These chops are the ultimate fall dinner that’s quick to make and always gets rave reviews! Serve them alongside other fall favorites such as sour cream mashed potatoes and roasted parsnips for a complete meal. We eat a lot of chicken, but sometimes I buy some pork chops to mix things up a bit. These apple pork chops only have 6 ingredients but are huge on flavor. This recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight but elegant enough to serve to guests, and the flavors just scream fall! Pork chops with apples is a classic flavor combination, and the addition of apple cider here really makes this dish special. Along with these pork chops, I also like to make some of my other favorite pork recipes like grilled pork tenderloin, crock pot pork roast and smoked pulled pork. If you want to see some other fall favorites, check out this list of fantastic fall recipes!
Apple Pork Chops Ingredients
To make this apple pork chops recipe, you will need butter, bone-in pork chops, apple cider, Dijon mustard, fresh sage, apples, kosher salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Apple Pork Chops?
Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, then cook them in butter in a large pan or skillet. Once the meat is seared and golden brown, pour in some apple cider and let the pork and cider simmer until the pork is cooked through. In a separate pan, melt some butter and add sliced apples. Cook the apple slices with a little more cider until the fruit is tender. Transfer the cooked pork chops to a serving plate. Whisk the mustard, sage, salt and pepper into the cider drippings left behind in the pork chop pan. Spoon the apples over the chops, then pour the sauce over the top and serve.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
You can use your favorite type of apple in this recipe. Some great choices include firm apples such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith apples, Pink Lady, Gala apples or Fuji. Be sure to slice them thin so that they cook quickly. You can use bone-in or boneless pork chops. I do think that bone-in chops have more flavor and they’re less prone to getting dry. Fresh sage is absolutely essential here, the dried stuff won’t do. I use a fresh unfiltered apple cider that’s full of spices and aromatics. If you use the clear apple cider that looks just like apple juice and doesn’t have any spices like cinnamon on the ingredient list, your end result won’t be quite as delicious.
Flavor Variations
This recipe is delicious as is, but you can easily customize some of the flavors to suit your tastes.
Protein: Feel free to use chicken tenders, chicken thighs or pork tenderloin instead of chops. Fruit: Swap out the apples for pears, and use pear juice instead of apple cider. Choose a firm pear such as a Bosc variety so that the fruit does not fall apart in the cooking process. Flavorings: No sage on hand? Fresh rosemary and thyme are both great options. Feel free to add other seasonings to the dish such as a cinnamon stick, sliced red onion, brown sugar, a pinch of nutmeg, minced shallots, or a splash of lemon juice.
Apple pork chops are easy to make, and embody all the great flavors of fall. This dish will be on regular rotation at my house all through the cold weather months!
