Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Table of contents
As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
In this house, we love easy pork chop skillet dinners. These southwestern cast iron pork chops are a one pan meal so there’s minimal clean up and its ready in 30 minutes!
Originally, I saw a recipe on the Rachael Ray show many years ago and decided to make it because I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand. This is the original recipe from Rachael Ray.
Over the years I have adapted the recipe to my own style, and I often change up the ingredients every time. No two pork chop skillets are the same when I’m cooking them! I have changed it into a spicy Southwestern style pork chop skillet, but I will also show you some different ways to change it up. I always have a can of beans on hand, and it increases the fiber in this dish, which keeps you fuller longer.
This dish can be made using bone-in pork chops or pork loin chops. The cook time will be different between these cuts of meats. Always use a meat thermometer to make sure its cooked correctly. I cook my pork to 145-150 degrees F internal temperature.
Cook this is a cast iron pan
This dish can be made in any type of skillet or even a Dutch oven. A cast iron pan or skillet is the best vessel to cook meats in. If you don’t have one, you should definitely invest in one. I use my cast iron to cook most meat dishes including this cast iron skillet pork chop recipe. I do not cook steaks on a grill anymore, cast iron is the only way to go for me. By using a cast iron pan, you will establish a lovely crust on the meats that you just can’t get on a regular grill.
The two most important things when using a cast iron pan is to season it properly before using it for the first time and to never let it soak in water. You must dry it off after cleaning it or it will rust. Sadly, I found out the hard way many years ago. Also, a cast iron pan doesn’t like soap. If you use soap to clean it, then you will strip the “seasoning” off of the pan. Seasoning=flavor. It won’t destroy the pan, but you will have to start back at the beginning to establish a beautifully seasoned pan.
I use a good old cast iron skillet cleaner or a stainless-steel scourer to clean my pan and then dry it off immediately. I’ve read that coarse salt can be used to clean off the pan as well. Additionally, I have added water to the pan and boiled it for a few minutes to get hard to remove food residue out of the pan.
After cleaning your cast iron skillet, add a few drops of cooking oil and wipe it all over the cooking surface including the sides of the pan. This will seal in the flavor of your seasoned pan and will make it ready for its next cooking adventure.
Ingredients and adaptations
Cast iron pork chop ingredients can be swapped out easily. The basic main ingredients are:
- Pork chops
- corn
- garlic
- onion (scallions/shallots/red onion)
- tomato (Roma/cherry)
- chipotle pepper (in adobo)
- bell peppers (any color pepper/jalapeno/serrano)
- sweetener (honey/agave)
- fresh herbs (cilantro/thyme/oregano/parsley/basil)
- beans (black/cannellini/kidney/lima/garbanzo)
Tex-Mex pork chop skillet: Use jalapeno peppers, red onion, cilantro and black beans.
Italian style pork chop skillet: Use cannellini beans, shallot, oregano, basil, thyme and omit chipotle pepper, cumin and coriander.
Succotash pork chop skillet: Use corn, lima beans, onion and diced zucchini.
Instructions
- Season the pork chops with salt and pepper then sear them in cooking oil in a skillet for 3-4 minutes per side, medium heat. Remove the pork chops from the pan when they have a nice brown color to them.
- Add the onions, pepper and corn to skillet and cook 3 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, garlic, agave and herbs to skillet and mix well to combine.
- Nestle the pork chops into the corn mixture and bake in 350-degree F oven until 150 degrees F.
CHECK OUT SOME OF MY OTHER DELICIOUS RECIPES!
PLEASE LEAVE A 5 STAR RATING OR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW
SOUTHWESTERN PORK CHOP SKILLET
Equipment
- 1 Cast iron skillet Large
Ingredients
- 3 Pork chops bone in, 5 oz
- ½ med Onion/scallions ½ cup
- ½ large Green pepper /red bell pepper 1 cup
- ½ small Jalapeno pepper/serrano pepper seeded and sliced
- 1 cup Corn frozen, fresh or canned
- 1 cup Cherry tomatoes/tomatoes Sliced
- 3 clove Garlic minced or sliced
- ¼ cup Zucchini (optional) diced
- 14 oz Canned Beans Black, pinto, navy, lima, kidney, cannellini
- 1 tsp Honey
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Coriander
- ½ tsp Oregano dry
- ½ tsp Red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp Thyme dry
- salt and pepper
- 1-2 tbsp Cooking oil
Instructions
- Season pork chops with salt and pepper or seasoning of your choice, set aside.
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F
- In a colander drain beans and rinse
- In a large cast iron skillet add 1-2 tbsp cooking oil. Pan sear pork chops 4 mins per side or until golden. Remove from skillet and set aside on plate.
- In same skillet sauté onions and peppers, cook 5 mins. Reduce heat to low and add tomato, beans, garlic and corn, cook 5 minutes.
- Add honey and dry seasoning mix well. Return pork chops to pan and place in oven until internal temperature of pork is 150 degrees F.
Notes
Let me know what you think of this recipe and also what kind of adaptations you made!
