Tempting And Easy Apple And Gouda Stuffed Pork Chops

Apple And Gouda Stuffed Pork Chops are an easy dinner to make that tastes exceptionally delicious. The gouda cheese and apples makes this a perfect fall dish that gives it sweet and savory elements. Additionally, this meal can use up some of those apples your kids picked!

A well rounded dinner that everyone loves and takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish. And the sauce…wow…it really is incredible and will have you licking your lips to get every last bit!

Stuffed Chops

Pork chops are an easy dinner that cook quickly and make it a great weeknight dinner for most people. Because we are all usually short on time during the week, cooking up a few pork chops can get dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes. And they taste great! You don’t have to do much to a pork chop to make it taste delicious. I tend to add a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cook them on the grill for a simple and tasty dinner.

However, if you want a change of pace these apple and gouda stuffed pork chops are really a great way to step things up, while keeping the ease of dinner. All you need to do is slice up an apple or two and some gouda cheese. Make a slit in the chops. Add in the apple and cheese and you are pretty much ready to cook them up.

You could also stuff pork chops with other tasty items as well. For example, you could add spinach, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. Or maybe another fruit like pears with gouda – keeping the sweet and savory theme going. Additionally, you could keep it even simpler by adding some regular stuffing to the pork chops to make this a hearty stuffed chop. The sky is really the limit and you can be as creative as you want. If you like it, add it!

Gouda Cheese

Gouda cheese is considered a mild flavored cheese that has a semi-soft consistency. Some describe the flavor to be nutty, however, I describe the flavor as bacon-y. Is that a word? I’m not sure, but the taste of gouda seems to have a hint of bacon to it. The cheese originated in the Netherlands. Ironically, it did not originate in the town of Gouda like many people would assume. Rather, Gouda is the town that trades cheese and that is where the name for this delectable cheese came from.

Did you know that gouda is one of the most popular cheeses? I actually did not know that until I wrote up this post! I never knew what gouda was until I was in my late 20s and had some at a wedding. I added the yellowish cheese to my appetizer plate during the cocktail hour and after I finished the pieces on my plate, I found myself returning to the cheese bar for more of that unknown cheese! After asking a few people, I was informed that this delicious cheese was gouda. I had heard of it, but never tasted it which was very unfortunate because it was one of my new favorite cheeses!

Other Cheeses To Try

While gouda is the preferred cheese for these amazingly tasty apple and gouda stuffed pork chops, there are many other cheeses that can be substituted if you are out of gouda. A few of my personal favorites that you might already have in your refrigerator are cheddar, mozzarella, and monterey jack cheese.

Cheddar

While cheddar cheese is considered a more semi-hard cheese than gouda (which is considered a semi-soft cheese), I would use it in a heartbeat if I didn’t have gouda cheese on hand. I love the strong flavor of cheddar cheese. Further, if you use shredded cheddar to stuff the pork chops, the cheese will melt easily making it a delicious addition to these apple stuffed pork chops.

Mozzarella

Mozzarella cheese is considered a mild and semi-soft cheese. As such, it shares similar characteristics of gouda cheese. Thus, substituting mozzarella for gouda is somewhat seamless. You could use fresh mozzarella or shredded. Of course, fresh mozzarella is preferred because it has the gooey cheese appeal. However, shredded mozzarella will do just fine as far as meltability and taste is concerned.

Monterey Jack Cheese

Monterey Jack Cheese is a great substitution for gouda because of it’s soft cheese characteristics. Additionally, it has a mild flavor that stands out. If you are a fan of white cheese that melts beautifully, monterey jack might be a perfect option for you when making apple stuffed pork chops.

Ingredients

• 6 Pork Chops
• 2 Apples
• 0.25 lb Gouda
• 2 tbsp Sage
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 tbsp Thyme
• 1 tbsp Cornstarch

Instructions

Preparation

• Preheat grill so that it gets to 350-400 degrees F.
• Make slit in each pork chop that goes 3/4 to the other side (make sure not to cut all the way through).
• Slice apples into 1/2″ thick slices.
• Cut gouda into 1/2″-3/4″ slices, similar to the size of each apple slice.
• Stuff 1 or 2 (depending on your preference) of apples and gouda into each pork chop.
• Season pork chops on both sides with sage and thyme.

Grilling The Pork Chops

• Grill on medium heat for 4 minutes (maybe more or less time depending on thickness of your pork chops).
• Flip pork chops. Continue to cook for another 4 minutes (again, maybe more or less time depending on thickness of your pork chops).

Sauce

• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Add chicken broth and sage and stir well.
• Add thyme and continue to stir well for another 5 minutes.
• Whisk in cornstarch into the saucepan. Continue to cook for another 8 minutes so that it thickens.
• Season with more sage/thyme, if needed.
• Pour sauce over cooked pork chops and serve immediately.

How To Cook The Pork

My preferred way of preparing these apple and gouda stuffed pork chops is by grilling them over a preheated grates at around 350 degrees F. However, you can cook these up any way you prefer. Here are some ways that will best prepare this yummy meal.

Grill

The fastest way to cook pork chops is directly on a heated grill. An average pork chop thickness will take anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes to cook. Meaning a thinner pork chop will only take 3 minutes per side to cook through to a temperature of 145 degrees F. Conversely, a thicker pork chop can take upwards of 5 minutes per side for a total of 10 minutes to cook through.

With the apple and gouda stuffed pork chops, the filling will thicken the pork chop, thus it will take longer to cook so keep that in mind. You want to make sure that inside of the meat cooks thoroughly. Therefore, the thicker your filling, the longer the pork will take to complete cooking to a safe temperature.

Oven

If you don’t have a grill accessible to make stuffed these apple and gouda stuffed pork chops, you can cook these in the oven. Just put them on a baking sheet or 9 x 13 pan in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees F for approximately 35 minutes.

An easy reference guide for temperatures and time is:

• 350°F – bake 35 minutes
• 375°F – bake 22-25 minutes
• 400°F – bake 17-19 minutes
• 425°F – bake 15-17 minutes
• 450°F – bake 14-16 minutes

Stove Top

And if grilling and cooking these apple and gouda stuffed pork chops aren’t up your alley, you can pan sear them on the stove. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and heat up the pan for approximately 1 minute. Add the pork chops to the pan and cook each side for about 5 to 6 minutes each side. Again, the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the chops. Using a meat thermometer, you can test the temperature of the thickest part of the chop and alter the cooking time accordingly, making sure that the chops reach a temperature of 145 degrees F.

More Pork Recipes

I love cooking pork for a variety of reasons, but have to say that my top two reasons are the flavor and the simplicity. Of course, flavor is pretty self-explanatory. If you enjoy the taste of something, that’s a good reason to make that again and again.

When I say that pork has simplicity, I mean that it cooks fairly quickly, especially pork chops. You can cook a great pork meal in less than 30 minutes. In fact, most dinners that consist of pork can be cooked in less than 15 minutes. How’s that for simplicity? It’s great, if you ask me!

If you can’t get enough of pork, try out some of my other must-try recipes:

Mango Pork Loin

Honey Parmesan Crusted Pork

Marsala Pork Chops