These Easy One Pan Tuscan Pork Chops make a great healthy skillet dinner for the whole family.
The recipe is cooked on the stove top and is super simple; taking just 15 minutes to cook. The boneless pork chops, stay tender and juicy thanks to a clever trick! They are cooked with plenty of olive oil, then left to rest whilst a simple tomato, garlic, black olive and herb sauce is whipped up.
So delicious and great for those on the Keto or Paleo diet, plus this dish is naturally gluten-free!
This recipe is so simple that it is perfect for busy work nights! But I do have a couple of great tips up my sleeve for making this the BEST pork chops you have ever eaten.
A juicy pork chop is a joy, tender and moist with a nice golden exterior. But so often pork ends up dry and overcooked!
How to ensure pork chops are juicy.
The key to juicy tender pork chops isn’t in the cooking (although that does play a part) but in the preparation. Pork is infinitely better if it has been brined.
That stint in a salty water bath transformed pork into something juicy and tender. Pork chops don’t need that long in a brine, even 30 minutes can work wonders! Although if I have time I do tend to leave mine for 2 hours.
How to make a brine.
Brine is essentially just salty water. I like to add a few extra ingredients (for added flavor).
The basic brine is 1/4 cup salt to 4 cups of water. To this, I add 5 lightly squashed garlic cloves and a few black peppercorns.
To help the salt dissolve I like to use 2 cups of hot water, add in the aromatics and then stir until the salt is dissolved. Once the salt has dissolved I add 2 cups of iced water. This ensures the brine is at cooled before you add the pork chops. Once that is all mixed together the brine is ready.
This mixture will be enough or 4 large pork chops or 6 smaller pork chops.
What type of pork chops to use.
The grocery store has such a large selection of pork chops, it is sometimes hard to know which to choose.
For a full rundown of pork chops check out my information of the Different Types of Pork Chops.
For this Tuscan pork dish, I like to use boneless loin chops, these are easy for the kids to eat and take minutes to cook. They are super lean, but because of our wonderful brine, they stay tender and juicy.
If you want to use a pork chop with a bone in it, then go right ahead, but you will need to add a minute per side to the cooking time.
What flavors are in Tuscan Pork?
Tuscan flavors are big and bold, they use plenty of garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, and fresh herbs.
That makes for a very tasty dish but also a super easy dish!
You can make everything in one pan! First, cook the pork in plenty of good olive oil, then remove it to rest under a tent of foil. Using the same pan, add plenty of garlic and some more oil, and cook this off until just fragrant but not colored at all, then add a quarter cup of chicken broth and let it bubble off for a few moments. Add some chopped fresh tomatoes and once this is all bubbling add in a few black olives, plenty of seasoning, a pinch of sugar and then finish with fresh basil. Pour the quick sauce over the pork chops and serve.
Enjoy x
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Easy One Pan Tuscan Pork Chops
Ingredients
For the brine
- 1/4 cup salt
- 2 cups hot water
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 2 cups iced water
For the pork
- 4 1-inch-thick boneless pork chops
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the sauce
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 5 tomatoes
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp sliced black olives
- Fresh Basil
Instructions
To make the brine (see note 1)
- Mix the salt with the hot water until it has dissolved.
- Peel the garlic and lightly squash it with the flat blade of a knife. Add this to the hot brine along with the peppercorns.
- Stir gently then add in the iced water.
- Allow the brine to cool before adding the pork chops.
- The pork can brine for 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Whilst the pork is brining, prepare the vegetables for the sauce.
- Peel and finely chop the garlic.
- Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds. (See note 2)
To cook the dish
- Once the pork chops have been brined, remove them and pat them dry.
- Place a large heavy-based skillet/fry pan over medium-high heat and add in the olive oil.
- Cook pork chops in the hot oil for 5 minutes turning once. Remove the chops from the pan and tent with foil.
- Reduce the heat under the skillet and add the chopped garlic, sauté for 1 minute then pour in the chicken broth and bring back to a boil, stirring to loosen any bits from the base of the skillet.
- Add in the chopped tomatoes and season the sauce with salt and black pepper.
- Once bubbling and thick, add in the black olives, fresh basil and pour over the pork chops.
Notes
- The brining process is optional, but I urge you to try it! It transforms pork chops! If you aren’t brining the pork then season it generously before you cook it.
- Use the removed seeds to add to slow cooked dishes like my Spaghetti Bolognese. You can freeze the seeds until needed.
Nutrition
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