16 Ways To Serve Pork Chops With Apples This Fall

Though we can’t get enough of pork in dishes that showcase its savory meatiness, like kebabs and posole and meatballs, in the fall we like to switch gears and experience simple preparations that bring out its inherent sweetness. There’s hardly a better way to do that than to pair it with another fall favorite, apples. Apples abound at farmers’ markets and U-pick orchards right now, and they truly complement a simple pork chop, whether as crunchy slices in a salad, unctuously melting in fresh applesauce or complex in a compote. Choose a sweet or tart variety; you kind of can’t go wrong here. And another boon is that pork chops cook up quick, so you’ll be tucking into deep fall flavors before you know it.

This dish, adapted from Geoffrey Zakarian’s mother, will charm you with its old-school hominess. The pork chops, coated in a mixture that includes mustard and finely chopped almonds and breadcrumbs, yield a crunchy exterior and tang that makes the meat seem extra-juicy. The apples dance a tango between sweet and savory, pulled into the latter with fresh rosemary and shallot, with a tiny bit of brown sugar and orange juice to play to their fruitiness.

Cornbread stuffing isn’t just for Thanksgiving! Here, a mixture of cornbread, apples, onion, carrots and celery stuff thick chops, giving the added benefit of keeping them moist while cooking. Fresh sage also calls to mind the flavors of fall stuffing, and it works here.

Hail the thin pork chop, whose quick cooking time rivals only a piece of fish or pounded chicken cutlet! (We find that kids, who are often skeptical of honking cuts of meat, will also more readily accept a thin chop.) These get coated in panko and parsley, then baked, so you can move onto the bewitching dipping sauce and the green salad with apples.

When you love mango salsa but are ready to take it in the fall direction, maybe try Kardea Brown’s mango-apple chutney. The sweet and sour notes of chutney, along with a real saucy depth, are what make it such a natural partner to meat, here a mustard and apple juice-marinated pork chop. Grilling up the chops adds yet another dimension, that smoky char, that makes this such an unforgettable dinner.

Given that sage is the official fresh herb of fall (registered trademark), it’s only natural to bring it to the pork and apple party. Here, sage-rubbed chops get a saute, then served with a warm apple slaw. Go ahead and cut down on the prep by swapping in a bag of pre-shredded slaw, then just add in your fresh apple.

Go ahead and use store-bought applesauce any other time of year, but right now is the time to remember how good it is when it’s freshly made. We love Golden Delicious here, as it melts to a lovely texture and won’t water out like some of our favorite eating apples. The pork prep is so simple — just a spice rub and quick saute, then finishing in a bright pan sauce with lemon, butter and parsley.

Cubed apples, mingling among diced parsnip, turnip and red onion, bring out the sweetness of the roots in a way that works so well with pork. Here, the pork gets a brief marinade, then is broiled to doneness in just 5 minutes. You’ll be stunned by the restaurant-quality flavors that can be cooked up so fast.

Cooking pork chops over indirect wood smoke (may we suggest apple wood?) adds so much to the meat and makes for a tenderer texture than you would get just grilling up chops directly. Here, the chops get a decidedly sweet and savory spice rub, and they’re served with a gorgeous compote made with caramelized onions and everyone’s favorite eating apple, Honeycrisp. This is a dish that will really make you feel like a pro, and Jeff Mauro shows you how to do it.

This pan roast results in a complete meal, with roasted apples and onions along with Swiss chard adding ideal sides. The pork chops get dredged in a buttery, mustardy crumb mixture, then finished in the oven along with the veggies. This tastes like fall on a plate.

This irresistible saute brings complex flavors but is actually pretty quick to come together (just two pans). Cooking the garlic together with the potatoes mellows its flavor and makes it easy to mash into a glorious side. The pork sears quickly, then the skillet gets a mixture of apples and onions cooked in its pan juices, where the chops finish cooking. This is such elemental cooking and rewards with a super satisfying dinner.

It’s fall: Bring on the sheet-pan dinners! Prep this sheet pan in just 15 minutes, then do what you need to do (empty the dishwasher, walk the dog, help with homework) while those irresistible aromas fill your kitchen. Once the parsnips have roasted for a bit, join them with chopped apples and thyme and pork chops sprinkled with herbes de Provence. This combination of meaty, earthy and sweet will be a real winner.

What a great shortcut: Apple butter is a highly reduced and spreadable applesauce, with very concentrated flavors and a rich, yes, buttery, texture. Here, it lends an instant long-cooked quality to a saucy pork chop dish, infused with bacon, onions and cherry tomatoes. Some mashed skin-on Red Bliss potatoes soak up that sauce so you can eat every last bit.

There is a fabulous benefit to a thick pork chop: You can stuff it! Here, Sunny Anderson fills pork chops with a mixture of caramelized onions, apples, herbs and BACON (this is genius territory), then sautes them. A pan sauce made from orange juice and pineapple keeps things tart and bright.

These chops are giving almost schnitzel vibes, but lighter, since they’re coated with whole-wheat panko and roasted in the oven! Apples and cabbage roast alongside, so they’re ready as a warm slaw when the chops are done. A little dollop of a sour cream sauce is just a little rich touch that still manages to keep things light.

Jet Tila brings Cantonese flavors to a preparation that feels straight from a fancy restaurant. The chops infuse with a sticky marinade reminiscent of char siu, Cantonese barbecue roast pork, and are topped with a peppery-tart salad of arugula and apples. It might look like a lot of ingredients, but Tila will hold your hand through the easy steps to pull off this showstopping dish.