Cranberry balsamic pork chops are a quick and easy weeknight or date night dinner that brings serious flavor with simple ingredients.
Hiya friends!
Did you enjoy that extra hour from daylight savings over the weekend? We kept the kids up a little late on Saturday night, watching a movie and eating popcorn, hoping that would help them sleep in.
It worked, a little. They were up before their normal time but not by much. And funny, they weren't so concerned about playing or the time, but said their tummies hurt because they were SO hungry.
Haha, totally my kids 😉 Speaking of food...
Apparently I’ve been on a bit of pork kick lately. We’ve had pork chops with apple butter and balsamic pork tenderloin with thyme recently, and I’ve got a really good Italian slow cooker pork recipe coming up soon.
(You can sign up for my free e-newsletter to get weekly updates about new posts. You’ll also get my free e-cookbook with 10 healthy weeknight dinners as a thank you!)
Now let’s discuss these cranberry balsamic pork chops.
You will be amazed at how a few simple ingredients can bring SO much flavor to these pork chops. It’s got depth, it’s got richness, it’s got a bit of earthiness from the rosemary and a sweet-tart combo of the cranberry sauce and balsamic vinegar.
I literally lick the sauce from the spoon. I call it the cook’s perk. 😉
(And I love the sauce so much, I tweaked this recipe and made cranberry balsamic chicken too - also so yummy!)
You just gotta trust me that this combination of flavors is pretty outstanding! And this is a great way to use up some leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving to make an entirely different meal that everyone will want to dig into!
A few quick notes on these cranberry balsamic pork chops:
- I use thick-cut pork chops that are about 1 ½ inches thick. If yours are thinner, the cooking time will be less.
- I’ve used both red wine (when we had some open) and chicken broth and it’s great both ways. Use what ya got.
- I use my 15-minute easy cranberry sauce, which helps make this extra delicious. You can substitute your own version of homemade cranberry sauce and I guess you can try it with the canned stuff, if that’s what you like. (I don’t. Sorry.)
- I don’t recommend, however, substituting dried rosemary for the fresh rosemary here.
- If you want to add a little decadence, stir in a tablespoon of butter when you finish the sauce.
I served these cranberry balsamic pork chops with baked sweet potatoes and my sautéed green beans and tomatoes, as you can see. They’d also go great with my 10-minute microwave baked potatoes or some steamed brown rice and my citrus kale salad, which has dried cranberries to tie it in.
So here’s to cranberry sauce being put center stage, with the main meal, instead of just sitting in a sad little china bowl off to the side of a Thanksgiving spread, hoping to be noticed.
Enjoy!
~ Kathryn
Cranberry balsamic pork chops
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 thick-cut boneless pork chops (see notes)
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup cranberry sauce
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup red wine (or substitute low-sodium chicken broth)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Season pork chops on both sides with rosemary, salt and pepper. Add to skillet and sear over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Add the cranberry sauce, balsamic vinegar and red wine (or chicken broth) and bring to a simmer.
- Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until pork chops are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes for thick pork chops.
- Remove the pork chops to a plate and cover to keep warm.
- Turn the heat back up to medium high and reduce the sauce by about half (takes about 3-4 minutes).
- Turn off the heat and serve pork chops with extra sauce drizzled on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Mona
I have way too many chicken recipes but not enough pork! This one looks fantastic - especially for this time of year.
Kathryn
Thanks Mona! It is definitely perfect for this time of year!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
Well I'm glad you guys enjoyed your extra hour of sleep and that the kiddos didn't get up TOOOOOO early! I have sleep problems, so I'm still waking up an hour early. I think my body hates me. Lol. Anyways, I LOVE pork, so if you are on a kick I say BRING IT ON, girlfriend! These chops look spectacular!! LOVE the cranberry, balsamic and rosemary combination! Seriously this dish sounds and looks like a flava bomb! SO GOOD. Pinned! Cheers! 🙂
Kathryn
Thanks dear! I hope you are back on track with sleep - or at least close to it 😉 XO
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
Good for you for thinking ahead and trying to get the kids to sleep in a little 😉 Funny thing, a lot of the time with me is when I know I can sleep a little later (like the weekend), I get up early and the days that I have to get up early, I don't want to. Oh my!! Love the combination of ingredients here, especially the vinegar and rosemary. I bet it is so savoury and totally up my alley. This would be awesome on chicken too. Pinned! Happy Monday! xoxo
Kathryn
Haha, I hear ya - and now that it's getting cold, I'm finding it REALLY hard to get out of bed in the morning 😉 Hope you're having a great week! XO
Quin @ Butter Be Ready
I love a good pork chop and these will definitely be on my next dinner list. Gorgeous photos! 😊
Kathryn
Thanks so much Quin!!
Debbie
Made this tonight for the hubby. Used chicken broth and canned cranberry sauce and dried rosemary because that’s what I had. After I put the reduction sauce in the chops I added a small amount of the cranberry sauce for color. Excellent! Very moist. Will use the leftovers for a pannini sandwich tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe. This is a keeper!
Kathryn
Oh I'm so happy you loved it Debbie! And thanks for sharing those substitutions - very helpful! 😊
patsy francese
i tried to make pork chops in the crock pot and they did not come out good
Kathryn
Hi Patsy, yes, this is not meant to be a slow cooker recipe. I hope you might try it again as written for stove-top cooking.