Just 20 minutes is all you need to transform simple pork chops, potatoes, and onions into a SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS meal! We’re talking fork-tender thick chops, oniony mashed potatoes, and a thick, rich pork gravy!
So this dish kinda just ‘happened’. Mr. Fantabulous was at some concert and I had the house all to myself. I had it all planned out for my bachelorette night in. I’d make myself a great dinner, take a bubble batch, shut off my computer and watch chick flicks while lounging in the recliner eating copious amounts of seriously bad food. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen quite like that.
He had already left to go meet up with his buddy and I started to go make dinner. What I came to find out was when I opened up my fridge that it was bare! I mean we’re talking no milk BUT my loving husband left me the empty container (seriously who does this? Write a friggen note!), no meat, no eggs, and no cheese. WTH dude!
Now normally I’d be ok with this but this was MY “date” night with myself and I wanted real food. And what made it worse is that I was already in my lounge clothes (aka no bra!) and was mad I had to get re-dressed and put that damn thing back on just to go to the store. Oh no trust me, I did think twice about just throwing a hoodie on over top of everything and heading to the store in those clothes but with my luck, I’d end up as one of those “People of Walmart” memes. And while it’s funny when it’s other people it’s not so funny when it’s you.
Begrudgingly I got re-dressed and went down the hill to my local butcher shop. As I was walking through the meat section I spied some seriously awesome-looking thick-cut chops. We’re talking pink with that fat edge just begging to be taken home. So into my buggy, it went along with some pepperoni, Italian bread, and other snacky stuff. And for snacky stuff equals potato chips and Fritos. God, I love Fritos! When I got home I figured since I was going to make it a junk food kinda night I might as well keep with the theme and make a bacon & pepperoni French bread pizza however I could not take my eyes off of those chops.
Normally when I make thick-cut chops I either pan sear and roast them or I’ll braise them however I honestly didn’t want to spend my free night in the kitchen. Yes even doing something I positively love, even I need a break from cooking and baking. Then I remembered… PRESSURE COOKER!!!
Pressure cooking is a godsend to the working person or for the person that honestly just doesn’t have that much free time to cook BUT still wants a “real meal” and not that pre-packaged crap.
Since I’ve made potatoes in the pressure cooker before I knew this would work out well. What I didn’t know was just how well! Into the pot went the potatoes and onions – if you have an apple, chop that up and toss it in – trust me on this! Unfortunately, I didn’t have one on hand and there was no way in hell I was putting a bra back on and heading back down the store. Now the spice rub is pretty basic. The only thing that I would strongly suggest you adding/buying is the Montreal Chicken Seasoning. Yes I know I have my own steak version of it but their chicken version has dried veggies in it and it’s not something most folks have at home. It really adds such a beautiful depth of flavor and richness to the dish.
Once I had everything all seasoned, into the pot the chops went, and on went the lid. 15 minutes later and then another 5 minutes of natural release and these chops and potatoes were ready! Now I could have left the taters as-is but I love me some mashed potatoes with pork. It’s a requirement that they are together on every bite. As I was scooping out the potatoes I could see the pieces of onions in with them.
Now the old me would have sat there and picked out every single onion bit while squinching up my face however I have grown not only to appreciate cooked onions in a dish but also love them. Since they were already so tender and falling apart all I used was a fork to finish mashing them. A quick taste then in went some butter and salt. Plus since I felt it needed a bit of cream I threw in some milk to make it that true creamy mashed tater texture.
Then I stood there, looking at that luscious liquid left in the pot. The only thing that could make this already awesome dish better was gravy. Gravy makes everything better. Well except french fries. That’s yucky (at least to me). A little slurry went into the bubbling liquid, a few turns of the whisk, and Voila! PORK gravy! Now, this is where I found that Montreal Chicken Seasoning made the most difference. I didn’t originally add any. The gravy was good but it was a bit flat. But when I added some of that seasoning… OMG people! I could have drunk that stuff it was so good! Like we’re talking LEGIT!
Finally, when I sat down to eat I sat there with the biggest smile on my face. This was good folks. Like really, really good! This is one of those dishes where, if my Mom was still alive I would have called her to tell her all about it. So I did.. sort of.
I called Mama Fantabulous to tell her about this dish. As I was eating I was snapping pics and posting them on social media. Within minutes I was getting “recipe? Oh share that! That looks amazing”. Since I still had some great natural lighting left I quickly grabbed my camera, made up another plate of food, and start snapping away. When I was done I honestly did contemplate on eating the 2nd helping but then I remembered I had other food (all junk related) that needed to be devoured. A quick wrap of the plastic wrap and then it goes into the fridge.
Later that night I get a text “On my way home. Tired and hungry. Love you” which, if you’re in any relationship for a long period of time is code for “baby I love you, can you please make me some food and have it ready for when I come home?” About 30 minutes later he walked into the door looking like he was a mosh pit all night. LOL
As I pulled the plate out of the oven and set it in front of him he started telling me about the concert. About 3-4 bites into his dish he said “Hey what is this anyway? This is really, really good.” I chuckled and said “pork chops”. Now the reason why I chuckled is he’s not a huge fan of pork. He stopped and said “Really? I don’t really care much for pork but man this is good. Is there any more?”
Oh yeah baby, there’s more. Since making this dish that night it’s become a regular in our recipe rotation. I always make sure I have chops in the freezer as this makes a great (and simple) dish to throw together when you get unexpected company. Even if the chops are frozen I’ll toss them all in the pot, increase the time by a couple of minutes and they come out perfect every single time.
Now I just checked, this Pressure Cooker just dropped down $40 since Monday! I HIGHLY recommend getting it tonight!!!
Pressure Cooker Boneless Thick-Cut Pork Chops with Oniony Mashed potatoes and Pork Gravy!
- Yield: 6
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Ingredients
Meat
- Six (6) 1” – 1 1/2″ thick-cut boneless pork chops
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoon parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon Montreal Chicken Seasoning (optional but it does add great flavor)
Oniony Mashed Potatoes
- 3 large russet potatoes, cut into 1” cubes (skin on or off, your choice)
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup pork, chicken or vegetable stock (can add 1 1/2 cups if you want more gravy)
- 4 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 3–4 tablespoon milk
Pork Gravy
- 3–4 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup cream
- 2 teaspoon Montreal Chicken Seasoning
- Salt and pepper for taste
Instructions
- In the bottom of an 8 qrt pressure cooker pot add in the potatoes, onions and stock.
- In a small bowl mix together the 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoon parsley, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder and 2 teaspoon Montreal Chicken Seasoning.
- Pat the chops dry and add them to a large plastic bag. Dump the spice rub over the chops, seal the bag and coat all sides of the chops with the seasoning.
- Take chops out of the bag and place on top of the potatoes. If there is extra seasoning in the bag, dump that in the pot too.
- Place the lid on, set the pressure to high and cook for 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are up, do a natural release of 10 minutes then carefully release the rest of the pressure manually.
- Once pressure has released, take the chops out of the pot and place on a plate loosely tenting with foil.
- Remove the potatoes and onions from the pot and place in a large bowl. Leave the liquid in the pot as you’ll need that to make the gravy. Gently mash and add in the butter and milk. Adjust for taste.
- Set the pressure cooker to browning to make the gravy. In a small bowl whisk together the flour and cream to a slurry. Once the mixture starts to bubble whisk in the flour mixture. Cook until thick and bubbly.
- Add in the Montreal chicken seasoning, salt and pepper for taste.
- Plate the pork with the onion mashed potatoes and gravy.
Nancy says
What caught my eye about your recipe post first was the number of thick boneless chops. Im a terrible cook and I detest cooking so I must find a recipe I can relate to EXACTLY. Then I read the whole thing and was really getting a good laugh at the picture you presented. THEN I actually read the recipe ,copied it down cause the printer quit again and Im making it tonight.Wearing my sloppy clothes and relaxing while waiting for it to cook. Its amazing how you can fool your poor children and husband over the years with cooking. I can whip up a great PBANDJ sandwich and they are grateful for a super lunch. All 6 of my kids think Im a great cook,no one ever went hungry but Im very very boring with food prep. 5 of them turned out to be WONDERFUL cooks and the last one home just eats what I stick in front of her. THIS recipe will elevate me to chef status THANKS
TKWAdmin says
Hi Nancy!
You can do this! Just make sure your chops are thick like I list in the recipe. You’ll be a home chef in no time! And hey, PB&J ROCKS 🙂
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Jessica Moreno says
Hi did You place the pork chops directly on top of the potatoes or did you put your rack that goes inside the insta pot thank you can we to make this
TKWAdmin says
Hi Jessica!
When I make it I place the chops directly on top of the potatoes. See step 4.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
LuWanda says
What kind of cream do you use?
TKWAdmin says
Hi LuWanda!
Heavy cream, ultra-pasteurized.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
LuWanda says
Great meal! Whole family loved it!
TKWAdmin says
Awesome! Thank you so much!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Karen says
I just got an Instant Pot and I did manage to make excellent steamed water according to the directions in the manual. I think I’m ready for something a bit more challenging and this recipe looks AWESOME but I don’t think I want 6 chops. I’m good with the extra gravy though. I’d like to use 2 thick cut boneless chops but wondered how long to cook them.
I’ve looked at a lot of recipes for chops and other meat but all I’ve seen seem to be cooking for an army or at least a large family. Is there a reference somewhere that gives cooking times for smaller meals?
Karen says
Ooookay… Maybe I figured it out. Maybe.
If there is less food in the IP, it will reach temp faster. Once it reaches temp, THEN you start the time and the actual cook time is pretty much the same?
So with 6 chops, it takes XXX minutes to reach temp & and you cook for Z minutes
With 2 chops, it takes X minutes to reach temp but you still cook for Z minutes?
That makes sense to me but maybe not to the IP.
TKWAdmin says
Exactly Karen 🙂 The only difference the quantity of food you have in the pressure cooker makes is how long it takes to reach pressure before cooking can begin. So what doesn’t make sense to the IP? The IP times are more for guidance. You adjust per recipe; at least that’s what I do. They are assuming your ingredients are at a specific resting temperature so that’s why they provide those starting points.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Karen says
Thanks! We are enjoying a delicious pork chop and mashed tater meal. The chops are tender and flavorful. I added cream cheese to the potatoes when I mashed them and the next time, I might reduce the Montreal Chicken by just a bit but this is 2 thumbs up! From the turning the OP on to taking the chops out took 45ish minutes.
TKWAdmin says
Yeah!!! I’m so happy you loved it Karen! Thank you 🙂 I do the same thing when I make “regular” mashed potatoes! If you have mascarpone on hand, try that. It adds even a more richer flavor to the potatoes!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Karen says
🙁
No answer?
I noticed another had asked the same question although with way fewer words.
Surely not everyone wants to fix 6 chops at once.
How about a questimate? Something? Anything to give me a bit to go on? Reduce the time? Keep it the same? I’ll keep the other ingredients the same but maybe reduce the spices a little.
penny says
I would cook it for the same time, simply because you are not browning the chops first. It’s the same type of meat no matter how many you have. Has to cook for X amount of time. I’ve been using my pressure cooker for a year, looking forward to trying this recipe tonight! 🙂
Karen says
They cooked for 15 mins and we’re waiting for the pressure to drop. I’ll post after we try them.
TKWAdmin says
LOL just an FYI – I work a Full time job (Dual engineer by day) and am a Chef at night (another FT job) so I can’t answer right away. Patience grasshopper 🙂
But as you answered your own question (I LOVE when people are able to figure things out and share this – thank you!), the time remains the same, just the pressure build up is shorter. Keep the time the same. But if you’re not 100% sold you can always reduce the time say by 5-8 minutes, do a quick pressure release, test the meat for tenderness. And if it’s not done, pop the lid back up, take it back to high pressure (it will barely take anytime) and pressure cook a few minutes longer.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
KH says
If chops are same thickness as recipe calls for, I would go with same cooking time.
TKWAdmin says
Yes
Best Kitchen Wishes!
TKWAdmin says
Hi Karen!
Welcome to the wonderful world of pressure cooking! When you pressure cook, how much you cook inside the pot doesn’t impact the actual cookingtime so much (normally). What matters is the liquid. You still need at least 1 cup of liquid. For this I would still go with the same time mentioned in the recipe. I’ve never made just 2 but I know when you make just 4 chops the cooking time is the same. When you cook smaller amounts it takes less time to get up to pressure versus “cooking for an army”. The time you cook the food is same.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Sandy Sell says
I’m trying this recipe for the first time this evening. I have to adjust times as I’m not using an Insta pot, I have an 8 qt cusimax brand. I would love to know of any additional recipes or information for cooking in a Cusimax pressure cooker. Thank You!
TKWAdmin says
Hi Sandy!
This recipe has been made in 3 different PCs that I own. When I first created it wasn’t in the Instant Pot either. One thing about me is that I, being an engineer, believe in testing recipes out on various equipment. A pressure cooker, is a pressure cooker, is a pressure cooker. They should all perform the same way. The only real difference in times (which again is minimal) is if cooking on a stove-top one versus an electric one.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Curious says
Yay for a new pressure cooker! Loving it so far but for sure still leanring. If it’s were up to me, I’d leave everything exactly as listed. However, hubby has requested rice and I’d rather not have to cook them separately. How can I alter this to substitute the potatoes for rice?
TKWAdmin says
Hi!
Not knowing what type of rice you’re making, it’s a little bit hard to advise. I’ve not made them both together within a single pot. But you could make the rice first then the pork separately. To make white rice, you’ll need 1 cup of white rice, 1 1/4 cups water or stock, 1/2 tsp salt. Set the pressure cooker 3 minutes, high pressure. Do a Natural release for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes release the rest of the pressure and fluff.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Tricia Corey says
I made this and the flavor is awesome, but my chops were dry. I cooked them for 15, then NPR for 5 and then QPR after that. Do you NPR till the button goes down?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Tricia!
I do a full NPR for ~10 minutes. The quick release can actually make the meat seize and be tough/dry. What cut of chops did you use? Mine (I’ll update the recipe) were thick boneless center cut chops (loin but not tenderloin).
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Angie says
I had the same issue and had extra thick pork chops. Flavor was great, but chops were dry-they really needed that gravy. I will say I don’t usually cook pork chops for this long on the stove or grill (time to get to pressure ~10 min, 15 minutes cooking, 10 minutes still cooking with NPR), so I might try it again with less cooking time-maybe 5-7 minutes since it is an additional 15-20 with pressure build up and NPR.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Angie,
The build up time of pressure ultimately depends honestly on the temperature of your ingredients. Meaning if your chops were frozen vs from the fridge vs resting on the counter, the build up of pressure can range from ~10 minutes to 20 minutes. I’ve made this recipe at least a few dozen times with boneless and bone in chops all around the same thickness (between 1″ -1 1/2″ thick) per the recipe and they’ve never turned out dry. However you and Tricia encountered that. This caused me to double check other pressure cooking experts to see if either of my pressure cookers were anomalies (Instant Pot and a different electric one) and they all follow the ‘industry standard”. Pork chops are 15-18 minutes (for every inch thick) under High pressure followed by a NPR. The 15-18 minutes honestly depends if you’re using an electric one (Instant Pot) vs a stove top.
I would say if you wanted more gravy, bump up the stock to 1 1/2 cups but make sure your chops are at least 1″ thick if not more.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Elizabeth says
So maybe this question is redundant but being an IP newbie (I’ve only used it about 4 times so far), I can never figure out…is the 15 min from the time you close the lid and hit start or is it 15 min AFTER the pot comes to full pressure?? …and then the NPR to follow…
PS. This recipe is in the IP right now, building pressure as I type this.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Elizabeth,
When I say a recipe (for pressure cooking) only takes 10 or 15 minutes it’s once it comes to pressure. In order for something to come to pressure, the time, honestly varies so greatly. You can cook straight from frozen, fridge or room temp thus the time it takes to get up to pressure can go from 3 minutes to 20 minutes then you add in “well what about the liquid – is it hot, cold, etc). It’s just “assumed” (and shame on me for being one that assumes) that people know it’s once it comes to pressure then it takes X Minutes. I’ll definitely make a point to clarify that in my future recipes. So Thank You!
So for this recipe you’ll set the timer for 15 minutes to cook. One thing about this recipe is make sure they are thick chops (1-1 1/2″ thick).
You got this!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Ronnie Rowley says
Did you use the driver in between the potatoes and chops? If not, doesn’t the grease from the pork chops spill over into the potatoes?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Ronnie!
No, I don’t use a trivet but you can if you like. The chops I use are leaner so there really isn’t much grease or fat. What little there is gets infused into the potatoes
Maren says
Can I use frozen chops? Would cooking time need to be doubled? Thanks!
TKWAdmin says
Hi Maren!
Definitely not doubled as you’ll end up with shoe leather. I would add 5-8 minutes; that’s it. I’d ya best to start with 5 minutes, do a quick release and if they aren’t done, close the lid and cook a few more.
Tom Horsley says
Three large potatoes and 6 think cut pork chops. Does that really fit? Are you using the 8 quart model? I’m pretty sure two chops would be a tight fit in my 6 quart cooker.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Tom!
Actually I only had a 6 quart electric pc until Christmas. This fit perfectly in mine. Now my large potatoes were russet potatoes. They weren’t the size of those ginormous potatoes get day at a steak house that takes up the whole plate.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Barbara k Nilson says
Can I use bone in pork chops??? That is all I have since we have our hogs butchered.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Barbara!
Yes you can but you’ll need to tweak the cooking time. I’ll be honest I never buy bone-in so I haven’t tested this recipe on the thick cut chops. I’m thinking you may need to increase the time by another 3-5 minutes.
Best Kitchen Wishes!