These Pork Chops in a Pomegranate Sauce with Cranberries are so festive, taste fantastic and they are so, so easy to cook!! They look gourmet, cook fast but they will make you look like a chef in front of your family:).
I love the festive look of these pork chops in the pomegranate sauce. But the sauce is a great glaze on its own, so if you feel like mix and matching you can cook the glaze separately and add it to chicken or other meats.
If you don’t have any cranberries, you can garnish with pomegranate seeds and make a little more glaze then normal. This would allow you to cook this meal even outside Holiday season:). I also occasionally freeze a bag or two of cranberries at end of season and use those in the glaze whenever I want to cook this dish!!
Ingredients
I usually get thick pork chops for this dish, the ones I bought the last time were about 1.5 inches thick. Feel free to get whatever it’s available in the grocery store, sometimes you can’t be too picky. But if they’re a lot thinner be mindful of cooking time as they’ll cook a lot faster.
For the Pork Chops
- Olive oil
- Coarse Sea Salt
- Black pepper
- Oregano
For the Glaze
- Shallot
- Garlic
- White Wine
- Pomegranate Juice
- Cranberries
Note – I chop the shallot very thinly before sauteing. I don’t strain the sauce before adding the pork chops in back in the skillet. If you like a more elegant sauce or glaze, you can strain the sauce from onions and garlic before adding the pork chops back in.
My Process for Cooking these Festive Pork Chops
I start by patting dry the pork chops with a paper towel, on both sides.
Then I season the pork chops thoroughly on both sides. While my go to choices for seasoning are sea salt, freshly grated black pepper and oregano, you can add dry seasonings of your choice at this stage. Occasionally I would add some smoked paprika or harissa powder.
Then I add olive oil to a hot skillet (try to use the best quality skillet you can find – heavy bottom, all clad or cast iron etc).
Sear the seasoned pork chops in medium heat for about 5 minutes on all sides. It’s important pork chops cook thoroughly on all sides.
Remove the pork chops, place them on a platter and cover them to keep them warm.
Then on the same skillet we prepare the glaze and add the pork chops in. Finally add the cranberries and spoon over some of the glaze on the pork chops. Cover the skillet, lower heat to simmer and let the pork chops marinate on the pomegranate glaze and the cranberries cook around in the sauce and over the pork chops.
If you like skillet cooked pork chops, then feel free to check out the recipe for Pork Chops with Mint Chimichurri. But if you like saucy type meals, then check out my Pork in Mushroom Sauce.
Pork Chops in a Pomegranate Sauce with Cranberries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pork chops large, 1.5 inches thick
- 1.5 tsp coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly grated black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 3 tbsps olive oil
- 1 shallot
- 4 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup white wine
- ¼ cup pomegranate juice
- ¼ cup fresh cranberries
- 2 tbsps fresh parsley garnish
Instructions
- Pat pork chops dry with a paper towel. Season them thoroughly on all sides with coarse sea salt, freshly grated black pepper and oregano.
- Add olive oil to a hot skillet. Once oil is shimmering, add pork chops in and keep heat to medium. In about 5 minutes flip the pork chops.
- While the pork chops are searing, chop the shallot and mince the garlic as fine as possible.
- Once pork chops are cooked on all sides (center temperature should reach 145 degrees F if you have a meat thermometer), remove them from skillet and add them to a platter. Cover so they stay warm.
- Add shallot and garlic in the skillet and using a wooden spoon saute until translucent. Skillet is hot so this might happen fast, stir so they don't stick.
- Add white wine and deglaze. Once alcohol evaporates, add pomegranate juice. Mix sauce and lower temperature.
- Add pork chops back in, add the cranberries as well. Lower heat to simmer and cover the skillet. Let everything simmer together for few minutes. The cranberries will pop once they cook so keep the lid on until you don't hear anymore popping. Turn heat off and serve pork chops with your favorite side dishes! Don't forget to spoon over the chopps the sauce. Enjoy:)
Notes
- I added approximate quantities of sea salt, pepper and oregano but I often tend to eyeball these ingredients and season the pork chops on all sides generously.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
If you would like to save this recipe for later, please pin one of the pictures from this post to your boards in Pinterest. Let me know in comments if you have any questions. Thank you so much for reading my blog and my recipes. It means a lot to me and my family!
How Do You Serve these Pork Chops?
You can add your favorite side dishes to these pork chops and we often alternate between the following.
Easy Dinner Recipes
I am not sure if you found this post because you were looking specifically for pork chops or if you were looking for easy dinners, but here are some more recipes you might enjoy and that my readers keep coming back to over and over.
- Creamy Chicken in Spinach and Mushroom Sauce
- Roasted Pork Tenderloins with Potatoes
- Chuck Steak
- Braised Beef Shanks
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