These savory herb marinated pork chops are the perfect recipe for transitioning to fall. A quick marinade infuses them with flavor and apple chutney adds a sweet-tart finish.
This is one of those recipes that looks fancy, but is really just big fall flavor in a simple package. Here's how to make it.
Marinate Pork
The key step to building flavor in this meal is the marinade. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, fresh herbs and some garlic and let those pork chops marinate for a bit.
While rosemary and thyme are tried and true, you can use nearly any combination of herbs in the marinade. Over here at the Inquiring Chef homestead, the herb garden is still (!) cranking out fresh herbs faster than we can use them.
Let those chops marinate for anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours and they will be tender and packed with flavor by the time you cook them.
Make Apple Chutney
While the pork chops are marinating put some chopped apples on the stovetop to simmer in a sweet and tart sauce. The result is a sweet and tart chutney that can just as easily be served over meat or fish as it can be stirred into yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast.
If you’d like to serve the pork chops over a grain, whip that up at the same time. I usually have quinoa or farro in the fridge, so I can just heat it up to round out dinners, but brown rice or pasta would be great here as well.
And when it’s time to serve this meal, it’s as simple as searing those chops in a hot skillet or throwing them on the grill.
Because we spent 5 years in Bangkok (land of eternal summer) I never get tired of this time of year when the nights get cooler and the days shorter. It’s a welcome shift from hot summer days to cozy fall nights.
More Cozy Fall Recipes
- Apple, Brie and Pecan Salad
- Apple Cider Donut Mini Muffins
- Slow Cooker Classic Beef Chili
- Easy Apple Crumble
- Pumpkin Spice Pretzel Bites
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Favorite Tools
Herb-Marinated Pork Chops with Apple Chutney
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Baking Dish
- Large Skillet
Ingredients
For the Pork:
- ½ cup Olive oil
- ½ Lemon, sliced into wedges
- 5 cloves Garlic, crushed
- 4 sprigs Rosemary
- 4 sprigs Thyme
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
- 4 Pork loin chops, center cut bone-in or boneless
For the Apple Chutney
- ½ cup Apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 lb Apples, any type, peeled and chopped (tart apples like Granny Smith work best here)
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
- ½ teaspoon Fresh ginger, grated
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Coriander seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk together olive oil, lemon slices (squeeze the juice out and then add the remaining rinds), garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and black pepper.
- Place pork chops in a baking dish and pour marinade over chops. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.
- Make chutney. In a saucepan, combine apple cider vinegar and sugar. Bring to a simmer and simmer until sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Add apples, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, mustard seeds and coriander seeds. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft and the chutney resembles a thick jam (large chunks of apples should remain), 25 to 30 minutes.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and add some cooking oil. Add pork chops and cook on both sides, seasoning with salt and pepper as they cook, until well-seared. (Pork is finished when it reaches an internal temperature of 145F / 63C degrees.)
- Let pork rest, covered for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve pork with chutney spooned over top and extra fresh rosemary and time sprinkled on top. Serve over rice or grains (quinoa is shown in the photo) if you'd like.
- Note: Apple chutney can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Nutrition
*This post contains affiliate links*
Kasim Hardaway
I love pairing apples with pork chops, they are a match made in heaven!
Sheila
This is delicious. We also loved it with apple chutney. Thank you fo sharing this recipe. Preparing this again next weekend for some guests.
Jess
Awesome Sheila! Thanks so much for stopping in and letting us know - it's a new favorite at our house for sure. Great for fall!
Ramona
Why is there so much sodium in this recipe? Only 2 tsp salt added. Over 1200 mg per serving?
Jess Smith
Hi Ramona - our nutrition calculator sometimes is a bit quirky. We'll go back and see if we can find the issue, but you're absolutely right - that's higher than it should be. Thank you for flagging it!