Pork Chops With Apples — The One Skillet Fall Dinner

This One Came From the 90s

If you were here for the 90s mom video we did a while back, you might remember pork chops and applesauce made that list. It was one of those dinners that showed up on tables all over the country, and a lot of you told me in the comments that your mama made it too.

This is that idea, just grown up a little. Instead of a spoonful of applesauce on the side, we’re cooking the apples right down in the skillet with bacon and shallots until they turn into something closer to a gravy. Sweet, savory, a little bit of tang from the Dijon and the Worcestershire.

I’ll tell you what I told the camera — in my personal opinion, this is one of the better ones from that whole 90s list. And if you’ve never had pork and apples together, I really do hope you’ll give it a try. The pork chop comes out tender and juicy, but the apples might be the star of the whole thing.

That flour we dredge the chops in? We don’t throw it out. It goes right back into the skillet over the apples, and that’s what thickens everything up and carries all that seasoning through the dish. It’s a little trick that makes a big difference.

We had ours with some sauteed green beans on the side. A simple salad would be just as good. And honestly, if all I had time for was the pork chops with apples, I’d let that be dinner and not feel one bit bad about it.

Pork Chops With Apples

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes Total time: 1 hour Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 boneless pork chops, about 1 inch thick
• 4 slices thick sliced bacon
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 medium apples, cored and sliced thin
• 1 medium shallot, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Turn your stove to medium high heat. Cut the bacon into small pieces and add it to your skillet. We’re using the same skillet for the whole dish, so start with one that can go in the oven if you have it.
2. While the bacon cooks, get your flour mixture ready. In a shallow pan, stir together the flour, 1 teaspoon of the Creole seasoning, the ground thyme, and the brown sugar. Mix it up really well — you can use a whisk or just your hands. This isn’t a lot of flour and it’s not going to be a heavy coating. We just want the chops lightly breaded.
3. Lay your pork chops out flat and sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of Creole seasoning directly over them, then flip and do the other side. We want plenty of flavor on each one, not just what’s in the flour.
4. Turn your oven on to 425 degrees so it can preheat while you finish up on the stove. Turn the bacon down to medium once it starts getting crispy edges — we don’t want it going too fast.
5. Lightly coat each pork chop in the flour mixture, getting the edges too, and set them back on the plate. Don’t throw out that leftover flour. We’re going to use it later in the dish.
6. When the bacon is as crispy as you like it, use a slotted spoon to lift it out onto a paper towel lined plate. Leave that bacon grease right there in the skillet — that’s what we’re searing the chops in.
7. Slice your shallot and chop it up a bit. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s going to cook down. I like a shallot here because it’s milder and sweeter than an onion, and it pairs so well with the pork and the apples.
8. Core your apples and slice them fairly thin. I don’t peel mine, I just wash them really well, but you can peel them if you’d rather.
9. Make sure that bacon grease is good and hot — you want the chops to sizzle the second they go in. Sear them 2 to 3 minutes per side. We’re not cooking them all the way through, just getting a good brown crust. Take them up onto a plate and tent some foil over to hold the warmth in.
10. Add the butter to the skillet, then the apples and shallots. Stir them around a bit, then sprinkle that leftover seasoned flour right over the top. Let it cook a couple of minutes, just until you don’t see the flour sitting on everything anymore.
11. Add the chicken broth, apple juice, Worcestershire, maple syrup, and Dijon. Let it cook down 4 to 5 minutes. That flour is going to thicken all those juices right up.
12. Stir the bacon back in and get it coated down in the sauce.
13. Nestle the pork chops down into the apples. Pour any juice that collected on the plate right over the top — that’s all flavor, don’t waste it. If your skillet isn’t oven safe, transfer everything to a baking dish first.
14. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pork is cooked through. Gauge your own oven, and use a thermometer if you like.
15. Let it sit 3 or 4 minutes before you dig in. It comes out hot and bubbly and you’ll want to give it a minute.

Questions You Might Have

Can I use bone-in pork chops? Absolutely. I used boneless chops about an inch thick, but bone-in works just as well. Whatever you like or whatever’s on sale.

What kind of apples are best? I used Pink Lady, and that was honestly just because they were the cheaper ones at my store that day. I’d normally reach for Granny Smith since they’re such a good cooking apple, but they were completely out. Really, whatever apple you have on hand will work fine here.

Do I have to use thick sliced bacon? No. Thick sliced is about double a regular piece, so if you’re using regular bacon, go with 6 to 8 slices instead of 4. And use whatever flavor you like — I used applewood smoked, but hickory would be great too. You just want that bacon flavor in the dish.

Why do we save the leftover dredging flour? It’s doing double duty. It thickens the sauce into a gravy, and it carries all that Creole seasoning, thyme, and brown sugar into the apples. That’s part of why the apples end up savory and not just sweet. Don’t throw it out.

Can I make this without an oven-safe skillet? Yes — that’s exactly what I did in the video. Just transfer the apples and sauce into a baking dish, nestle the chops in, and bake it that way. You’ll dirty one extra dish, that’s all.

What should I serve with it? I did simple sauteed green beans. A green salad would be lovely too. And if you’re short on time, the pork chops and apples are plenty of dinner on their own.

Is this only a fall recipe? It sure tastes like fall, and it’s wonderful when the weather turns. But this is good any time of year. We don’t wait for October around here.