Instant Pot Smothered Pork Chops Recipe

Pork chops are always delicious. When you smother them in gravy, though, this pork chop recipe is a delectable southern meal that will fill you up and truly impress your taste buds. Seriously — this sauce drives the recipe home, adding so much flavor to already-delicious pork. The best part about this smothered pork chops recipe, though, is that the pressure cooker allows you to cook a loaded and savory main dish in less than 20 minutes. 

Recipe developer Angela Latimer of Bake It With Love put together this quick recipe that's absolutely perfect to prepare for dinner with hardly any time at all. "I like using the instant pot in this case," Latimer says, "because it is ridiculously fast, and I have never had my pork chops turn out under-cooked." In this recipe, she suggests pairing the pork with mashed potatoes, since the gravy is a perfect topping for them, and she brings in broccoli to add a pop of color to the dish.

The sauce really brings the magic to this recipe, so it's no surprise that most of the ingredients make up this delicious gravy. To start, you'll need to pick up a stick of butter. Then, it's time to add the vegetables. Start with a package of mushrooms, an 8-ounce container of either white button mushrooms or baby bellas. You'll also need a large yellow onion. Spice it up with dried thyme, salt, and pepper. If you have these spices already, you probably have enough since the recipe only calls for small amounts, but it's never a bad idea to have more spices on hand. Finally, get a small carton of heavy whipping cream and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. 

And, of course, you need the pork: specifically 4 bone-in pork chops. Some freshly chopped parsley is a delicious optional garnish that really ties the plate together, too.

Heat your Instant Pot to a sauté level using the normal setting. Once the internal pot is heated, melt the butter, making sure not to overheat or burn it. When the butter is soft and mostly melted, add the onion and mushrooms, and stir the mixture around. Finally, spice up your sauce by sprinkling the thyme, salt, and pepper into the melted butter. Sauté the whole mixture until the onions are translucent and tender, mixing regularly, about six to eight minutes. This sets up the flavor profile of the gravy, starting off the journey to savory sauce for smothering your pork chops.

Stir in the chicken broth and soy sauce, and deglaze. That means you'll need to use a spoon or spatula — ideally a wooden one — and scrape the bottom of the pan. Keep doing this until all of the bits are scraped from the bottom of the inner pot. "Those bits stuck in the pan, are called 'fond' and the base of your great gravies," Latimer says.

Once properly deglazed, place the pork chops into the mixture. Finally lock in the Instant Pot lid, and move the pressure valve to seal the lid, necessary to build the pressure that makes it cook so quickly. Use the manual setting on your Instant Pot to cook the gravy base on high pressure for two minutes.

After the two minutes are up, select cancel on the Instant Pot, and move the pressure valve to vent so you can quick-release the pressure built up inside the pot.

It's extremely important that the pork chops have an internal temperature of 145 F. Undercooking pork can be troublesome and possibly very tough to chew. "Your average ½-inch to ¾-inch bone-in or boneless pork chop will be done once cooked and rested," Latimer notes.

If your pork chops are underdone, put the pork chops back in the pot, and reseal the lid. Use the manual setting to cook for an additional one to two minutes. Repeat the previous steps by canceling the cooking time and using the quick-release pressure venting to open the lid of the Instant Pot. Then, transfer the cooked pork chops to a plate, and cover them with a large square of aluminum foil. According to Latimer, "The aluminum foil should be loosely tented over and not sealed."

In a small bowl, combine the heavy whipping cream and cornstarch to thicken up the gravy. Whisk the whipping cream and cornstarch in the bowl until smooth.

Once you're done mixing this up, select the sauté function on your Instant Pot to set the cook to normal. Bring the liquid mushroom onion broth mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, whisk in the cornstarch slurry to thicken the gravy. Stir the cooking gravy frequently while heating for 30 to 60 seconds until it's all thickened. You want to make sure that the gravy is thick but still liquid enough to finally pour over the pork.

Once the gravy is done cooking, select cancel on the Instant Pot to stop this sweet sauce from overcooking. Now, your dinner is ready to be served! You can either place the pork chops on a long tray for self-service or plate them. Either way, drizzle the gravy over the pork chops. Latimer also suggests serving this with a side of mashed potatoes since that really works with the gravy.

If you end up plating the pork chops individually, you can garnish your meal with parsley to give some extra flare and set off the savory smothered chops with something green, though Latimer also serves her smothered pork chops with a side of broccoli. "I did serve the pork chops with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli — my fave way to enjoy that gravy," she notes.