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You’re going to love how tender and cozy these Slow Cooker pork chops are, with soft apples, sweet onions, and a simple apple juice sauce. It’s a true four-ingredient dinner that cooks low and slow with almost no prep. Serve it over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice for an easy, comforting meal.
Why You’ll Love It
- Just four main ingredients — pork chops, apples, onions, and apple juice or cider.
- Hands-off Slow Cooker meal — minimal prep and no skillet required.
- Tender, flavorful pork — bone-in chops cook low and slow until they pull easily from the bone.
- Built-in apple onion sauce — the fruit, onions, and juice cook down into a sweet-savory topping.
- Easy to serve — delicious over mashed potatoes, noodles, white rice, or brown rice.
Ingredient Notes
For the pork chops, use bone-in chops about an inch thick. They hold up beautifully during the long cooking time and the bone gives the meat that extra bit of flavor. I know boneless chops are convenient—I buy them too—but they can cook faster and get a little less forgiving. Bone-in is the way to go here if you can manage it.
Apples matter, but not in a fussy way. I like apples that are sweet with a little tang, something like Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, or even a good old Granny Smith if you want the finished dish less sweet.
Yellow onions are best because they soften into that mellow, almost jammy layer underneath the pork. Don’t use red onions unless you are prepared for the color situation. They taste fine, but the whole thing can turn a shade that is very earthy. Very unfortunate.
Apple juice works perfectly, especially plain unsweetened apple juice. Apple cider gives it a slightly deeper, autumn-ish flavor, and if you see fresh cider at the store, grab it. Just make sure it’s apple cider, not apple cider vinegar.
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops, about 1 inch thick, roughly 2 to 2 1/2 pounds total
- 2 large apples, cored and thinly sliced, about 4 cups—I leave the peels on because I am not peeling apples on a weekday, no ma’am
- 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced, about 3 cups
- 1 cup apple juice or apple cider
- Salt and black pepper, optional for serving at the table, not really part of the four-ingredient deal
Instructions
Lightly spray the inside of your Slow Cooker with cooking spray, or rub it with a little oil if that’s more your style. You can skip this, technically, but those cooked apple juices like to cling to the crock like they have signed a lease.
Spread the sliced yellow onions evenly across the bottom of the Slow Cooker. This makes a little bed for the pork, and it also keeps the chops from sitting directly against the hottest part of the pot. I didn’t know that the first time I made this and, thankfully, it still turned out fine. Slow Cookers are kinder than most people.
Layer the sliced apples over the onions as evenly as you can. They do not have to be arranged like you’re auditioning for a food magazine. Just get them in there. If you have a picky eater who objects to apple peel, you can peel them first, though I find the peels soften plenty after all those hours.
Lay the bone-in pork chops on top of the apples and onions, nestling them down a little so they settle into the layers but are not completely buried. They will sink some as everything cooks down, so don’t overthink this part.
Pour the 1 cup of apple juice or apple cider evenly over the pork chops, apples, and onions. Make sure some liquid reaches the bottom of the slow cooker so the onions and apples can begin doing their soft, saucy little thing. It will not look like enough liquid at first. It is enough—the onions and apples give off quite a bit as they cook.
Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the pork is very tender and pulling easily away from the bone. I prefer LOW when I can swing it; the meat gets especially soft that way. But HIGH has saved dinner more than once when I remembered at noon that people expect to eat later.
Taste the cooking juices once the pork is done, then add a pinch of salt and black pepper at the table if you think it needs it.
Lift the pork chops out gently with a wide spatula or big serving spoon—they’re tender, and you don’t want them falling apart halfway to the plate. Spoon plenty of the apples, onions, and brown pan juices over each chop, then serve hot over mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, white rice, or brown rice. A green vegetable alongside is nice, but I’m not going to pretend we haven’t eaten this with a bagged salad and called it balance.
Variations
For a sweeter version, use sweeter apples, usually Fuji, and apple cider instead of juice. Chop the onions smaller if you prefer them to be less noticeable in the finished dish.
If you prefer boneless pork chops or a boneless pork loin cut into thick slices, you can use those, but keep an eye on the cooking time because leaner cuts may finish sooner. Thin boneless chops can get a little tired by dinner. Nothing with apples and onions is really terrible, but thicker chops are more forgiving.
You can brown the pork chops in a skillet for 2 to 3 minutes per side before putting them in the slow cooker if you want a bit more color. It adds flavor, sure. It also adds a pan to wash, and I don’t always feel that strongly about color.
At the end, if you want a thicker sauce, scoop out some of the cooked apples and onions and mash them into the juices with a fork, then stir it all back in. I’ve done that for serving over noodles, and it makes the whole thing feel almost like it took effort. Almost.
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days in a covered container. Store the pork with the apples, onions, and all those juices so it doesn’t dry out. The next day, the flavors settle in even more—I hate when people say a dish is “better the next day,” because sometimes it plainly isn’t, but this one actually might be.
Reheat it gently in the microwave, covered loosely, or warm it in a skillet or small saucepan over low heat with some of the juices. Don’t blast it until the pork turns into shoe leather. We have all done that with leftovers at 1:00 in the afternoon while answering emails. No judgment.
My favorite leftover move is to shred the pork, pile it onto buttered toast or soft sandwich rolls, and spoon the apples and onions right over top. It’s messy, definitely. Wear a napkin or lean over the sink like a raccoon—I’m kidding. Mostly.
Final Notes
This meal has become one of those quiet regulars around here. Not a flashy company dinner, not something anybody posts fifty pictures of before eating. Just pork chops, apples, onions, juice. Four things slowly turning into supper while you live the rest of your day.
There is something comforting about that, especially when the house can feel too quiet sometimes. Then the slow cooker lid comes off, and the kitchen feels full again.
Serve it with mashed potatoes if you want the full cozy treatment. Or noodles. Or rice. Or honestly, a hunk of bread and a decent attitude will get you there.
Slow Cooker 4-Ingredient Apple Onion Pork
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops About 1 inch thick, roughly 2 to 2 1/2 pounds total
- 2 large apples Cored and thinly sliced; peels may be left on; about 4 cups
- 2 medium yellow onions Thinly sliced; about 3 cups
- 1 cup apple juice or apple cider Plain unsweetened apple juice works well
- cooking spray For the slow cooker, or use a little oil
- salt Optional, for serving
- black pepper Optional, for serving
Instructions
- Lightly spray the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray, or rub it with a little oil.
- Spread the sliced yellow onions evenly across the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Layer the sliced apples evenly over the onions.
- Lay the bone-in pork chops on top of the apples and onions, nestling them down slightly without completely burying them.
- Pour the 1 cup of apple juice or apple cider evenly over the pork chops, apples, and onions.
- Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the pork is very tender and pulls easily away from the bone.
- Taste the cooking juices once the pork is done, then add a pinch of salt and black pepper at the table if needed.
- Lift the pork chops out gently, spoon the apples, onions, and pan juices over each chop, and serve hot over mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, white rice, or brown rice.