My mom is the inspiration behind this smothered pork chops with tomato gravy recipe! It's everything a cozy, comfort food meal needs to be! Even better, it goes together quickly and easily for a meal that everyone will be raving about!
My mom always called this recipe tomato soup pork chops because it was made with condensed tomato soup and, as kids, we loved it.
Since then, the recipe has evolved into one that is much more flavorful and has no condensed soup! Done this way, you’re guaranteed terrific outcome, every time.
What is Tomato Gravy?
Like most gravies, tomato gravy starts out with a simple flour and oil roux that's used to thicken up the broth that's added.
However, tomato gravy takes it a step further with the addition of tomato sauce, tomato paste, and some brown sugar. The flavor is much richer and full-bodied than your traditional brown gravy.
In this recipe, it's used to smother juicy chops but this tomato and onion sauce is perfect on everything from biscuits or eggs at breakfast time to easy dinners, including chicken, beef, or pork!
This is a wonderful and versatile sauce that should be on your bucket list!
Ingredients
Let's look at some of the main ingredients you will need to make pork chops in tomato sauce! Don't worry if it looks a bit long, once you've got everything together it goes together quickly!
- Pork chops: Use center-cut bone-in or boneless chops.
- Tomato flavor: This recipe calls for tomato paste and tomato sauce for a richer tomato flavor.
- Chicken broth: Used to think out the tomato gravy but you can use any type of broth or stock.
- Bacon: Chopped bacon is fried so you can use the bacon grease to cook up the pork infusing the chops with flavor. Then it's added back into the tomato gravy adding plenty of smokiness and meaty texture.
- Vegetables: Mushrooms, onions, and celery bulk up the gravy and also add flavor.
- Aromatics, spices, and herbs: You are going to use some fresh cloves of garlic, bay leaves, dried thyme, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
- Sugar: You can use brown or white sugar to add a subtle hint of sweetness to balance out the acid of the tomatoes.
- Roux: Use any healthy vegetable oil for cooking and all-purpose flour.
The complete list of ingredients along with the quantities of each are found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to Make Smothered Pork Chops
Here's a brief over of the main steps in making the best smothered pork chops. Be sure to check the recipe card for detailed instructions.
Pan Fry the Chops
Gather up all your ingredients and let's get started!
- Make the spice mixture. Combine the salt, black pepper, paprika, and sugar.
- Dry the pork with paper towels and rub the spice mixture all over them. Set aside.
- Cook the bacon pieces in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel to drain, without removing the fat from your skillet.
- Increase your heat a little and cook each pork chop until it's brown on one side, about five minutes. After cooking, remove the them from the skillet and place them on a plate, browned side up.
TOP TIP: To cook the pork chops you may need to remove some of the fat depending on the amount of fat in your pan after cooking the bacon. You only need two-four tablespoons in the pan. We usually use some paper towels to soak it up and remove it from the pan.
How to Make Tomato Gravy
Once you've got the pork chops, browned you're ready to start the gravy.
- Heat the oil over medium heat until it's shimmering or a drop of water flicked in it dances. Add the mushrooms, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook them until tender, about 7 minutes.
- Add the flour and stir constantly for two minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for two minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the chicken broth, tomato sauce, thyme, bay leaves, and cooked bacon, and bring to a boil.
Put it All Together
- Place the pork chops, browned side up, in your skillet with the tomato gravy. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
TOP TIP: The timing will change depending on the size of your chops. Check to make sure your pork chops are cooked with a meat thermometer, about 150 degrees.
- Remove the chops from the skillet and add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add more thyme, garlic, and paprika if you desire.
- Remove your bay leaves and serve up the chops with tomato gravy on top.
How do you keep pork chops flat when cooking?
While you are here take a moment to check out our little trick to keeping your pork chops from curling while cooking them in your skillet.
For years I tolerated them bubbling up and bending into funny, un-pork chop-like shapes. I don’t have that problem anymore and haven’t for years! You shouldn’t either!
All you have to do is cut slices into the side of each pork chop on the edge with the fat and silver skin. Make your cuts every 1 ½ to 2 inches along that edge and the cuts should be no more than ½ an inch deep.
That is it! You will now have a flat pork chop!
Substitutions and Variations
- Type of meat: You can try this recipe out with a variety of different cuts of meat. It will work with chicken, hamburger steaks, and other cuts of beef.
- Pork roast or loin: Make the gravy up but cook your favorite cut of pork in the oven. Then slice it up and top with the gravy!
- No tomato sauce? Use whole, diced, or crushed canned tomatoes instead. I suggest blending them up a bit before adding them to the sauce. They will still add more texture than tomato sauce but it works!
- Don't like onions or mushrooms? Leave out the one you don't like and go with extras of the other one to replace it!
Serving Ideas
The sauciness of smothered pork chops screams to be served over mashed potatoes, rice or noodles! Here are some of my favorite sides I enjoy preparing with this meal!
- Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Potatoes
- Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Smoked Sweet Potatoes
- Creamy Broccoli Soup
- Green Bean Saute
- Skillet Roasted Broccoli
If none of these are sounding great, check out this collection of sides for pork chops!
Expert Tips
- Choose pork chops similar in size. That way they will cook in about the same amount of time.
- Don't skip the tomato paste. While you can play around with the tomato sauce, the tomato paste has a richness of flavor that can't be duplicated by other products.
- Cook the pork in the bacon fat. It adds so much flavor!
- Use my special technique for cutting slits in the sides of the chops to keep them from curling up.
FAQs
The most common cause of toughness when cooking pork chops is due to overcooking. Be sure to cook the pork only until it reaches an internal temperature of 145° F. For best results, use a digital thermometer to measure it.
In my opinion, the trick to juicy chops is to cook them in a sauce and make sure that they don't overcook.
This dish is quite often saucy since the chops are topped with a sort of gravy. I find it works best with side dishes such as steamed white rice, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, or noodles which soak up the sauce making a delicious combination. Other than that, a simple vegetable added to the meal will make a splash of color and balance the nutrition for the meal.
Other Pork Recipes to Try
Video Smothered Pork Chops with Tomato Gravy
Smothered Pork Chops with Tomato Gravy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops loin or center cut, bone or boneless, 1 inch thick
- 1 5.5-6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 8 slices bacon, diced
- 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- ½ pound mushrooms
- 2 ribs celery
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced, more or less to taste
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme more or less to taste
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon sugar brown or white
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup oil or less to taste
Instructions
Prep and pan fry
- In a small bowl combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, paprika and sugar.
- Dry pork with paper towels and rub spice mixture all over them. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook bacon pieces until crisp. Remove bacon to drain on paper towel, without removing the fat from your skillet.
- Depending on the amount of fat in your pan, remove some until you have enough fat to cook the pork chops, about 2-4 tablespoons approximately.
- Increase your heat a little, add the pork to the skillet and cook until brown on one side only, about 5 minutes.
- Remove pork chops from skillet and place on plate, browned side up. Wipe out your skillet before making the gravy.
Make the gravy
- Reduce heat back down to medium and add oil. Heat until oil is shimmering or a drop of water flicked in it dances.
- Add mushrooms, onion, celery, and garlic and cook until tender, about 7 minutes.
- Add flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Then add tomato paste and cook, continuing to stir for another 2 minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, thyme, bay leaves, and cooked bacon and bring to boil.
Finish cooking pork
- Place chops, browned side up, in your skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- The timing will change depending on the size of your chops. Check to make sure they are cooked with a meat thermometer, about 145 degrees.
- Remove chops from skillet and add salt and pepper to the gravy to taste. Add more thyme, garlic, and paprika if you desire.
- Remove your bay leaves. Serve gravy on top of your pork chops and some rice or mashed potatoes if you desire! Enjoy!
Notes
- Choose pork chops similar in size. That way they will cook in about the same amount of time.
- Don't skip the tomato paste. While you can play around with the tomato sauce, the tomato paste has a richness of flavor that can't be duplicated by other products.
- Cook the pork chops in the bacon fat. It adds so much flavor!
- Use my special technique for cutting slits in the sides of the pork chops to keep the chops from curling up.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in November 2019, it has been updated for content and images.
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