It’s Wednesday night. You don’t have a dinner idea. What can you do?
Pork chops to the rescue!
There may be nothing more classic than pork chops served with applesauce, but you can still get the same effect by cooking up apples along with your pork chops. When you add bacon into the mix you increase the savoriness of the meal while creating a nice contrast with the sweetness of the apple.
Everyone has their own idea of what it means to make pork chops. Growing up, my mom didn’t really think of herself as a gourmet chef by any means. Her version of pork chops was tossing them in Shake ‘n Bake and serving them up with a side of store bought applesauce. To us that’s just what pork chops were, and that became the norm.
But with Paleo it’s all about taking simple, rustic dishes like ordinary old pork chops and turning them into something extraordinary. You break down each of the ingredients and figure out how to make it healthy, while at the same time providing massive flavor.
Of course, the Shake ‘n Bake had to go, as it’s mostly breadcrumbs, so it was a matter of getting that nice outer coating without adding any grains of any kind. That’s where we apply the “Sear ‘n Bake” technique.
The trick to getting these pork chops just right is to sear them in a pan before putting them in the oven. That way you get a nice outer browning and then let the oven do the rest of the work. Just baking the pork chops alone doesn’t produce the same results, so it’s an important step you don’t want to skip.
Store bought applesauce is loaded with sugar most of the time, and if you go with unsweetened applesauce you’re still left wondering what kind of apples were used to make it. When you use whole organic apples you don’t have to wonder what’s in it, and the flavor is amazing when baked along with the pork.
The reason I really love this dish is because you’re getting a complete meal that’s done all at once. Using apples instead of applesauce seems to make the meal more filling, and rounds things out nicely with the onions and pork chops.
Bacon is a Paleo treat that you should take advantage of. Just a few strips added to these pork chops is all you need to take the flavor to the next level and make everyone happy. You haven’t had pork chops till you’ve had a little bacon with them.
I hope your family enjoys these as much as mine does!
Ingredients
- 4 (4-ounce) boneless pork chops
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper,
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges
- 4 ounces sliced bacon, cut into bite size pieces
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Pound the chops lightly with a meat mallet. Sprinkle the chops with half of salt and half of black pepper.
- In a large cast iron pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat. Add the pork to pan and cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove the pan from the heat and remove the pork from the pan.
- In the pan add the remaining olive oil, apple and onion wedges and bacon. Sprinkle with thyme and remaining salt and black pepper and toss to coat. Put in the oven and bake for 25 minutes then arrange the pork chops over apples and onion and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper and serve with your favorite salad.
Are you supposed to put the pork chops in there for the first 25 minutes in baking or just those last 10 minutes? Will they be cooked with just searing and only 10 minutes in the oven?
Yup! They cook just fine; they get the sear in the pan initially, and then they sit (usually under foil) for 20 minutes while other things cook. Gets ’em nice and warm through, and the 10 minutes finishes ’em off perfectly.
I’ve never had issues with undercooked pork and I’ve made this recipe probably a dozen times by now.
Thanks for the pork chops, apples, onion and bacon recipe. We loved it. I am going to cook the bacon a bit first next time as I like it crunchy.
Awesome!!!
Hi Julann,
Thank you for the feedback, so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Having the pork chops with apples tonight. They smell delicious
Hi Dianne,
That’s great. I’m glad to hear that. 🙂
This was so perfect. I’m a busy full time nurse/student and mom of four. You’re putting some much needed smile in all of our hungry bellies. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Brandie,
Thank you so much for the comment 🙂 I’m glad you and your family like it! 🙂
This was so good! Thank you for the awesome
Recipe!!
What kind of apples do you think works best with this? Can’t wait to try it!
My boyfriend does not like pork chops (usually too dry). With this recipe, he ate his down to the bone and then proceeded to finish what little was left of my chop! Thanks for posting this!
This came out great and my non paleo husband loved them too! Thanks!
I made this tonight! ~ So delicious! ?
I’m making it for the second time in two weeks because it was such a big hit! The only thing I do differently is put in a little more bacon. Because, you know, it’s bacon.
I made this recipe as written using thick cut boneless pastured pork. It was delicious! The pork was moist, tender, and perfectly cooked. With a side of Whole 30 sprouts, it was a perfect St. Patty’s Day meal.
Yes, I will make this again.
This has become a family favorite. Because I don’t have a cast iron skillet big enough to accommodate the amount I make (I generally double the recipe) I just sear the meat in the cast iron skillet and then use a sheet pan to do the oven portion. It works great! Thanks so much for the recipe!
This is so so so good!! My youngest 1.5year old loves it and so does my 3.5 year old :)! It’s a whole family meal everyone can enjoy!