Apple Cider Glazed Pork Chops with Jaca

By Jaca Kitchen · · Updated

A Jaca-adjusted, healthier version — the brown sugar and maple syrup are swapped for Jaca allulose, so you keep the sweet-savory apple cider glaze with almost none of the added sugar.

These apple cider glazed pork chops are a sugar-free take on the fall classic, swapping the brown sugar and maple syrup for Jaca allulose so you get every bit of the sweet, sticky glaze with only about 3 grams of sugar per serving — all from the apple cider itself. Juicy pork, a warm chili-spiced rub, and a glossy cider glaze come together in under 30 minutes.

Prep time: 15 minutes  |  Cook time: 12 minutes  |  Total: 27 minutes  |  Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the chops & rub:

  • 1½ lbs bone-in pork chops (or boneless pork loin chops)
  • ¼ cup Jaca allulose (replaces 2 tbsp brown sugar, at 2×)
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the apple cider glaze:

  • ½ cup apple cider (or apple juice)
  • ¼ cup Jaca allulose (replaces 2 tbsp maple syrup, at 2×)
  • ½ teaspoon maple extract (optional, for that maple note)
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Heat a grill or heavy grill pan to medium-high (about 400°F). Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels.
  2. Make the rub: stir together the ¼ cup Jaca, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir in the olive oil until it forms a paste, then coat both sides of each chop.
  3. Make the glaze: gently warm the apple cider (about 30–45 seconds), then whisk in the ¼ cup Jaca until fully dissolved. Whisk in the maple extract, Dijon mustard, red pepper flakes, and salt.
  4. Grill the chops 6 minutes on the first side. Flip, brush the cooked side generously with glaze, and grill 2 minutes.
  5. Keep flipping and brushing with glaze every couple of minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145°F, about 10–12 minutes total.
  6. Brush with any remaining glaze, rest 3 minutes, and serve.

Why Jaca?

Jaca is allulose — a rare sugar that tastes and caramelizes like sugar but has virtually no calories and doesn’t spike blood sugar. Using it here in place of brown sugar and maple syrup gives the glaze that glossy, sticky finish without the added sugar — the whole point of cooking with Jaca.