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These Slow Cooker stuffed pork chops are the kind of Sunday dinner that looks like you spent hours in the kitchen — but really just needs three ingredients and almost no hands-on time. Thick bone-in chops are stuffed with savory bread dressing, then slow-cooked in creamy mushroom sauce until they’re fall-apart tender. Simple, satisfying, and the sauce alone is worth making.
Why You’ll Love It
Only 3 ingredients — pork chops, stuffing mix, and a can of soup. That’s the whole list.
Practically hands-off — stuff the chops, set the slow cooker, and go live your life for the next five to six hours.
Incredibly tender — low-and-slow cooking means the meat practically falls off the bone and the stuffing soaks up every bit of that creamy pan sauce.
Budget-friendly — bone-in chops are one of the cheaper cuts at the grocery store, and the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples.
Feels like a real Sunday dinner — the kind that fills the whole house with that warm, savory smell and makes everyone show up at the table on time.
A Note on the Ingredients
For the pork chops, you need thick-cut bone-in. Don’t try to do this with thin boneless chops — they’ll fall apart before you get the pocket cut in them, and even if they don’t, they’ll overcook to nothing by hour five. I like mine about an inch to an inch and a quarter thick, eight to ten ounces each. The butcher counter at most grocery stores will cut them for you if you ask.
The stuffing — I use whatever’s on sale, honestly. The classic Stove Top poultry flavor or herb flavor is what I always reach for first. I’ve tried a fancier cornbread version once and it was fine, but it felt wrong in a way I couldn’t fully explain. Some recipes have a rightness to them that doesn’t want to be improved.
Condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted. The regular Campbell’s red-and-white can. This is not the time for the fancy organic version with the half-French name, though I mean no offense to anyone who loves those. The original has a saltiness and a body to it that does exactly what it needs to do here.
Ingredients
- 4 thick-cut bone-in pork chops, about 1 to 1¼ inches thick (8–10 oz each)
- 1 box (6 oz) seasoned stuffing mix — poultry or herb, dry, just the box
- 1 can (10.5 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, do not dilute it
Instructions
Make the stuffing first. Follow the package directions — water and butter, nothing fancy — and stir it up with a fork until it’s fluffy and evenly moistened. Let it sit for a few minutes while you deal with the chops. It’s easier to work with when it’s not steaming hot.
Now, cutting the pocket is the part people seem worried about, but don’t be. You’re just making a horizontal slit in the thick side of each chop — not cutting through the other side, not going all the way to the bone or the edges. Stop about half an inch short all around. I use a decent paring knife for this. My mother used the same big chef’s knife for everything and she did just fine, so use what you’re comfortable with.
Stuff each pocket with the dressing. Pack it in fairly firmly — I use the back of a spoon and sometimes just my fingers — because it will compact a little as it cooks and you want real presence in there, not just a whisper of stuffing. Divide it as evenly as you can between the four chops, though I’ll confess mine are rarely exactly equal.
Grease your slow cooker insert — a 4 to 6 quart works best — and spread two or three spoonfuls of the condensed soup over the bottom. This keeps the chops from sticking and starts building the sauce. Lay the stuffed chops in, stuffing side mostly up, slightly overlapping if you have to but try not to stack them.
Spoon the rest of the soup over the top and around the sides of the chops. Don’t thin it out with water or anything. It’ll loosen on its own as the chops release their juices, and by the time dinner rolls around you’ll have this silky, savory sauce pooling at the bottom of the crock.
Cook on low for five to six hours. I almost never cook these on high — they get rubbery, or at least mine do. Check around four and a half hours if your chops are on the smaller side. You want the meat tender but still holding together, and you want the stuffing hot all the way through. An instant-read thermometer should read at least 145°F in the thickest part of the meat and 165°F in the center of the stuffing. My mom never owned a thermometer, but I feel better checking.
Let them rest in the covered slow cooker for five or ten minutes after you turn it off. Lift them out carefully — a wide spatula, two hands, don’t rush it — and spoon some of the pan juices over the top of each one.
Variations
Cream of celery works in place of cream of mushroom, and cream of Chicken is a slightly lighter swap. Those are really the only changes that feel true to the spirit of the thing. I’ve seen versions online that add Onion soup mix or garlic powder or all kinds of other things, and I’m sure they’re good, but at that point it’s a different recipe. If you want to brown the chops in a skillet first before stuffing them, you can — it adds a little color and a little fond to think about — but it’s not necessary on most nights.
Leftovers
Refrigerate within a couple of hours, in a shallow container with some of the sauce spooned over the top to keep things from drying out. They reheat well in a low oven, maybe 300°F, covered loosely with foil, with a splash of water or broth if the sauce looks tight. I’ve also just put mine in the microwave at 50% power and that works fine too, though the stuffing gets a little denser.
I don’t think these freeze well, honestly. Something happens to the stuffing. I’ve done it in a pinch and it’s edible, but not the same.
Serve them with mashed Potatoes if you want to do it right — the sauce needs something to fall onto. Egg noodles work too. I’ve served them with steamed green beans more times than I can count, the kind I put on the stove and forget about until they’re a little soft, which probably defeats the purpose but there you go.
Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient Stuffed Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 4 thick-cut bone-in pork chops 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick, about 8–10 oz each
- 1 box seasoned stuffing mix 6 oz, prepared according to package directions
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup 10.5 oz, undiluted
Instructions
- Prepare the stuffing mix according to the package directions, using the required water and butter.
- Fluff the stuffing with a fork and let it cool slightly.
- Cut a horizontal pocket into the thick side of each pork chop, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edges and bone.
- Divide the prepared stuffing evenly among the pork chops, packing it gently into each pocket.
- Lightly grease a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker.
- Spread 2–3 spoonfuls of the condensed cream of mushroom soup over the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Arrange the stuffed pork chops in the slow cooker with the stuffing side mostly facing up.
- Spoon the remaining condensed soup over and around the pork chops.
- Cover and cook on low for 5–6 hours, until the pork is tender.
- Check that the thickest part of the pork reaches at least 145°F and the center of the stuffing reaches 165°F.
- Turn off the slow cooker and let the pork chops rest, covered, for 5–10 minutes.
- Carefully lift out the chops and spoon the sauce from the slow cooker over the top before serving.