- ½ t salt
- ¼ t pepper
- 1¾ c chicken broth/stock
- ⅔ c whole milk or non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°. Spread bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 min or until dried out (they don’t need to be crispy, just a bit drier!). Remove and let cool. Increase oven temperature to 350°.
- Heat the butter in a small skillet. Saute celery, onion, and garlic over med-high heat until the vegetables are soft; about 3-4 min. In a bowl, mix together the bread cubes, vegetables, egg white, parsley, salt, and chicken broth. Set aside.
- To make the sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until it is bubbly; remove from heat. Slowly whisk in the broth and milk. Return to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.
- Pour ½ of the sauce into a 9×13 baking dish. Take each pork chop and with a sharp knife, cut a pocket into the side of the chop. Be careful to not cut all the way through to the other side and leave about ½″ on each end to form a pocket. Stuff each pork chop with prepared stuffing, dividing evenly among the chops.
- Place chops in the baking dish, then pour the remaining sauce over the top of them. Bake for 45-50 min or until a meat thermometer registers 170° in the thickest part of the meat. Thicker/larger chops may take longer. Smaller ones may take a bit less time. Start checking early so you don’t overcook them.
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