Skillet Pork Chops with Apple Gnocchi Sauté
Bring dinner to the table in a single pan with this Skillet Pork Chops with Apple Gnocchi Sauté recipe. Glaze everything with a hard cider sauce (or sub traditional apple cider) for a restaurant-quality meal that YOU can make at home on a weeknight.
It’s finally starting to feel like fall here in Michigan, and I’m ready for some comfort food (and a platter of Halloween food ideas).
This time of year, my favorite meals are the kind where everything can be roasted on one sheet pan, or where (almost) everything can be made in a single skillet, like my Skillet Mac and Cheese.
This Skillet Pork Chops with Apple Gnocchi Sauté & Hard Cider Sauce recipe is the (almost) single skillet kind. While I tried to skip the pre-cooking the gnocchi part so I could truly make it a one-skillet meal (like my Sausage Pasta Skillet), that ended up not working out.
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The gnocchi were too dense and chewy that way, so for this meal to turn out amazing, you do have to cook those in a separate pot of boiling water.
While the gnocchi are cooking, you’ll be using a big skillet to cook everything else in batches. First the pork chops, then the Michigan Gala apples (also key for my apple mug cakes), then toasting the gnocchi in some butter (oh yeah), then making an easy pan sauce with hard apple cider (or if you prefer, you could make my gravy from scratch).
In the end, you add everything back to the skillet, and have a complete dinner to bring to the table!
Psst – pork chop lovers can’t miss my honey mustard pork chops. And my best rib rub goes great on all types of pork.
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Skillet Pork Chops with Apple Gnocchi Sauté
Ingredients
- 1 box potato gnocchi 16 ounces
- 4 center cut thin pork chops about 1 1/3 pounds
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil
- 2 Michigan Gala apples cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 can hard cider 12 ounces, or 1 1/2 cups apple juice or cider
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare gnocchi according to package directions; drain.
- Meanwhile, sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat large cast iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add a very thin coating of oil to skillet. Add pork chops to skillet; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F, turning occasionally. Transfer pork chops to platter; cover to keep warm. Remove and discard excess fat in skillet; reduce heat to medium.
- Add apples and 1 tablespoon butter to skillet. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until apples are golden brown and just beginning to soften, stirring occasionally. Transfer apples to platter with pork chops.
- Add gnocchi and 2 tablespoons butter to skillet; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until gnocchi are golden brown, stirring occasionally. Transfer gnocchi to platter with pork chops.
- Add thyme, garlic, cider, mustard and remaining 2 tablespoons butter to skillet and whisk until well combined. Increase heat to high and cook 4 to 6 minutes or until mixture is reduced to a thin sauce consistency (the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools). Remove and discard thyme sprigs and season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer apples and gnocchi back to skillet and toss to combine. Add pork chops to skillet and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
It was delicious!!! I did sauté the garlic, thyme and apple juice without taking the apples out of the skillet, allowed everything including the pork to cook and reduced , it was amazing
I’m so glad to hear that, Patricia!
Love this recipe!!! It turned out amazing!
This looks delicious. Pinning!
This recipe was delicious. There may be nothing better than a cast iron pork chop with apples. This is definitely a recipe for Michigan in the fall. Great work! Plus you get to drink the extra cider. Hehe.