Save This Recipe

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

These Slow Cooker honey pork chops are fall-apart tender, made with just four ingredients, and practically cook themselves. The trick is wrapping each chop in its own foil packet so the honey glaze melts slowly into the meat instead of drying out — and it works every single time.

Why You’ll Love It

Only 4 ingredients — honey, Italian dressing, pork chops, and baby carrots. That’s it.
Truly hands-off — wrap, set the Slow Cooker, and walk away for five hours.
Unbelievably tender — the foil packet keeps all the steam and glaze locked in, which gives you that melt-in-your-mouth texture you can’t get from a pan or oven.
The whole family eats it — that sweet, saucy glaze wins over even the picky ones without any negotiating.
Easy cleanup — everything cooks inside the foil, so there’s almost nothing to wash.

A Note on the Ingredients

The honey — use something decent. I don’t mean artisanal or wildly expensive, but the cheap stuff in the bear bottle sometimes does something a little off when it cooks for that long, gets a little… thin, maybe? I usually have a jar of local honey from the farmers market in the cabinet, leftover from various things I bought it for and didn’t finish, and that’s what I use. A medium amber is fine.
Italian dressing. Listen, this is one of those things where I just use whatever bottle is in the fridge. I’ve done zesty, I’ve done basic Italian, I’ve done the store brand and the name brand. They all work. I usually have some leftover from salads that I need to use up, which is part of why this recipe appeals to me — it uses things I already have.
Pork chops, boneless, about an inch thick. I’ve tried thinner and they get a little dry by the end. An inch is the sweet spot, or close to it.
Baby carrots. Any bag from the produce section. Sliced regular carrots work too, maybe a little mushier, so take that for what it’s worth.

Ingredients

4 boneless pork chops, around 1 inch thick
1/2 cup honey (I usually eyeball this — close enough)
1/2 cup Italian dressing
2 cups baby carrots, give or take
Heavy-duty aluminum foil — this is not the time for the thin stuff
Salt and pepper if you want (I always add it, makes a difference)

Let’s Make It

Cut four squares of heavy-duty foil, roughly 12 by 12 inches, maybe a little bigger. Don’t stress the measurement. Lay them out on the counter and crimp the edges up just slightly so the sauce doesn’t go sliding off before you get the packet sealed.

Mix the honey and the Italian dressing together in a bowl or a measuring cup — I usually do it right in the measuring cup, fewer dishes. Whisk it until it looks smooth and combined. It’ll separate a little, that’s fine, just give it another stir.

Dry your pork chops off with paper towels. I know that sounds fussy but it actually matters — the glaze sticks better to a dry surface. Season both sides with salt and pepper if you’re using it.

Pile a small handful of baby carrots in the middle of each foil square. Put a pork chop on top of the carrots. Spoon the honey mixture over each chop — be generous, let some run down around the carrots.
Now fold up the packets. Bring two opposite sides up and fold them together tightly a few times, then crimp and fold the remaining two ends so you’ve got a tight little bundle. You want these well sealed. I’ve rushed this step before and had one spring open in the Slow Cooker and it was a mess to clean up, so just take the extra thirty seconds to do it right.

Put the packets in the Slow Cooker seam-side up. They might overlap. That’s okay. Put the lid on and set it to LOW for four to five hours. Don’t open it while it’s cooking — I know it smells amazing, I know, but leave it alone.

When they’re done, use tongs to lift them out. Open each packet away from your face, there’s steam in there and it will find any opening to escape aggressively. Spoon the glossy glaze from the bottom of the packet over everything before you serve.

Variations

A pork loin cut into thick slices works in place of chops — just add maybe an extra forty-five minutes to the cooking time. I’ve only done this once and I honestly thought the chops were better, but that’s just me.
If you want less sweetness, use a little less honey and a little more dressing. I’ve also seen people add a splash of apple cider vinegar to cut through the richness, which I tried once and actually liked, though it changes the flavor quite a bit. More like a sweet and tangy thing.

Sliced onions in there instead of — or alongside — the carrots. I tried that once and the onions practically melted, which my husband loved and I thought was a little much. We disagreed about that. We frequently disagree about onions.

Leftovers

They keep well in the fridge for a few days, sealed up in the foil or transferred to a container. I like to reheat them in the oven at around 300 degrees, still wrapped up in foil if possible, until they’re warmed through — this keeps them from drying out, which is the main enemy of leftover pork. The microwave works in a pinch but it’s not as good.
I always make a full four-chop batch even if I’m only cooking for two, because the leftovers are honestly almost as good the second day. Served over Rice with the extra glaze poured over everything. It’s the kind of meal that gets better the longer it sits, which is maybe the best thing you can say about a slow cooker recipe.

Serve this with mashed potatoes or buttered rice, something plain that’s just going to sit there and soak up the sauce. A green vegetable somewhere on the plate. Dinner rolls if you want to lean into the cozy thing completely. Open the foil packets right at the table — there’s something kind of theatrical about it, the steam, the smell. It feels more special than it has any right to considering how little work you actually did.