Tender Sweet ‘n’ Sour Pork Chops

Total Time

Prep/Total Time: 25 min.

Makes

6 servings

Updated: Aug. 11, 2023
The recipe for these tender sweet and sour pork chops chops was given to me years ago by my best friend. It's become one of my family's favorites and we enjoy it often. Hope you do, too! —Gina Young, Lamar, Colorado
Tender Sweet 'n' Sour Pork Chops Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Ingredients

  • 6 boneless pork loin chops (4 ounces each)
  • 3/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons cold water

Directions

  1. Sprinkle pork chops with pepper. In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, cook pork over medium heat until lightly browned, 4-6 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm.
  2. Add the water, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce to skillet; stir to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 2 minutes.
  3. Return chops to the pan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until a thermometer inserted in pork reads 145°, 4-5 minutes.
Sweet and Sour Pork Chops Tips

How can you make sure your sweet and sour pork chops are juicy?

The best way to create juicy sweet and sour pork chops starts with selecting pork chops with good marbling. The fat will keep the meat juicy as it cooks. You can also brine pork chops to infuse extra moisture to the meat. Most importantly, avoid overcooking pork chops to keep them from getting dry. Using a digital thermometer, you want the pork chop temperature to read 145°.

Can you use bone-in pork chops?

Like other pork chop recipes, you can use bone-in pork chops here, but they will take longer to cook. Bone-in pork chops tend to be thicker than boneless pork chops, and the bone acts as an insulator, slowing down the heat transfer to the center of the pork chop.

What can you serve with sweet and sour pork chops?

The sauce created by this one-pot pork chop recipe is full-flavored and rich, so we like serving these pork chops with grains that will complement the tangy flavors. Rice, quinoa or noodles all work well here, as do simple vegetable sides like steamed broccoli or colorful stir-fried vegetables.

—Lindsay Mattison, Taste of Home Contributing Writer

Nutrition Facts

1 pork chop with 3 tablespoons sauce: 198 calories, 6g fat (2g saturated fat), 55mg cholesterol, 265mg sodium, 12g carbohydrate (10g sugars, 0 fiber), 22g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1 starch.