This French Pork Chops recipe simmers boneless pork chops in a rich sauce of shallots, granny smith apples, cider, and heavy cream.
I know it’s still early summer, and I hate to get ahead of myself, but I seriously cannot WAIT for fall apples!
I love to use the cider in recipes, especially hard cider like in this French Pork with Apple Cream Sauce recipe!
This is one of those fabulous recipes which looks and tastes a LOT more complicated than it really is.
The ingredients are easy to come by and they don’t require a lot of extra work to prepare them for the recipe. The whole French pork chops dish comes together in just 40 minutes!
I like to serve these French Pork Chops with a simple accompaniment of haricots verts (French-style green beans), but you can use regular green beans, too.
Just bring some salted water to a boil and cook the beans for 4 minutes. Drain the pot, then toss the beans with butter, chopped fresh parsley, salt, and pepper. If you want to get *really* fancy, you could toss some capers in there, too.
Whatever you do, don’t forget to place a loaf of crusty bread on the table so you can soak up every last drop of this luscious apple cream sauce!
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French Pork Chops with Apple Cream Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 4 boneless center-cut pork chops - about 1" thick
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 shallot - minced
- 2 granny smith apples - thinly sliced
- 1 cup hard cider*
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Take the pork chops out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking, so they will get to room temperature.
- Place the walnuts in a sauté pan set over medium heat. Dry toast the walnuts until fragrant, being careful to avoid burning, about 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
- Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Rub both sides of each chop with fresh thyme.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the seasoned pork to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes per side until browned. Remove the pork from the pan and set aside.
- Add the butter to the skillet along with the minced shallots and apples. Sauté over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until the apples have softened. Pour the cider into the pan and continue to cook for 3 minutes to reduce the liquid. Add the cream and cook another 3-5 minutes until thick.
- Return the browned pork to the pan, turn the heat down to medium, cover with a lid and simmer until the pork is cooked through, about 4-6 minutes. Make sure that the pork chops reach 145 ºF as measured with a food thermometer.
- Serve topped with the toasted walnuts.
NOTES
Nutrition
For the “hard cider” in the recipe, what is that? Does hard mean it has alcohol?
I’d love to try it!
Yes, that’s right!
Substituting the shallots for onions as well, but that’s the only change I’m making. Can’t wait to try for dinner tonight! Thank you. 🙂
I made this with regular cider. No cream. I used the fat from searing the pork to make a “gravy” though. I added in chopped spinach, let it sit on the warmer, which kind of slow-cooked it. I also used onions instead of shallots. It was very tasty! Thanks!
Sounds delicious, Hannah!
Looks like a great recipe but did I miss something? Where do the walnuts come in? Thanks!
Whoops! I put the instructions in for toasting the walnuts, but neglected to indicate that they should be sprinkled over the top of the dish when finished. I’ve updated the recipe card; thanks for catching that!
Sounds yummy, but when do you use the walnuts? Sprinkle on when serving? I didn’t see them mentioned in the directions other than dry-toasting at the beginning.
Yes, sprinkle them on when serving! So sorry, I’ve updated the recipe now to include that step 🙂