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Bacon-Wrapped Pork Chops Sheet Pan Dinner

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Serving Size 4 people

Ingredients

For the pork chops:

  • 4 boneless pork chops
  • 8 slices regular thin-sliced bacon 2 per chop
  • Pinch of salt

For the brown sugar rub:

  • ¼ cup brown sugar packed
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon parsley
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the sweet potatoes and apples:

  • 1 bag frozen diced sweet potatoes
  • 2 apples Gala, Granny Smith, or whatever you have on hand
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • About a pinch and a half of salt

Instructions

  • Heat your oven to 425°F. Go ahead and get it preheating while you prep everything else. That high heat matters — I'll explain why in a minute.
  • Get your pan ready. Line a sheet pan with foil, and here's the key step: use a second piece of foil to make a little divider down the middle, separating the pan into two sections. You want the pork chops on one side and the sweet potatoes and apples on the other, kept apart so they don't run into each other. Give the whole thing a quick spray of cooking spray so everything releases easily once it's done.
  • Season and wrap the pork chops. Sprinkle just a pinch of salt over the chops — you don't need much, because the rub adds flavor and the bacon is plenty salty on its own. Then wrap each chop in two slices of bacon. Use regular thin-sliced bacon here, not the thick-cut kind. You want the bacon to cook through and get crispy, and thick bacon just won't do that in the time we have.
  • Make the brown sugar rub. In a small bowl, stir together ¼ cup packed brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon parsley, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Easy to remember — everything but the brown sugar is just a quarter teaspoon. Give it a quick mix so the seasonings are spread throughout.
  • Rub the chops. Divide the rub evenly between the four bacon-wrapped chops, and mash it in good all over the top of each one. That's going to give them such a good flavor. Set the chops on their side of the pan.
  • Prep the sweet potatoes and apples. On the other side of the pan, add your frozen diced sweet potatoes. Core and slice your apples into wedges, then cut them into pieces — leave the apples just a little bigger than the sweet potato pieces. The apples cook faster, so the larger size helps everything finish at the same time. Drizzle 1–2 tablespoons of olive oil over the sweet potatoes and apples, sprinkle on about a pinch and a half of salt (the salt draws the flavor out and keeps them more savory than sweet), and toss with your hands until everything's coated. Level it out so it bakes evenly.
  • Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes. The high heat is all about those frozen sweet potatoes — because they're frozen, they hold extra moisture, and the high heat drives that moisture out quickly so they roast instead of going mushy.
  • Turn the oven down to 400°F and bake 10 more minutes. At the 20-minute mark, give the veggies a quick stir with a spatula — you don't have to move everything, just turn them a bit so they cook evenly.
  • Broil to finish. Turn the broiler on high and broil for about 3–4 minutes to get the bacon really crispy. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't go too far. You'll see how much grease has rendered off the bacon — and that's exactly why we kept the two sides separated.
  • Plate and serve. The veggies should be fork-tender and the pork chops tender and juicy. Plate up a chop with a scoop of sweet potatoes and apples on the side, and enjoy.

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