Smothered Pork Chops (2024)

A simple one-pan recipe for fork-tender pork chops smothered in gravy that thickens as the chops bake and tenderizes them low and slow in the oven.

JUMP TO RECIPE

This is one of my go-to recipes for everything from weeknight suppers to Sunday dinner. There are dozens of reasons it’s one of my favorites but the main selling points for me are:

• You can’t screw it up.
• The pork chops are fork-tender and cut like butter.
• It’s as easy as a crock pot meal and just as hands-off.
• Everything cooks in one pan.
• You can add onions or mushrooms if you’d like.
• The gravy is velvety perfect and tastes amazing over rice, noodles or potatoes.
• You don’t have to do anything extra to prepare the gravy.
• There are no Cream of Something soups.

The reason the pork chops are so fall-apart tender is because they cook low and slow in the oven for just the right amount of time. You can’t recreate this method by cooking them in a crock pot all day because they will overcook and get tough and dry.

You can cook these on the stove-top on low for about an hour instead of baking them BUT they’re never quite as tender because the heat is more concentrated on the bottom instead of the milder, radiant heat in the oven.

Thick, bone-in chops are best for this recipe. The bone protects the meat from the heat and helps to make the pork chops extra tender. Plus the bones bring a LOT of flavor to both the chops and the gravy.

It’s completely OK to pick up the bone when you’re done and gnaw on it while gravy drips down your chin, forearm and onto the table. If anyone looks at you funny, tell them Mandy said it’s totally fine and considered a compliment to the cook.

I used to almost always cook my smothered pork chops with onions but now I only do it sometimes because some of those at my table don’t like onions.

If you’d like to add onions (or mushrooms!), just sauté them after the chops have browned, before you add the flour.

I especially like this with onions when I’m serving the gravy over white rice. Add a side of field peas or black-eyed peas and some fresh slices of tomato too?? Man, dang, that’s good eating right there. Add some cathead biscuits and potato salad and I might faint from pure joy.

HOW TO COOK SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS

1. Dredge the chops in seasoned flour then brown in a little oil on each side.
2. Remove chops then mix a little of the seasoned flour into the hot oil.
3. Whisk in chicken broth.
4. Add chops back to the pan then bake low and slow.

That’s it! When you’re done, you’ll have a pan full of fork-tender pork chops smothered in velvety smooth, perfectly seasoned gravy.

A FEW NOTES ABOUT COOKING THIS RECIPE

• I use big, thick bone-in pork chops for this. If you are using thinner chops, you will likely need about 8 pork chops.
• You need to shake all the excess flour off really well to prevent the flour from falling off the chops and burning AND because we don't want a thick battered chop because it would get gummy and yucky when slow-cooking in the gravy.
• DO NOT LET THE PAN BURN. Monitor the heat when you’re browning the chops. Your gravy will taste like the pan drippings so you don’t want to scorch the oil or have excess flour falling off the chops to burn in the oil.
• When browning the pork chops, I make sure one side is gloriously light golden brown then don’t worry too much about the other – I just give it a quick sear (then when I arrange the chops, I make sure the pretty side is facing up).
• If you’d like to add onions, sauté them in the oil after the chops have been browned, before you add the flour.
• We typically serve white rice with this but the gravy is glorious over mashed potatoes or egg noodles too.

Recipe for Smothered Pork Chops