This one-skillet Tuscan pork chop recipe is one of our favorite pork chop recipes! Inexpensive and loaded with flavor, they are quick to cook on busy nights in a rich cream sauce loaded with peppers, spinach, and beans.
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Pork chops are one of our favorite cuts. One we are guilty of not making enough of. But they are loaded with flavor, quick, and easy to make on busy weeknights. And, of course, we love that they are so inexpensive compared to red meat.
What Are Tuscan Pork Chops?
Like our pan-seared pork chops, these Tuscan Pork Chops are cooked in a large, heavy skillet, lending to a delicious golden brown crust. The skillet is also oven-proof, making it easy to slip it right into the oven for easy baking, like our oven-baked pork chops.
These chops are incredibly easy to make and remind me of luxurious restaurant-quality meals like our simple creamy Tuscan chicken. They are served in a rich pan sauce with cream and sprinkled with fontina right before being served hot.
The spinach, roasted red peppers, and beans make this incredibly filling and loaded with healthy ingredients (we love sneaking spinach into as many dishes as we can)!
This easy pork chop recipe comes out creamy and rich but is packed with feel-good food and Tuscan flavors. It really is homemade indulgence from start to finish.
The best part is that you can make this recipe in 30 minutes or less, just like cornmeal-coated skillet pork chops.
Tuscan Pork Chops Ingredients
Tuscan pork chops are one of those recipes where you are likely to have a lot of the basic needs in the pantry. There are no exotic spices or herbs.
For the Chops
- Butter or Oil Divided
- Bone-In Pork Chops: The bone adds a depth of flavor. Finding bone-in chops at the local market can be a little hit or miss. But, if you are hitting a regular supermarket, check the butcher counter for bone-in chops and pick out the ones you want. With pork, we often find the sizes in the pre-packaged options aren’t even, and that makes cooking evenly tricky. You can also buy meat online to make things easier.
- Salt and Pepper
For the Sauce
- Onion
- Garlic
- Roasted Red Peppers: Jarred roasted red peppers are our magic ingredient for dressing this up, and we love testing out different brands to see which we like – currently obsessing over fire-roasted ones.
- Spinach
- Cannellini Beans
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is a staple ingredient for the rich sauce but you could use evaporated milk for a lighter version (or if you don’t feel like running to the market for cream).
For Garnish
- Tomatoes
- Fresh parsley
- Salt
- Pepper
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY TUSCAN PORK CHOPS
A large oven-safe skillet is the hero for this dish – and with it, you can go right from the cooktop to the oven. We cook with a cast iron skillet so that we never have to worry about ruining pans; make sure that the pan you use is made to go into the oven before you start. Otherwise, transfer everything to a baking dish before finishing it in the oven.
Melt butter or olive oil in the skillet. Sear the chops in the hot pan over medium-high heat, and while they rest for 2-3 minutes, you will then sautee the onions, add the garlic, and mix in the peppers.
From there, wilt in the spinach – and use more than you think you will need! 4 or 5 cups wither down to nothing in the heat.
Once everything is prepped, add the beans and whisk in the cream and herbs. Return pork chops to the pan and finish it all off in the hot oven, where the cream thickens, and the fontina melts in a creamy layer over everything.
Girl Carnivore Expert Recipe Tips
- Pat pork chops dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Sprinkle some lemon zest on top for a vibrant finish.
- Play around with other fresh herbs like fresh basil or fresh rosemary sprigs.
- Quickly change the flavor profile a bit by adding chopped artichoke, olives, and a splash of lemon juice for a Mediterranean flair.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH TUSCAN PORK CHOPS
We serve Tuscan pork chops over pasta, mainly because we think there are so many flavors already that it doesn’t need much else. However, smoked cabbage that’s been shredded, gnocchi, or even a creamy polenta would be wonderful under these chops. Make sure to add bonus points and serve with air fryer vegetables. If you aren’t counting calories, ciabatta bread is wonderful for scooping up the remaining sauce.
Leftovers & Reheating
Store leftover pork chops in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
To reheat, place leftover pork chops with sauce in a large skillet over medium heat. Let them simmer until warm.
More Pork Chop Recipes
Double Cut Cast Iron Pork Chops
If you’re ready to expand your favorite Italian recipes, give this one a try! It’s full of delicious flavors and super easy to make, perfect for those days when you don’t have a ton of time.
Have you tried this recipe? Do us a favor and rate the recipe card with the ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ and drop a comment to help out the next reader.
Tucan Pork Chops Recipe
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chops
- 2 tbsp butter or oil divided
- 1.5 – 2 lbs bone-in pork chops
- Salt and pepper
For the Sauce:
- ½ Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic
- ¼ cup Roasted Red Peppers
- 4 cups Spinach
- 1 14 oz jar Cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
For Garnish
- Tomatoes
- Parsley
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
Prep the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Sear the chops:
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet pre-heated oven medium-high heat.
- Pat the pork chops dry and season with salt and pepper.
- Sear the pork chops in the skillet on each side 2 to 5 minutes, until a golden crust forms. If the chop does not easily pull from the pan, the crust has not formed yet. The pork will release easily when the crust has formed. Pulling too soon can cause tearing.
- Remove the chops, cover and set aside.
Saute the Veggies:
- In the same pan, melt the remaining butter and add sautee the onion until soft, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds longer.
- Mix in the roasted red pepper and toss to combine.
- Add the spinach. It will overflow the pan and look like too much, but as you stir and the spinach wilts it withers to a minimal portion.
- Toss in the beans.
Make the Sauce:
- Off heat, slowly whisk in the cream, scraping up any browned bits as you do so.
Finish Cooking the Chops:
- Nestle the chops back into the pan.
- Sprinkle fontina cheese over the dish and slide in the oven to cook.
- Cook until the chops read 145 degrees F with an instant-read thermometer, about 5 to 7 minutes longer.
Serve:
- Serve the chops by arranging on a platter over pasta. Spoon the sauce over the pasta.
- Garnish with chopped tomatoes, minced parsley and salt and pepper, if desired.
Notes
Substitutions:
- Fresh rosemary goes great in this dish and I love adding a sprig or two if I have some on hand. I will also mince some fresh rosemary and toss it in with the cream as it simmers.
- If you don’t have white cannellini beans, swap in chickpeas.
- Swap Parmesan for the Fontina if you dont have any on hand
Nutrition
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Recipe FAqs
You could use other varieties of beans besides the white beans. Color will change, of course, but the flavors will still be reasonably the same. Even lima beans are an option.
Pork chops are wonderful but so much easier to overcook than steaks. We recommend using a meat thermometer to avoid drying it out. Cook them to 145 degrees F, but pull them quickly when they hit the minimum internal temperature.
After you pull them from the heat, there will still be plenty of residual heat cooking them. By the way, if the pork is a little pink inside, that is fine. Temp is way more accurate for a measure of doneness.
You can make these with regular pork chops, too – the bone-in version just makes for a pretty finished plate, but getting boneless chops is often a better value for your dollar.
If using boneless chops, reduce the cooking time a bit to make sure not to overcook the chops. No matter how thick your chops are, you want to cook to 145 degrees F for juicy pork chops. When in a pinch, we love thick pork chops in the air fryer for a quick meal.
