Tender Pork Chops with Caramelized Apples and Onions
This tender pork chop with apples and onions dish takes minutes to throw together before it bakes and the end result is a melt-in-your-mouth tender.
I’ve barely been able to contain my excitement about sharing this meal with you! Classy, simple, perfect for entertaining, simple, beyond delicious, simple, healthy, and did I mention, simple?
This dish takes minutes to throw together before it bakes in the oven for three hours. The result is a melt-in-your-mouth tender pork chop basking in caramelized apples and onions swimming in a sweet and savory sauce.
Sent to me by a reader of this here blog, Melanie (there are a lot of us floating out there!), this dish is her signature pork chop recipe and I can see why!
I served this for our Easter dinner over Parmesan smashed potatoes and everyone at the table was singing the praises of these chops as we ate mouthful after mouthful.
Seriously. You must try this. The sweet onions, tart apples and savory pork combines to make a meal you won’t soon forget! (Uh, I happen to have not forgotten it simply because I’ve made it every Sunday since!) Thanks, Melanie!
One Year Ago: Baby, Baby Cupcakes
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Tender Pork Chops with Caramelized Apples and Onions
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork loin chops, at least 1/2-inch thick
- 2-3 medium granny smith apples, peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick
- 1-2 medium yellow onions, sliced
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Place the onion slices in an even layer over the bottom of the dish. Top the onion slices with the apples. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the apples and onions. Season the pork chops generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange the pork chops in a single layer on top of the apples and onions.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake in the preheated oven for three hours. Do not open the oven and lift the foil – the pork chops, apples and onions need to be tightly covered the whole time to work their magic (and not dry out).
- Serve each pork chop with Parmesan smashed potatoes and topped with the apples and onions.
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Recipe Source: pork chops adapted slightly from Melanie, a reader of MKC
Made this last night. It is absolutely fantastic. Easy and delicious.
Recipe was fantastic! I made with thick boneless pork chops and it turned out great. I did the foil tight and never checked it. I also put the apples and onions on top. Excellent recipe!
Fabulous recepie. I.made it tonight for the first time and the whole family loved it. Even my 6 year old that never ate pork chops for me before. He asked me to make them soft lime this in future.
This sounds delicious!! If I only have boneless chops will it still work?? Do I need to change the cooking temp or time?? Thanks!
Looking forward to trying this recipe!:)
Might be worth reading through the comments; I believe several people have made it with boneless and reported back.
Mel, I’ve been making this recipe for over a year now thanks to you, and it’s always a success. Tonight, however, to my dismay, my apples were no good. So, I had to make some adjustments. I decided to use golden raisins in lieu of the apples. I also added a bit of apple cider vinegar to it and seared it quickly before putting it in the oven. It was wonderful. In the future, my only problem will be deciding between the two versions 🙂 Before I found your site, I would have never had the confidence to make substitutions. You really don’t know how much you’ve helped this amateur cook.
That’s awesome, Rayna! Love the changes AND your confidence!
I read your review and decided to try it with both apples and a sprinkling of raisins – amazingly good!
These were absolutely fabulous!! I have recently stumbled upon your blog, made several things and have had success with all of them, this included. All of us – kids too – really enjoyed this! Thank you soooo much!
Mel! I’m always a bit apprehensive about making something for the first time when people are coming over, but this was a slam dunk, home run. I am making it again for Christmas dinner! (FYI, I used your baked mashed potatoes recipe – made ahead that morning – also wonderful.)
Merry Christmas!
I made this today and waiting on my Son to come home from work to try it. Looks Delish.
these were aweful! Pork was dry and apples.onions were burnt! Wasted perfectly good pork chops. Couldn’t even eat them. I questioned the directions of cooking them for 3 hours but followed along anyhow. I should have taken them out when my gut told me at 1 hour. I will never use a recipe from here again.
You are missing out if you don’t use Mel’s recipes in the future. Our large extended family have used almost all of her recipes and would be really missing out if we didn’t have her site to use
Hi I was wondering if I could make this in a crock pot or a dutch oven, if so how long and what temperature?
Ashley – I believe several people have made this in the slow cooker and reported their results in the comment thread so that may help (I haven’t made it that way so I can’t say for sure).
I hate to say this but I too had drier than dry chops and about 3 cups of liquid! The apples and onions turned mushy also. I follow the recipe exactly. My chops were pretty thick bone in and was disappointed that I had to throw out since I spent about $20 on 4 chops! You couldn’t even cut them they were so tough. Maybe my chops were too thick.
Not sure why I ended up with so much liquid.
I’m curious….I’ve been making this recipe for 2 years now, and it’s fabulous!! I always use boneless and they turn out perfect. How would it do if I used a small pork loin, instead of 4 chops?? I’d like to make this for Christmas dinner! Any advice would be welcomed!
Julia – are you going to cut your pork loin into chops or use it as a whole roast?
I seasoned the pork chops with salt, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and a tish of smoked paprika- perfect with mashed sweet potato and wild rice and hazelnut stuffing. Very good recipe for a snowy day in Maine.
I have made these pork chops several times in my 9×13 pan & LOVED it! I am planning to bring this as a take-in meal to a family with a new baby. I try to bring disposable foil pans when I bring meals to families so they don’t have to worry about cleaning & returning anything. Do you have any advice on if I should change cooking time/temps? I read that some people had different results with a non-stick pan which started worrying me about using a disposable pan.
Laura – I’ve never used a disposable pan for these but in other recipes, I find that food can burn a bit more easily with disposable pans so I would just keep an eye on that (maybe check earlier or decrease the baking temp just slightly).
OMG!! This was soooooo good! I gave it 5 stars…. So did my wife. Outfriggingstanding!!
Oh my! My BFF Google brought me to your website after searching for make ahead recipes. I just HAD to make these pork chops tonight after reading the recipe. They came out absolutely perfect! There were three of us for supper and it was touch and go for a bit whether or not blood would be shed over the last chop . . . (common sense prevailed – we split it evenly lol). I will never cook bone-in chops any other way again but next time it will be six! Thank you! Can’t wait to try the other recipes I’ve save to my recipe box 🙂
I made this and was absolutely wrapped. It was such a great flavour and so tender. I am in Australia and will be following your site for more tasty dishes. YUMMY…!!!!!!!
This is a wonderful recipe! I even sliced more apples and onions and put them on top too and sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon. It’s such a heavenly aroma as it bakes. I’ve baked it for my neighbors, shared the recipe with friends, who have passed it on to their friends. Good news (and food) travels fast!
And to Stephanie above- i make a lg quantity and freeze them.. Just as good thawed and re-heated!
I’ve been making this recipe for a few years now- what a find! I won’t eat anyone else’s pork chops because I know I’ll be disappointed! I’ve made this for my family and they rave about it, even my pseudo-chef brother (although he would never let me know it)!! This would certainly be a great holiday meal! Although, I must warn – if you live in an apartment, open the windows and shut your closet doors when cooking 😉 way too good to worry about that though!
Stephanie – I’ve never made it ahead so you’ll have to experiment with that. Good luck!
Can I make these ahead and just reheat..or will that ruin the deliciousness? I have made this dish twice already and I swear people look at me with newfound love in their eyes, it is THAT good!! There are never leftovers so I am unsure of how this will fare as a make-ahead. I’m also a vegetarian so I don’t even know what I am missing!! Thanks in advance!!
Hi Abbie – feel free to read through the comments, I know there are several who have adapted this to the slow cooker (I haven’t tried it myself).
I’m a newbie to cooking – but I’d love to adapt this recipe for a crock pot. Any advice to make that happen? I’m a mom of two and one of which is a newborn – crock pot meals are all I can manage right now as I have limited time while both kids are asleep!
First off I have to say…Mel I LOVE YOUR SITE. I make atleast 1 meal from it everyweek and they are always delish! But something went wrong with this one. I followed everything to a ‘T’and for some reason the brown sugar, apples and onion burned and the chops were extreemly dry and overcooked. Don’t worry you didn’t lose me from this site but I don’t think I’m going to try this one again.
Hi Mel! This was a huge hit with my family! Even my 5 and 3 year old ate it. It was so easy to make and delicious with the roasted garlic and parmesan potatoes. Yum!! Thanks again for another fantastic recipe! Love, love, love your blog!
These were the most tender pork chops I’ve ever made! And, the easiest!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I made these tonight (along with the potatoes) for my boyfriend and our roommate. The guys were apprehensive at first, but as soon as the first bite hit their tongues they were all praises. In fact they’re already asking me to make it again. I did however add my own touch with a little bit of honey bourbon over the apples and onions before throwing on the brown sugar. It was super tasty! Thanks for the great recipes to add to my repertoire!
The ten-year-old looked on pretty skeptically as I layered onions, apples, and pork chops into a pan. But he was the one begging for more a few hours later when the pan was empty! I’ve tried something similar to this before, but without the sealed pan and long cooking time. It made all the difference. Thanks for another great one!
Mel to the rescue again! Had bone-in pork and not sure what to do….the pork turned out amazing – yum…the apples and onions all on top of the potatoes served with steamed brussel sprouts which really was the perfect side. The onions somehow got quite overcooked, so next time I’ll be a little more careful (not sure what happened!!) Thanks Mel!
I would definately try making this recipe again, but I’d cut out the “generous” seasoning of chops both sides with salt and pepper. I made them tonight and was very disappointed with the overpowering salt taste. I’d probably just “lightly” salt and pepper one side, and then cook (just for my taste anyway). The apple and onion was absolutely delicious, and the pork was so tender and literally fell off the bone. I really like how quick this recipe is to prepare, and then put in the oven and forget for three hours.
I made this last night and they were so tender and delicious!!
AMAZINGLY GOOD! We had these for dinner tonight and let me just tell you, they were delicious. We left the house for awhile and when we got home, I could smell the amazing aroma from outside the front door. I was so excited to eat dinner. I haven’t cooked bone in pork chops in forever, but boy were these good. Definitely to be added into the dinner rotation on a regular basis. I also made the potatoes and they were good, although I didn’t have yukon golds and my garlic didn’t finish roasting in time, so I just had to press a few cloves and add them in. They were still tasty. I will have to try following that recipe to a T next time.
I just put the chops in the oven and I am down right giddy to have them again. The apple/onion was like this orgasmic jam i wanted to spread it all over myself and the chops melted in my mouth and the house smelled delicious…a real beautiful sensual simple meal….hahah opps sorry I got carried away here…but you now know what you have to look forward to when you try this recipe…Holy Moly…it is a K-E-E-P-E-R!
I also tried your chicken noodle soup…another incredible recipe. I have been singing your prasies to all my friend…thanks again.
I used to make a similar recipe years ago but it had cider in it as well – I’ve lost the recipe so came online today to find something similar. Thanks ladies!
I’ve used eating apples that were going a bit soft (in this case Braeburns) but no sugar; Ive added a smidgeon of olive oil and about half an inch cube of butter as I’ve used pork steaks (which is what i had) and there was almosst no fat on them.
Absolutely delicious ( and the apple cores went out for the birds – blackbirds love them)
Melissa – I would split the recipe between 3 9X13-inch pans – if you don’t have that many pans or can’t fit them in your oven and your pork chops are small enough, you could probably fit about 6 pork chops in each pan, making two pans full. If anything you might need to increase the cooking time by 10 minutes or so but not much more than that. Good luck!
First off, I have to said that I found your website a couple of years ago and just about everything I’ve tried, I’ve loved. This is my go-to site for recipes. Thank you so much for all your hard work bringing us great tried and true recipes!!
Okay… I want to make these for a dinner group we are having next week. There are 8 people, so I am thinking I’ll need about 12 chops (4 big guys might need seconds). How would you recommend doing this? Change in cooking time? Thanks!
Well, you’ve done it again! My husband called me a gourmet cook. So moist and tender, and the onions and apples were just so good. I didn’t do the potatoes, a bit on the lazy side, but, oh boy. I can’t wait to try those too. This website is the best recipe website bar none that I have found. Thanks again! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Made these tonight…. can we say WOW!!! chops were tender and tasty. The only thing I did different was, I didnt have apples so I used applesauce…. the gravy made with the onions and applesauce yummy. Thanks again for another great recipe I’m using every month.
Made this last night and oh my! This was my first attempt at making pork chops. When I asked my husband before making this if he liked pork chops he said “not really, they are always dry.” Well, this was amazing! The pork fell off the bone, and it was tender and yummy. Plus over one of my favorite foods, mashed potatoes! This was a very good dinner! Definitely a keeper! I will now be a pork chop eater! Thanks for a great dinner!
I made this last night and thought I’d share that it worked great with dehydrated apple slices from my food storage! You know the kind left at the bottom of the can that aren’t crunchy anymore so no one will eat them. I got 4 cups of those and poured 2 cups boiling water over them to steep for a few minutes. Then I poured the water off and assembled as directed. I used Sucanat instead of brown sugar and it tasted great, but it was a bit too sweet for me so I think 1/4 cup would be enough next time. I only had 2 hours to bake it so I did it at 350. The pork did fall off the bone, but wasn’t terribly tender (it was feral hog though). Awesome flavor and my husband was so surprised when I told him they were dried apples!
Made both of these last night & they were great! I realized after an hour into cooking the chops that I forgot the brown sugar and I knew I wasn’t suppose to open the foil lid but I didn’t want to miss out on the brown sugar so I did…….and I don’t think it affected it too much, still came out great! Thanks
Dinner tonight = perfect. Plus I will never go back to making mashed potatoes with out the roasted garlic. Thanks!!
These prok chops are my all time fav! Even my picky kids eat em up! The sauce that is at the bottom with the apples and onions is awsome on top of mashed potatos as a great gravy. Thanx for sharing this recipe I do these about every other week and they do not get boring like some pork chops I have done in the past!
Kasey – I’m glad these are such a hit with your family! Thanks for letting me know.
Wow…these are fantastic. I make them at least once a month! So easy and your house smells divine in the process. These are like a grown up pork chop and applesauce, and the best pork chops I’ve ever had!
Thanks, Kendra!
My friend and I have each tried this recipe a couple of times. My friend said the first time she made them at her daughter’s house and the recipe came out beautifully – very carmelized onions and apples. I have followed the recipe exactly, twice, and each time while the pork is tender, the apples and onions are sitting in a lot of water – presenting a very watery mixture. My friend has not had success again. We are using pyrex dishes – is that OK? Is the problem the foil isn’t tight enough? Is the problem using too many apples which creates the excessive “water”?
Anita – to be honest, I’m not sure what to tell you about why this “worked” once but not the other times. Several times I’ve made it, I have ended up with a soupier mixture in the pan but the onions and apples definitely soften and develop great flavor. I also use a glass pyrex dish when I make this. There are a couple things you might do to eliminate the excess liquid. You could cook down the apples and onions for 5-7 minutes before assembling the dish – not enough to make the apples mushy but enough to pull out some of the water from the apples. You could also just use less apples in the original recipe (like you mentioned) and finally, you could try cooking it for the full amount of time, removing the pork chops and keeping them warm while continuing to bake the apples and onions with the foil off to let some of the liquid evaporate. Good luck!
OMG! Made this last night for my parents. My dad pulled me aside and told me not to tell my mother but “those were the best pork chops I have ever had.” My mother pulled me aside to say, “Gee, thank you…your father will never eat my prok chops again!” Hahaha. They were a success. I halved the recipe and knocked off about ten minutes cooking time…perfection. Thank you! Thank you! Any one recommend what to try next …need to knock the socks off a boy… 🙂
Stephanie – hilarious about your parent’s comments! I’m glad these pork chops turned out so well and pleased everyone! Good luck impressing said boy…
Hey… it’ s 5 years later and I feel like I should report back that I married said boy! 🙂 It must have been the pork chops! (I’m making them tonight and had to laugh when I saw my old comment.)
I mean 6 years, wow! This has definitely been a family fave though each of them, Thanks, Mel.
Best comment ever! Love the update. 🙂
I didnt get to try the pork chops yet but the mashed potatoes were amazing!!!!!!!!!! I had a very happy Hubby at the dinner table tonight. Thanks!
Courtney – so glad you loved the potatoes! It reminds me I need to add the link to my recipe index, so thanks!
I tried this recipe last night and followed the directions to the letter. Although the pork loin chops turned out very well and wonderfully flavorful, I wasn’t happy with the way the apples & onions were so overcooked. I will try this recipe again, but will try cutting the apples and onions thicker than directed, in hopes they will appear more attractive than the mush they became. Thank you!
Thanks for checking in, Sandy! Hopefully if you cut the apples and onions thicker you’ll like it a bit better!
Thanks so much for this recipe! After many years of making dried out pork chops I finally found success! My whole family loved them!
Thanks, Bobbi – so glad these pork chops didn’t turn out dry and boring!