You put crockpot pork chops on in the morning and by dinner they are chalky, gray and tough, even though the recipe said to cook them all day. The next failure is the opposite: thin chops swimming in watery liquid that tastes of nothing.
Below are 6 ways to make crockpot pork chops, from classic onion gravy to a shoulder chop you can leave for 7 hours, each with its time and a full recipe. Pork chops are one of the few slow cooker meals where the thermometer, not the clock, gives the instruction.
Buy chops an inch thick, keep the liquid under them, and pull them at 145°F, because extra hours dry out a loin chop and only help a shoulder chop.
Quick answer
Bone-in chops about an inch thick take 4 to 5 hours on LOW in a 6-quart pot, and thin boneless chops are done in 2½ to 3. Pull them at 145°F and rest them for 5 minutes. Blade (shoulder) chops are the exception, because they need 6 to 7 hours and are done when a fork goes in without pushing.
What are crockpot pork chops?
Crockpot pork chops are chops cooked in a slow cooker on low heat with a little liquid, onion and seasoning until they reach 145°F. The pot liquid turns into the sauce or gravy at the end.
The slow cooker is the right tool for a day away from the stove, but only with the right chop. A lean loin chop does not behave like a chuck roast, and the same rule applies to chicken: see our crockpot chicken recipes.
Pick the right pork chop recipe in one minute
| Preview | Idea | Best for | Hands-on time | Avoid if | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1. Bone-In Pork Chops and Onion Gravy | A Sunday dinner with mashed potatoes | Medium · 4–5 h | You will not sear one pan | Jump to recipe |
 | 2. Seared Thyme and Cider Pork Chops | Pork with real roasted flavor | Medium · 4–5 h | You want a one-pot dump dinner | Jump to recipe |
 | 3. Smothered Shoulder (Blade) Pork Chops | A start-in-the-morning, forget-it dinner | Low · 6–7 h | You only have lean loin chops | Jump to recipe |
| 4. Ranch Pork Chops and Potatoes | A whole dinner in one pot | Low · 4–5 h | You dislike the taste of ranch seasoning | Jump to recipe | |
| 5. Brown Sugar Apple Pork Chops | A sweet and savory fall dinner | Low · 3½–4½ h | You want a savory, herby sauce | Jump to recipe | |
| 6. Creamy Mushroom Pork Chops | Comfort food over noodles or rice | Medium · 3½–4 h | You cannot eat dairy | Jump to recipe |
Rubbermaid food storage containers
Keeps leftover chops and sauce fresh for the next day.
For a first try, make the onion gravy chops (1) with chops an inch thick. If you are out all day, take the smothered shoulder chops (3), because they are the only chop that survives 7 hours.
How do you choose a crockpot pork chop recipe?
- Which chop survives the pot: a bone-in loin chop an inch thick takes 4 to 5 hours on LOW, a thin boneless chop 2½ to 3 hours, and a 1½ inch bone-in chop 5 to 6 hours. Blade chops take 6 to 7 hours because they carry collagen.
- How much liquid: half a cup to a cup, under the chops and never over them. Chops that sit in liquid poach and lose their flavor into the water.
- What to add at the end: a thickener, sour cream or butter. Dairy goes in off the heat, and gravy is made from the pot liquid after the chops come out.
Pin itOn HIGH the times are about half: a 1-inch bone-in chop needs 2½ hours and a boneless one 2. Loin chops are lean and modern pork is leaner still, so there is almost no fat and no connective tissue to melt as the hours pass. The muscle just keeps tightening, and no extra time reverses that.
How to Make Crockpot Pork Chops: the Base Method
Sear them if you have five minutes
Pork in a slow cooker comes out pale and slightly gray. A hot pan for two minutes a side fixes the color and the flavor, and it is optional for tenderness in the same way it is for a pot roast. A heavy skillet holds its heat when four cold chops hit it at once.
Layer the pot
Sliced onion, garlic and a sprig of thyme go on the bottom, which keeps the chops off the hot floor of the pot and builds the base of the sauce. The chops go on top in a single layer, because stacked chops cook unevenly and the ones touching the wall finish long before the ones in the middle. Four bone-in chops need an oval 6-quart pot.
Cook by temperature, not by the timer
145°F with a rest of three to five minutes is the safe finish for whole cuts of pork, and it is also the point where the meat is still juicy. The old advice to cook pork to 160°F is exactly what makes chops taste like cardboard. Start checking a bone-in inch-thick chop at 3½ hours the first time.
1. Bone-In Pork Chops and Onion Gravy
This is the benchmark recipe on the page: four bone-in chops about an inch thick, a bed of onion, a half cup of stock and nothing else in the pot. It tastes like a pan dinner and needs only a spoon of cornstarch to turn the liquid into gravy.
The chops sit in a single layer on the onion, not in the liquid, so they steam and braise instead of poaching. Start checking at 3½ hours, because every pot runs a little differently and a bone-in inch-thick chop is done at 145°F, not at the end of the printed time.
The catch is the gravy. The liquid thins during the cook, so it needs a cornstarch slurry on HIGH for the last 15 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes, and use the same method for chicken thighs when you want the pot to carry a second dinner.
Bone-In Pork Chops and Onion Gravy
Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes4
hours30
minutesBone-in chops seared for color, then slow cooked on LOW over sliced onion until they read 145°F. The cooking liquid becomes the gravy.
Ingredients
4 bone-in pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick (6 to 8 oz each)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp neutral oil, for searing
2 large yellow onions, sliced into half moons
3 garlic cloves, sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
Mashed potatoes, for serving
Directions
- Pat the chops dry with paper towels. Wet meat will not brown, and unseasoned pork tastes flat all the way through.
- Season both sides with 1 teaspoon of the salt, the pepper and the garlic powder, and let the chops sit on the counter for 15 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sear the chops 2 minutes per side, in two batches so the pan stays hot.
- Scatter the sliced onion, garlic and thyme over the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker, so the chops stay off the hot floor of the pot.
- Set the chops on the onion in one layer, with the bone edges up against the wall if they do not fit flat.
- Whisk the stock with the Worcestershire and the remaining salt, deglaze the skillet with it, and pour it around the chops, not over them.
- Cover and cook on LOW. Start checking at 3½ hours, and pull the chops when a thermometer in the thickest part reads 145°F, usually 4 to 5 hours.
- Move the chops to a plate, tent with foil and rest them for 5 minutes. They keep cooking by a few degrees on the plate.
- Discard the thyme stems, stir the butter into the pot liquid, then stir in the slurry and cook on HIGH with the lid off for 10 to 15 minutes until it coats a spoon.
- Spoon the onion gravy over the chops and mashed potatoes, and taste for salt before serving.
Notes
- Use chops at least an inch thick, because thin chops overcook before the onion is soft. A slow cooker liner makes cleanup quick, since the gravy sticks to the crock. Leftovers keep 3 days in the refrigerator, and the chops slice well for sandwiches. Reheat the gravy gently so it does not break.
OXO fat separator
Pour off the fat that rises on the pot liquid before you thicken the gravy.
TempPro instant-read thermometer
Reads the thickest part of the chop in one second so you pull it at 145°F.
2. Seared Thyme and Cider Pork Chops
Searing is the difference between roasted-tasting pork and pale, steamed pork, and this recipe is built around it. The chops spend eight minutes in a hot pan before the lid goes on, and the browned bits go into the pot with the cider.
A heavy skillet holds its heat when four cold chops hit it at once, while a thin pan drops in temperature and steams them. Searing does not change tenderness, but it changes the taste a lot.
The catch is the cider. Use plain unsweetened apple cider, not a sweet drink, or the sauce turns to syrup after four hours. Serve with roasted potatoes or buttered egg noodles.
Seared Thyme and Cider Pork Chops
Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy4
servings20
minutes4
hours30
minutesThick bone-in chops browned hard in a cast iron pan, then slow cooked over apple and onion with cider. The pan sauce goes back in at the end.
Ingredients
4 bone-in pork chops, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 tart apple, cored and cut in wedges
3 garlic cloves, smashed
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3/4 cup unsweetened apple cider
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
Directions
- Take the chops out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before cooking. Pat them completely dry and season both sides with the salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil and butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until the butter foam settles.
- Sear the chops 2 to 3 minutes per side without moving them, until a deep brown crust forms. Work in two batches if the pan is crowded.
- Stand the chops on their fat edges for 30 seconds each so the fat renders and browns.
- Put the onion, apple wedges, garlic and half the thyme in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Lay the seared chops on top in one layer. Do not stack them, because stacked chops cook at different rates.
- Pour the cider into the hot skillet and scrape up the browned bits for 1 minute, then whisk in the mustard and vinegar.
- Pour the pan sauce around the chops, cover and cook on LOW 4 to 5 hours, until the thickest part reads 145°F.
- Lift the chops onto a plate and rest them for 5 minutes. Stir the slurry into the pot, add the remaining thyme and cook on HIGH, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Spoon the apple and onion sauce over the chops and serve at once.
Notes
- If the chops are 1 1/2 inches thick, check at 5 hours. Swap the apple for a pear if that is what you have. The sauce is sharp from the mustard and vinegar, so add a teaspoon of honey if your family likes it sweeter. Keep leftovers 3 days, reheated covered at low heat.
Lodge cast iron skillet
Holds its heat when cold chops hit the pan, so the crust browns instead of steaming.
Instant-read meat thermometer
Confirms 145°F at the thickest point without cutting into the chop.
3. Smothered Shoulder (Blade) Pork Chops
Shoulder chops are cut from the same muscle as pork shoulder, so they carry fat and collagen and behave like a small roast. They get better over six or seven hours, where a loin chop would be ruined.
This is the version for a workday. You do not read a temperature here: the chops are done when a fork goes in without pushing, and the meat pulls away from the bone.
The catch is that these chops are fattier, so skim the pot before serving. Spoon the smothered chops and gravy over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.
Smothered Shoulder (Blade) Pork Chops
Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy4
servings20
minutes7
hoursBlade chops cooked 6 to 7 hours in onion gravy until they fall apart at the touch of a fork. The collagen in the shoulder melts, so extra time helps.
Ingredients
4 pork shoulder (blade) chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp neutral oil
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 packet (0.87 oz) brown gravy mix
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
Crispy fried onions or chopped parsley, for topping
Directions
- Mix the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder, and rub the mixture into both sides of the chops.
- Dredge each chop lightly in the flour and shake off the extra. The flour browns and thickens the gravy later.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the chops 2 minutes per side, then move them to a plate.
- Spread the sliced onions in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker and lay the chops on top in a single layer.
- Whisk the gravy mix into the broth with the Worcestershire sauce and thyme until smooth.
- Pour the gravy mixture over the chops, so the meat is smothered in it, and cover the pot.
- Cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, without lifting the lid in the first 5 hours.
- Check with a fork: the meat should pull apart easily and the bone should slide free.
- Lift the chops onto a serving dish, skim the fat from the gravy with a spoon, and stir the gravy well.
- Pour the gravy over the chops and top with crispy fried onions or parsley.
Notes
- Blade chops are marked as pork shoulder chops or pork blade steaks at the store. If the gravy is thin at the end, cook it 15 minutes on HIGH with the lid off. These reheat well, so make a double batch and freeze the extra in portions for up to 3 months.
Brown gravy mix
A pantry packet that gives the pot a savory base without extra seasoning.
Slow cooker liners
The floured gravy sticks to the crock, and the liner lifts out after dinner.
4. Ranch Pork Chops and Potatoes
This is the most family-friendly recipe on the page: the ranch seasoning gives a savory, herby crust and the potatoes cook in the same pot. There is no sauce to make and no side dish to plan.
Cut the potatoes small and put them on the bottom, because they need the most heat. The chops go on top in a single layer, with a little broth under them, never over.
The catch is salt. Ranch seasoning is already salty, so use low-sodium broth and skip extra salt until you taste the potatoes. A TempPro thermometer tells you when the chops are done while the potatoes finish.
4
servings15
minutes5
hoursBone-in chops over baby potatoes with ranch seasoning and butter. The potatoes soak up the pork juices while the chops cook to 145°F.
Ingredients
4 bone-in pork chops, about 1 inch thick
1 1/2 lb baby potatoes, halved
1 tbsp olive oil
1 packet (1 oz) ranch seasoning mix
3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup frozen green beans, thawed (optional)
Fresh chives, for serving
Directions
- Toss the halved potatoes with the olive oil and a third of the ranch seasoning in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Pat the chops dry and rub the rest of the ranch seasoning, the paprika and the pepper into both sides.
- Lay the chops over the potatoes in a single layer so the juices drip down onto them.
- Scatter the garlic and the butter pieces over the chops.
- Pour the broth into the pot along the side, not over the meat, so the seasoning stays on.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, and start checking the chops at 3½ hours.
- Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of a chop: pull them at 145°F.
- Move the chops to a plate and tent with foil for 5 minutes. Test a potato with a fork, and cook it on HIGH 20 minutes more if it is firm.
- If using green beans, stir them into the potatoes for the last 30 minutes so they stay green.
- Spoon the buttery juices over the potatoes and chops, and top with chives.
Notes
- Use baby potatoes or cut larger potatoes into 1-inch pieces, because big chunks stay firm. Thin chops belong to a different recipe: they cook faster than the potatoes. Keep leftovers 3 days, and reheat the potatoes in a skillet to crisp the edges.
5. Brown Sugar Apple Pork Chops
Boneless chops about 1½ inches thick suit this recipe, because the thickness gives you a margin that thin chops never have. The sweet rub caramelizes on the surface, and the apples soften into a chunky sauce.
Keep the juice to a half cup under the chops. More liquid dilutes the glaze and poaches the meat.
The catch is sugar, which scorches on a hot pan, so sear for no more than a minute and a half per side. Serve with green beans or a simple rice. Boneless chops go from juicy to dry in minutes, so a digital meat thermometer earns its place.
4
servings15
minutes4
hoursThick boneless chops with a brown sugar and spice rub, cooked on apple slices and apple juice. They finish at 145°F with a glaze from the pot.
Ingredients
4 thick boneless pork chops, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
3 apples, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 small onion, sliced
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Directions
- Mix the brown sugar, salt, paprika, cinnamon, garlic powder and pepper in a small bowl.
- Pat the chops dry and press the rub into both sides, then let them rest 10 minutes while the pan heats.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and sear the chops 1 to 1½ minutes per side, just until the rub darkens.
- Spread the apple slices and onion across the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Set the seared chops on top of the apples in a single layer.
- Stir the apple juice and vinegar together and pour it around the edge of the pot.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3½ to 4½ hours, checking a chop at 3½ hours.
- Pull the chops when a thermometer reads 145°F in the thickest part, then rest them for 5 minutes on a plate.
- Stir the butter into the apples and onion in the pot, mashing a few slices to thicken the sauce.
- Slice the chops, spoon the apples over them and serve.
Notes
- Use a firm tart apple such as Granny Smith, because soft apples turn to mush by the end of the cook. For a deeper flavor add a pinch of ground cloves. Leftovers keep 3 days, and the apple sauce is good over oatmeal the next morning.
6. Creamy Mushroom Pork Chops
Mushrooms give this pot a savory, almost beefy base, and the sauce is made in the cooker instead of coming from a can. Brown the mushrooms first for a deeper flavor, but if you have no time, add them raw, they still work.
Dairy is the trap in any slow cooker. Sour cream or cream cheese stirred in at the start curdles over hours of heat, so it goes in for the last 10 minutes with the heat turned off.
The catch is thickness: use chops of one inch or more, since a thin boneless chop is done long before the sauce is. Serve over egg noodles, and read the chops with a TempSwift thermometer.
4
servings20
minutes4
hoursThick boneless chops in a mushroom and garlic sauce finished with sour cream. The cream goes in after the cook, so the sauce stays smooth.
Ingredients
4 boneless pork chops, 1 inch thick or more
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
Chopped parsley, for serving
Directions
- Pat the chops dry and season both sides with the salt, pepper and paprika.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and brown the chops 2 minutes per side, then move them to a plate.
- In the same skillet cook the mushrooms for 5 minutes until they release water and start to brown, then add the onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the broth and Worcestershire sauce and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Spread the mushroom mixture in a 6-quart slow cooker and sprinkle the thyme over it.
- Set the chops on top of the mushrooms in one layer, and spoon some of the mixture over them.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3½ to 4 hours, until a thermometer in the thickest part reads 145°F.
- Lift the chops onto a plate, tent with foil, and turn the cooker to HIGH.
- Stir in the slurry and cook 10 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce coats a spoon, then turn the heat off.
- Stir the sour cream into the warm sauce until smooth, return the chops to the pot and sprinkle with parsley.
Notes
- Let the sour cream sit out for 30 minutes so it does not shock the sauce. Never boil the sauce after the cream goes in. Leftovers keep 3 days in the refrigerator, but do not freeze them, because the cream separates when thawed.
If it goes wrong
- Dry and chalky: the chops stayed in too long. Next time check at 3½ hours and use a thermometer, and keep a lean chop away from an all-day cook.
- Tough and rubbery on blade chops: the opposite problem. They need the full 6 to 7 hours to break down, so give them more time.
- Pale and bland: no sear and too much liquid. Brown the chops for two minutes a side and keep the liquid under them.
- Watery sauce: take the chops out, turn the pot to HIGH with the lid off, and add a cornstarch slurry for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Greasy gravy: skim the top with a spoon or pour the liquid through a fat separator before thickening.
Pork chops cook unevenly when stacked. If they do not fit in one layer, the pot is too small for the batch, so cook in two rounds or use a bigger oval cooker.
How to Store and Freeze Crockpot Pork Chops
Get leftovers into the refrigerator within 2 hours and use them within 3 days. Store the chops with a spoonful of sauce so they do not dry out when reheated, and reheat covered on low heat until they reach 165°F.
Plain cooked chops in gravy freeze well for up to 3 months. Cool them first and freeze them flat in a bag or a container. Creamy mushroom chops do not freeze well, because the sour cream separates. If the chops go into the freezer raw with their marinade, the bagging routine is in crockpot freezer meals.
Key takeaways
- Buy chops at least an inch thick, because thin chops have no margin.
- Keep the liquid at half a cup to a cup, under the chops.
- Pull pork chops at 145°F and rest them for 5 minutes.
- Use blade chops for a 6 to 7 hour cook, since loin chops dry out.
- Sear for two minutes a side if you want roasted flavor.
- Add sour cream and butter off the heat at the end.
When the free version isn’t enough
A recipe gives you the order of the steps, but it cannot tell you when the chop is done. Pork has about a fifteen-degree window between juicy and chalky, and nothing about the look of the meat marks the line. A thermometer settles it in a second.
For the cut that does reward an all-day cook, see crockpot pot roast. The same thermometer rule applied to poultry is in crockpot chicken recipes.
Common questions
How long do pork chops take in a crockpot on LOW?
Bone-in chops around an inch thick take 4 to 5 hours on LOW in a 6-quart pot. Thin boneless chops need only 2½ to 3. Pull them at an internal temperature of 145°F.
Can you overcook pork chops in a slow cooker?
Easily. Loin chops are lean, so extra hours only drive out moisture. Shoulder or blade chops are the exception, because they hold up for six or seven hours and get more tender as they go.
What temperature should pork chops be?
145°F at the thickest point, followed by a three-minute rest. A faint blush of pink at that temperature is normal and correct for whole cuts of pork.
Do I need to brown pork chops before slow cooking?
Not for tenderness, but yes for flavor and color. Two minutes a side in a hot pan is the difference between roasted-tasting pork and pale, steamed pork.
Why are my crockpot pork chops tough?
If they are dry and chalky, they were in too long, because lean chops finish in hours and not all day. If shoulder chops are firm and rubbery, they need the full six to seven hours to break down.
Can I stack pork chops in a slow cooker?
Try not to. Stacked chops cook at different rates, and the bottom layer overcooks while the top is still coming up. Use one layer or a bigger pot.
Can I cook frozen pork chops in the crockpot?
No. Frozen chops stay too long in the temperature danger zone before the pot heats up. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight first.
How long to cook pork chops in a crock pot on high?
On high, a 1-inch bone-in chop needs about 2½ hours and a boneless one about 2. Can you cook pork chops on high in a crock pot? Yes, but low is kinder to lean chops.
What are the best crock pot pork chops with gravy?
The best easy crockpot pork chops are the bone-in onion gravy chops (recipe 1): an inch thick, pulled at 145°F, with a cornstarch slurry for the gravy. For a recipe that tastes like the pioneer woman style, use the smothered shoulder chops (recipe 3).
How to make crockpot smothered pork chops?
Use blade chops, dredge them in flour, brown them, and cook 6 to 7 hours on low in onion gravy. Can you do pork chops in a crock pot smothered style with loin chops? Cut the time to 4 hours.
How to make crock pot pork chops tender, and can you make pork chops in a crock pot with BBQ sauce?
Choose chops an inch thick, keep liquid under them and pull at 145°F. For best crockpot bbq pork chops, brush sauce on in the last 30 minutes so the sugar does not scorch. For ribs the time is longer: how to crockpot pork ribs takes 6 to 8 hours on low, which is a different recipe.
Should pork chops be covered with liquid in the slow cooker?
No. Half a cup to a cup under the chops is enough, since the meat gives off its own juice. Covered chops poach and taste flat.
