One-skillet pork chops with apples features seasoned, savory juicy pork chops with sweet apples simmered to perfection! This Paleo and Whole30 compliant dinner is easy, fast and great for weeknights! Serve as is or with cauliflower rice, roasted sweet potatoes or a green salad.
Simple, fast, tasty and filling. What more could you want for a weeknight dinner? Add on Whole30 compliant, paleo, and the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavor and it gets even better!
No, not everyone is a big pork chop fan (myself included) but I must say, ever since I started cooking with bone-in pork chops I’m enjoying them more than ever before.
They have more flavor, don’t dry out in 3 seconds and still cook as quickly as I need them to in my cast iron skillets. Definitely more bang for your buck in pretty much every way if you ask me!
I probably wouldn’t have posted a pork chop/apple recipe if it weren’t for all the reader requests I’ve gotten over the past few months. And I totally understand why – it’s cold outside and pork chops with apples totally falls into that comfort food category that I love so much.
As a bonus? They’re basically already paleo, as in, you would actually have to TRY to take the paleo out of them, if you see what I mean. We have pork, apples, seasonings, and broth.
Super simple in theory, and, if you love the combo of meat and fruit (I so do, as you might have noticed!) a delicious combination that satisfies that sweet/savory craving.
Though this recipe is definitely a fast and easy one, as with one-skillet meal, the timing will be important to avoid dry meat and mushy apples – ugh – the worst!
Also, to avoid the whole mushy apples problem, make sure you use crisp-sweet apples (I used one honeycrisp and one pink lady) rather than varieties that break down too quickly, such as red delicious and Macintosh. You’ll want to slice the apples thin (about 1/4″) so they cook through, but not so thin that they fall apart by the time the meat is cooked.
Having everything ready before you heat up your skillet also helps get the timing right for pretty much ANY recipe. Trust me – I make this mistake at least once per day and pay for it, always, by overcooking or burning something. Which, of course, I then wind up eating anyway since it was my mistake to begin with, and DANG do I hate wasting food!
But, now I’m way off topic, so back to the pork chops! The sauce for these is so, so, simple – chicken bone broth and a bit of mustard combines with the apples, onions, fresh herbs and seasonings from the pork chops (that’s where the cinnamon comes in!) to create a seriously tasty, savory, sweet, tart sauce.
You’ll have plenty to serve over the pork chops to keep them nice and juicy! I love this recipe with roasted sweet potatoes, or a baked sweet potato, but the sky’s the limit with the side dishes! Cauliflower rice would be great to keep it lower in carbs, and a green salad is always good too.
I hope you’re ready for a delicious, fast dinner – let’s cook!
One-Skillet Pork Chops with Apples {Paleo, Whole30}
One-Skillet Pork Chops with Apples {Paleo, Whole30}
One-skillet pork chops with apples features seasoned, savory juicy pork chops with sweet apples simmered to perfection! This Paleo and Whole30 compliant dinner is easy, fast and great for weeknights! Serve as is or with cauliflower rice, roasted sweet potatoes or a green salad.
Ingredients
- 4-5 bone-in pork chops
- Sea salt and black pepper to sprinkle on pork
- 3/4 tsp onion powder for pork
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon for pork
- 3 Tbsp ghee divided in half
- 2 med/large crisp-sweet apples cored and sliced to 1/4” thickness*
- 1 small red onion (or 1/2 large) sliced thin
- Sprinkle of sea salt and pepper for apple mixture
- 8 oz chicken bone broth
- 2 tsp spicy brown mustard check for Whole30 compliance
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh sage minced
Instructions
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Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper, onion powder, and cinnamon, rubbing spices in to coat.
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Heat a large heavy skillet (I used a 12” cast iron) over medium high heat and add 1 1/2 Tbsp ghee.
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Add pork chops to hot skillet and brown on each side 3 minutes (they won’t be fully cooked yet), then remove to a plate and set aside.
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Lower heat to medium and add remaining ghee to melt. Add apples and onions to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes, until beginning to soften (cooking longer during this step can lead to mushy apples later on!)
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Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and pepper, then add the broth and mustard, plus fresh herbs, stir to combine, scraping up any bits that stuck to your skillet.
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Return pork chops to skillet, making room for them by pushing apples and onions aside/around them. Continue to simmer over medium heat until pork chops are cooked through - about 2 minutes or so, depending on how thick they were to start.
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Once cooked through, remove from heat and serve hot, immediately. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*I use pink lady and honeycrisp for this recipe and they keep their shape and sweet flavor well!
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My One-Skillet Pork Chops with Apples:
Want More Whole30 Dinner Recipes? Try One of These!
Skillet Pork Tenderloin with Teriyaki Sauce
Crispy Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Swedish Meatballs with Whole30 Mashed Potatoes
Slow Cooker Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
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Does the chicken broth mix cook down? Mine is very soupy looking compared to what I see here.
Yes it should cook down quite a bit.
I found that the cooking time was a bit short for the pork chops (mine came out a bit too pink) but after cooking them a bit longer, it wound up being one of the better pork recipes I’ve had!
Great! Cooking time varies a bit depending on the thickness of your chops so sounds like it worked out fine 🙂
Made this tonight – oh so good! All the flavours go so well, my tummy is very happy indeed tonight 🙂
After a busy day, I was thrilled to find this easy recipe. My husband loved, loved, loved this meal. I agree that it is important to prep all ingredients prior to cooking to meet the timing challenge. I used jazz apples and they were perfect. I served over kale that was cooked in chicken stock. Next time I make this, I will just throw the kale in the same pan. I nice complement to the flavors of this recipe..
Sounds delicious! Glad you guys enjoyed 🙂
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. They were the most tender pork chops ever!
I found these to be just ok. The flavor is good but they were a bit dry. I personally like the apples better when they are peeled also. I tried browning for a shorter amount of time and covering the skillet when cooking with the apples/onions and they seemed to be more tender. Also found a similar recipe that has bacon and a great gravy that you cook it in! Yum! Flavor of these was very good though!
Made it today with rutabaga fries – was delicious
Yum!
I don’t have the fresh herbs, can I use dried? How much if yes?
I’m sure you can, just not sure of the exact amount but most likely you can’t go wrong 🙂
Could you sear these in a skillet and finish in a crockpot? Any adjustments to liquid and any idea on time in slow cooker?
Unfortunately I’m really not sure about the timing for a slow cooker, I’d be worried they’d overcook.
This recipe is so good!!!!! Thank you for sharing it<3
This is a good recipe, but I wrote down to cook down the apple mixture before adding the chops back in. If the chops were really thick, maybe it would cook down. Very good all in all! Thanks! I appreciate people who dream up recipes so I don’t have to. 🙂
So happy you enjoyed it!
This is such a good recipe that it has made it onto my Whole30 family’s biweekly menu rotation. Thanks for your time in writing this up. We really like it!
Awesome! Thrilled you all enjoyed it!