Smothered Pork Chops with Vegetables is an easy, delicious comfort dish with pork chops, carrots, and kale smothered in a creamy sauce.
Smothered Pork Chops with vegetables is a hearty midwestern comfort dish. It’s layered with vegetables and meaty pork chops smothered in a creamy sauce and cheese. This is definitely a stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish, but it’s got plenty of carrots and kale that balance it out. The pork chops are left whole so that you get an entire portion dripping in goodness. This is really great for those that prefer to be able to cut their meat, vs. scoop it.
THIS SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS RECIPE IS FAMILY COMFORT
I recently received my Mom’s recipe box and books that had been passed down to her from my grandmothers and that she had collected over the years. They are all comfort foods that are hearty and delicious. One of my favorites is this amazing Apple Cinnamon Cake I grew up with that my Mom passed to me and my girls to make for Talking Meals last year.
But this Pork Chop Casserole really jumped out at me. It reminded me of my Mom’s love for comforting casseroles. It’s also a great idea for busy Moms looking for easy weeknight family meals.
If you like casseroles like this, you will love my whole chicken breast One Pan Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake with Rice and my Easy One-Pan Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake with Zucchini!
Simple Ingredients
For this Smothered Pork Chops Recipe, I decided to use Kale. I just adore Kale and felt it could hold up pretty well in this casserole. The recipe also did not specify what type of cheese, so I selected Gruyere which has a nutty delicious flavor to it and goes beautifully with the pork. You could also use Mozzarella instead. I also swapped out the flour for cornstarch, which is used to thicken the sauce. This swap helped me to keep this recipe Gluten Free.
So, let’s get cooking!
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Prep-Ahead Steps for Smothered Pork Chops with Vegetables
You are busy, so these are the steps you can do a day or two in advance to prepare food ahead! (See the recipe below for more details)
Many casseroles can be completely cooked ahead and then reheated. However, I don’t recommend that for this Smothered Pork Chops Recipe. The pork can become overcooked and tough. Instead, you can prepare all of the ingredients ahead, so you simply put it all together and then cook it. (I have notes in the recipe for preparing everything in the casserole dish and then cooking it on the night you are ready to. However, this will increase the cooking time and the entire dish cooks better if you sear and then bake all on the same night).
In terms of the prep, you can slice the carrots, dice the Onion, and mince Garlic.
Rinse, pat dry, then roughly chop the Kale. You will need roughly 9-10 cups to cook down to enough for 4 servings. It will look like a TON, but trust me, it will cook down.
COOK YOUR SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS RECIPE
For this casserole, you separately cook the kale, pork chops, and sauce in one large Skillet on the stove. Transfer each as they finish to a 9×9 Casserole dish for the oven.
First you sauté the kale by filling the pan and letting it cook down, then adding more and repeating this until all of the kale is cooked down. Then transfer it to the bottom layer of the casserole dish.
Next you season and sear the pork chops on each side. Then place them on top of the kale in the dish.
Finally, add the onions, garlic, and carrots to the hot skillet and stir while cooking.
Add the chicken broth and then the cornstarch slurry and stir until the sauce thickens.
Then pour the sauce all over the pork chops. Top with shredded gruyere and bake in 350 F degree oven for 40 minutes until the pork is cooked through to 165F internal temperature.
I like to serve this over Quinoa, but you can serve it over rice or mashed potatoes too.
ENJOY! 😍 Carrie
Pork Chop Casserole
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 2 cups Carrots, sliced
- 1 cup Onion, diced
- 1 clove Garlic, Minced
- 10 cups Kale, chopped
Cooking Pork Chops
- 4 Pork Chops, boneless 1″ thick
- 1 Tbls Salt (enough to sprinkle on pork)
- 1 Tbls Fresh Ground Pepper (enough to sprinkle on pork)
- 4 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (2 teaspoon for Kale, 2 teaspoon for pork)
Sauce and Casserole
- 2 Tbls Corn Starch
- ¼ cup Milk (Skim, 1% or 2% are all fine)
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 8 oz Gruyere, finely shredded
- Salt, to taste
- Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste
Instructions
Prep Ahead – Vegetables
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Peel and slice Carrots into quarter size disks. If the carrot diameter is larger, just cut slices in half.
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Dice Onion. Mince Garlic.
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Rince, pat dry, then roughly chop the Kale. You will need roughly 9-10 cups to cook down to enough for 4 servings. It will look like a TON, but trust me, it will cook down.
Make your Casserole
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Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
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Preheat a medium-large skillet (large enough to fit 4 pork chops) on high. Add 2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the skillet to coat. Then add the Kale in batches until it is all cooked down. Turn the kale so that it all gets access to heat and starts to cook down. Add a couple tablespoons of water to help it wilt if needed with each additional batch of kale, but just make sure that the liquid cooks off.
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Once all kale is cooked, transfer it from the skillet to a 9×9 casserole dish.
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Season the pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides liberally. Make the sure the skillet is back on high heat and add another 2 teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the skillet to coat and then add the pork chops to sear. Leave cooking without moving for 4-5 minutes. When they easily lift, flip the chops over to sear the other side for another 4 minutes.
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Transfer the pork chops to the casserole dish laying them directly on top of the Kale in a single layer.
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To the same pan with the pork chop drippings, add the onion, the minced garlic, and the carrots. Stir and cook for 5-8 minutes until the carrots are starting to soften and the onions are getting translucent.
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While the veggies are cooking, make the cornstarch slurry by adding 2 tbls of cornstarch to ¼ cup cold milk in a small mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve.
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Add 2 cups of chicken broth to the carrots, onions, and garlic while keeping the heat on high. Stir to combine.
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Add the cornstarch slurry to the broth and veggies and whisk it in as it comes up to a simmer and begins to thicken.
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Once thickened, pour the sauce and veggies over the pork chops in the casserole dish. Spread the carrots and sauce around evenly.
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Final step! Sprink the top of all this goodness with CHEESE! I prefer the finely shredded Gruyere as I think it is just delicious with Pork in this dish and it melts so nicely.
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NOW, at this point, you can store the uncooked casserole in the fridge and cook when you are ready to eat it. If you do this, you need to Bake it in a 350 degree F oven for about 5-10 minutes longer (total 35-40min) covered or until the pork reaches 165 internal temp. Remove the cover for the last 10 minutes so that the cheese can brown on top.
If you Bake the casserole immediately, then bake it in a 350 degree oven covered for 30 minutes. Remove the cover for the last 10 minutes so that the cheese can brown on top. You can even turn the broiler on for 2-3 minutes at the very end to really brown the top.
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Serve over rice, quinoa, or potatoes and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- I have said that there are 4 servings in this recipe, because there are 4 pork chops. However, if you split these in half for kids, you can easily get 5-6 servings.
- If you cannot find Gruyere Cheese, you can substitute Mozzarella.
Chef mimi says
I’ve never been much of a casserole gal, probably because of how I was raised, but I get this! Because you can serve each individual pork chops along with the other goodness, and it’s appealing! Great recipe!
C says
so comforting!!
Carol F says
Hi Carrie, my husband is not a fan of kale. Do you think cabbage could work, or what would you suggest? Thank you
Carrie Tyler says
Hi Carol, You can definitely use another veggie in place of the kale. Spinach would work and you would not need to cook it first, just place it in fresh or frozen. You could do frozen peas, fresh broccoli florets, asparagus, green pepper slices, or zucchini slices. I like the addition of a green veggie with the carrots, as you can see. All of these options could be added without having to cook them first, as they will cook during the 30-min baking.
Please let me know which route you end up going!
Carrie 🙂
Carol F says
Thank you for the reply. I will do either the fresh broccoli or the frozen peas since I know that he will like those. That will be on the menu this week
Sandi Preddy says
Before you substituted the kale, what vegetable was originally used in the recipe?
Carrie Tyler says
Hi Sandi, My mom would add frozen peas in this vs. the kale. You could use frozen peas, fresh broccoli florets, asparagus, green pepper slices, or zucchini slices. All of these options could be added without having to cook them first, as they will cook during the 30-min baking.
Please let me know how it goes!
🙂 Carrie
Amanda says
Wonderful! The only change was I sliced a russet potato and cooked along with the carrots and onions. It is a fantastic scrumptious addition. Thank you for a great recipe
Carrie Tyler says
Thanks, Amanda! That’s a great addition to this recipe, thanks for sharing 🙂