Why Make This Dish? This is restaurant-quality comfort made simple. With just three ingredients and one baking dish, you get juicy, tender pork chops smothered in a rich, creamy mushroom sauce that tastes like it simmered for hours. There is no searing, no chopping (if you use pre-sliced mushrooms), and almost no cleanup. The magic happens in the oven, where the pork chops release their juices into the creamy sauce, creating a velvety gravy that begs to be spooned over mashed potatoes or rice. It is the kind of meal that feels fancy but takes almost no work.
Ingredients
Four boneless or bone-in pork chops (about one inch thick), one can (10.5 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, one cup sour cream (full-fat recommended), and one packet (0.7 ounces) dry onion soup mix. Optional but recommended: one cup sliced fresh mushrooms. For serving: cooked egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice, and fresh parsley for garnish.
Equipment Needed
A 9×13 inch baking dish, a small mixing bowl, a whisk or fork, aluminum foil, a meat thermometer, and tongs or a spatula.
Method
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray or a thin layer of oil.
Pat the pork chops completely dry with paper towels. If your pork chops have a fat cap, score it with a knife in a few places to prevent curling during baking. Season both sides lightly with a pinch of salt and pepper if desired (the onion soup mix adds plenty of salt).
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and dry onion soup mix until smooth. If using fresh mushrooms, stir them into the sauce as well.
Place the pork chops in the prepared baking dish in a single layer. Pour the creamy mushroom sauce evenly over the pork chops, spreading it with a spatula to cover each chop completely.
Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake covered for thirty minutes.
Remove the foil and baste the pork chops with the sauce from the bottom of the dish. Return the dish to the oven uncovered and bake for another fifteen to twenty minutes, until the pork chops are cooked through and the sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened. The pork is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 63°C to 66°C (145°F to 150°F). Let the pork rest for five minutes before serving.
Serve the pork chops smothered in the creamy mushroom sauce, with extra sauce spooned over the top. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Storage
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to four days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave. The sauce may thicken in the refrigerator; add a splash of milk or broth when reheating. Freezing is not recommended—the sour cream sauce may separate upon thawing.
Variations
For a garlic mushroom version, add four cloves of minced garlic to the sauce along with one cup of sliced mushrooms. For a Swiss cheese version, sprinkle half a cup of shredded Swiss or provolone cheese over the pork chops during the last five minutes of baking. For a thyme version, add one teaspoon of dried thyme or one tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves to the sauce. For a white wine version, replace two tablespoons of the sour cream with two tablespoons of dry white wine. For a low-carb version, use a low-carb cream of mushroom soup (or make your own) and full-fat sour cream. Serve with cauliflower mash or zucchini noodles. For a chicken version, substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, adjusting the cooking time to twenty five minutes covered and fifteen minutes uncovered.
Serving Suggestions
Serve over creamy mashed potatoes to soak up every drop of sauce. Pair with buttered egg noodles or white rice. Serve alongside roasted green beans, steamed broccoli, or a simple green salad. Garnish with fresh thyme or parsley. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.
Tips for Best Results
Pat the pork chops completely dry before adding them to the baking dish. Excess moisture on the surface prevents the sauce from adhering properly and can make the final dish watery. Dry chops also brown better (even though you are not searing them first).
Use full-fat sour cream. Low-fat or non-fat sour cream contains more water and stabilizers that can cause the sauce to separate or become grainy during baking. Full-fat sour cream creates a silky, stable sauce that stays creamy.
Do not skip covering the dish for the first thirty minutes. The covered baking time steams the pork chops, keeping them moist and tender while they cook through. Uncovering too early can dry out the chops before the sauce has time to develop.
Use a meat thermometer for perfect doneness. Pork chops go from juicy to dry very quickly. Pull them from the oven at 63°C to 66°C (145°F to 150°F). They will continue to cook while resting, reaching a safe 71°C (160°F) without becoming tough.
Let the pork rest for five minutes before serving. Resting allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. Slicing or serving immediately releases all those juices onto the plate, leaving you with dry pork.
Add fresh mushrooms for texture and flavor. The canned soup provides mushroom flavor, but fresh sliced mushrooms add wonderful texture and a more authentic taste. Sauté them quickly in a hot pan for two minutes before adding to the sauce for even deeper flavor.
Do not add extra salt until the end. The dry onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup are both salty. Taste the finished sauce before adding any additional salt. A crack of black pepper is usually all it needs.
Make extra sauce. The creamy mushroom sauce is the best part of this dish. Double the sauce ingredients (two cans of soup, two cups sour cream, two packets of onion soup mix) and freeze the extra for another meal. It also works beautifully over chicken or meatballs.
Use bone-in pork chops for extra flavor. Bone-in chops stay juicier during baking and have more flavor than boneless. If using bone-in, add five to ten minutes to the covered baking time. Boneless chops work perfectly well and cook slightly faster.
Serve with something to soak up the sauce. Mashed potatoes, egg noodles, rice, and crusty bread are all excellent choices. The sauce is too good to leave in the pan. Spoon every last drop over your starch of choice.