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These apple cider pork chops are the best 30 minute dinner for fall. With boneless pork chops, fresh apples, and sage, it’s a simple skillet dinner that tastes delicious served over Boursin mashed potatoes.
Pork and apples are a great pairing that is sweet and savory all in one dish. A quick dijon brown sugar glaze is brushed over the top of the pork chops and seared till a nice caramelization forms. Fresh apples are added, along with a simple apple cider sauce for an incredible fall flavor.
It’s so delicious and will be a go-to recipe for an easy dinner! If you love this recipe, you have to try these air fryer stuffed pork chops, slow cooker pork shoulder, or air fryer pork tenderloin.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy recipe – Made with 7 ingredients in a total time of 30 minutes. It’s also gluten free and dairy free friendly with some edits.
- Perfect for autumn – Sage, apple cider, and fresh apples all bring fall flavors to this cozy pork dinner. It’s just as good as ones that take a little longer, like this dutch oven pork roast with potatoes and carrots.
- Skillet dinner – The pork chops are cooked in a single cast iron skillet for easy clean up.
- Easy to customize – I used boneless pork chops for this recipe, but you can easily substitute bone-in pork chops too.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here are some notes on what ingredients I used with the full recipe card that has amounts below.
- Pork chops – While I prefer thick-cut boneless pork loin chops because they’re a little more tender and cook better with this method, bone-in pork chops will also work. Choose at least 1 inch thick so they don’t cook too quickly.
- Dijon mustard – Look for a quality brand without sulfites.
- Brown sugar – This gives a nice caramelization to the pork chops and adds a touch of sweetness. While I have substituted with maple syrup or honey, they just don’t work as well.
- Fresh apples – I recommend a sweet, firm apple like honeycrisp or gala for this recipe. Don’t substitute with granny smith or yellow apples – they will not work as well.
- Apple cider – If you can’t locate apple cider, apple juice can be used as a substitute.
- Fresh apples – Again, I’m a huge fan of honeycrisp with this pumpkin bread, but you could also use Fuji apples or granny smith.
- Pumpkin spice – This is a mixture of spices that usually contains cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
- Sage – Fresh sage is best for these apple pork chops. If you can only locate dried sage, start with 1/4 teaspoon to the apple cider sauce. Rosemary would also be a nice substitute here.
Dairy free edit – Use ghee or your favorite dairy free butter substitute. I do not recommend substituting with olive oil as it won’t be as creamy.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Pat the pork dry on both sides with a paper towel. Season with kosher salt and black pepper on both sides.
Step 2: Mix the brown sugar and dijon together and apply to the pork as a glaze.
Step 3: In a large cast iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the pork chops to the pan and sear 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Flip and sear the other side another 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Add the apples, apple cider, and sage to the pan and bring to a low simmer over medium heat. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes until the pork is cooked through. This should read 145 degrees Fahrenheit when the internal temperature is checked with a meat thermometer.
Step 5: Remove the pork chops from the pan and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat, reducing the sauce with the apples by about half. The sauce won’t thicken, it will just be more concentrated.
Step 6: Off the heat, whisk in 2 tablespoons of cold butter, which should give the apple cider sauce a glossy finish. Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings as needed, then add the pork chops back in the sauce and garnish with fresh sage leaves.
Recipe Tip
Be sure to buy pork chops that are at least 1 inch thick to accommodate the oven cooking times. If you have thinner pork chops, they may not even need to be transferred to the oven to be cooked through. If you prefer a thicker sauce, fully whisk in 1-2 teaspoons of flour before simmering in step 5.
Storage and Freezing
Refrigerator – Store pork chops with apples in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or covered in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes.
Freezer – These pork chops freeze well for up to 4 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge. While the apples can also be frozen, the texture may be much softer after freezing. You can always add fresh apples to the mix as you reheat it for a bit more crunch.
What to Serve with Apple Cider Pork Chops
Apple cider pork chops are best served with a creamy, soft side dish that can soak up the delicious sauce! I recommend Boursin mashed potatoes (shown above), roasted mashed cauliflower, broccoli brown rice casserole, or chipotle mashed sweet potatoes.
For something green, try this bibb lettuce salad or creamed spinach with frozen spinach.
Recipe FAQ
Heavy cream will thicken the apple cider sauce and also make this dish a lot more rich! I recommend adding 1/4 cup to the apple cider sauce before simmering to reduce it.
Apple cider vinegar and apple cider are not the same thing. Apple cider is unfiltered apple juice, typically found refrigerated with fresh produce. Apple cider vinegar is apple cider that has undergone fermentation to be much more acidic. You typically cannot substitute one for the other in recipes as the apple cider is sweet and the apple cider vinegar is acidic.
Fall Dinners
Chicken
Crispy Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Thighs
Chicken
Crustless Chicken Pot Pie
Pork
Stuffed Pork Chops in the Air Fryer
Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder (Crockpot Pulled Pork)
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review in the recipe card! Don’t forget to tag me @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram, and follow along on Pinterest for more great recipes!
Apple Cider Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds (or 4 pcs) boneless pork loin chops, around 1 inch thickness
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1-2 sweet apples, like honeycrisp or gala, sliced
- 3/4 cup apple cider, apple juice can be substituted
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped sage leaves, plus a few more for garnish
- kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450℉/230℃. Pat pork chops dry on both sides with a paper towel. Lightly season both sides with kosher salt and black pepper. Mix the brown sugar with dijon and spoon onto one side of the pork.
- In a large cast iron pan or dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the pork to the pan, sauce side down, and spoon more sauce on uncoated side. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side till nicely browned on the outside. The pork does not need to be cooked through.
- Once browned on both sides, add sliced apples, apple cider, and finely chopped sage to the pan. Bring to a simmer and then transfer the skillet to the oven, cooking for 10-15 minutes until pork is cooked through (145 degrees F). Remove the pork chops from the pan and cover them with foil. Return the pan to the stovetop over medium high heat for about 3 minutes, reducing the sauce with the apples by about half (the sauce will not thicken, it is meant to be thin, it will just be more concentrated).
- Off the heat, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the pork chops to the pan and spoon the sauce over the top. Garnish with extra fresh sage leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm.
Notes
- Pork is naturally more salty, so go easy on it when seasoning.
- For those who are dairy sensitive, use ghee instead of butter, or just leave out. This recipe is naturally gluten free. Maple syrup or honey can be subbed for brown sugar, but brown sugar works best for the caramelization.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, flour or cornstarch can be added before simmering. Use 2-3 teaspoons and whisk till fully combined.
- Look for natural apple cider, like a local brand that’s been fresh squeezed. Martinelli’s is good in a pinch. Regular apple juice would also work like honeycrisp apple juice. Do not use alcoholic/fermented apple cider.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very tasty with fresh picked apples, and quick and easy, too.
Thank you, Ernie! That sounds amazing!
Delicious! I trusted the process and everything came out perfectly. I’m trying the chipotle sweet potatoes next!
I want to try it like this too! I bet it’s so good.
Made these last night for dinner. I usually avoid pork chops as they tend to be tough and dry. Not the case with this recipe. So delicious and the sauce was amazing.
I found pork loin sirloin chops on sale, but after doing some research, realized these might not be as good a cut as the pork loin chops called for in the recipe. However, it came out great! This recipe is both easy and elegant.
Super delicious & easy, but masquerades as a fancy restaurant meal. Love love this one! Perfect for fall weather!
One of my Dizzy Cook favorite recipes! I generally avoid pork chops because they can be dry. This recipe has outstanding flavor and my chops weren’t dry! First time ever!
This was delicious and very easy! Subbed rosemary for the sage because that’s all I had in the fridge. Also added a shallot in with the sliced apple. Will definitely make again and I’m excited to try out more recipes from your recipe!
**from your website