Pork Chops with Sauerkraut, Apple & Onion

Nothing quite goes with sauerkraut like pork chops and this old-fashioned recipe stands the test of time! This is an easy, super healthy recipe to take your pork chops to another level and the sweetness of the apple balances out the tartness of the sauerkraut.

Sweet Home Alabama and Sauerkraut Connection

I’d never had pork chops and sauerkraut until I’d moved to Minnesota in 2012. I first moved to Minnesota to work as the National Spokesperson at Kruger Farms, a hunting and fishing outfitter in Starbuck, MN. A month later I was chosen as the bachelorette on the CMT dating show “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Call it irony, but I chose Jeremiah, who happened to live in Clarissa, MN, one hour away from Kruger Farms.

He came from a family of corn, soybean, dairy and pork farmers. His mother, Linda, is a wonderful cook and could make about anything, for a family of 10 kids nonetheless, with whatever she had in the pantry or basement. Gosh, I learned so many things from Linda. They didn’t have a disposable but hardly had any waste anyways. She had a small wastebasket under the sink and I think she literally only filled in once a week. I feel like we fill our large one almost every day. In a way I felt like I’d stepped back in time to the early 1900’s. Clarissa is a town of about 500 people and there aren’t hardly any restaurants in town. Linda would cook every meal and she’d make a “goulash” out of whatever leftovers she had in the refrigerator. I loved to go out and fill a tin pitcher with cold, fresh milk from the dairy tank. The cream would rise to the top and we’d either stir it back in before drinking it or skim it off to make something with it. Linda taught me how to make Lefse with the family, a Norwegian type of flatbread, that we would spread with butter and sugar and roll up for a delicious treat! I haven’t made it since I moved away because I’m not confident I can make it myself, but I think I’ll try it sometime again. She taught me how to make and can jelly out of the fresh fruits family members would bring over from their gardens.

I’m so thankful for this time and all I learned. Coming from South Carolina, Minnesota was a whole other culture and the people welcomed me with open arms and I’m grateful for the year I lived there and all the people who shared their experiences and knowledge to expand my life.

Inspiration for this Recipe

Anyways, Linda made a simple dish one time of seasoned pork chops and sauerkraut and it was so delicious and simple! It was actually my first time having sauerkraut and I couldn’t get enough. I’ve added apple, onion and sometimes potatoes to make it a complete meal but you can just use sauerkraut too for a quick dish!

Porkchops with Sauerkraut, Apple & Onion

Recipe by Paige MurrayCourse: MainCuisine: GermanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Calories

246

kcal

Protein

26 g

Carbs

22 g

Fats

8 g

Fiber

8 g

An old-fashioned dish with pork chops and sauerkraut

Ingredients

• 4 Pork chops (boneless or bone-in and thickness of choice)

• 1 Tablespoon of Avocado oil or oil of choice

• 1 32oz. jar of Sauerkraut, drained.

• 1 Honeycrisp apple (or other firm apple), sliced 1/4 inch thin

• 1 Onion, sliced thin

• 4 Red potatoes, sliced to 1/2 inch thick cubes* optional

• Seasoning of choice (I like Patty’s) or just Salt & Pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325* F.
• Heat oil in a large skillet (preferably ovenproof) over high heat.
• Pat pork chops dry with a paper towel.
• Season the pork chops on one side.
• When the oil is very hot, place pork chops seasoned side down in skillet.
• Season the other side of the pork chops while they are cooking on the one side.
• Let sear until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes and flip. Sear on this side for 2-3 minutes more. (Do this in batches if your skillet isn’t large enough).
• Remove pork chops from the skillet.
• If you are using an ovenproof skillet then layer potatoes, apple and then the onion in the skillet. If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet then use a 9x 13 baking dish instead.
• Then layer the pork chops.
• Pour the sauerkraut over the pork chops.
• Cover the skillet or baking dish with an ovenproof lid or tin foil.
• Bake for one hour or until pork chops are fork tender. This will vary depending on the thickness of your pork chop. Starting check at 45 minutes for thin pork chops.

Notes

• Nutrition calculated with 4 4 oz. pork chops, 1 large apple, 1 large onion and without potatoes.