These 15 Quick Pork Recipes Are Weeknight Dinner Heroes
Put dinner on the table in under an hour with these quick and easy pork recipes including broiled pork chops, dan dan noodles, and meatball skillet bake.
Pork is one of the most versatile proteins in the butcher case. Not only is it incredibly flavorful, but it also offers a wide variety of cuts, from tenderloin to ground pork to rib chops—all friendly for those of us who need to get dinner on the table in under an hour. Honestly, isn't that all of us?
Ground pork is one of the fastest ways to put together a quick meal. It's best known for being a part of meatloaf, but if you form it into meatballs, like a one-skillet supper ahead, not only will you have a delicious dinner on the table in less than an hour, but you will be spared having to wash more dishes since it's served in the same skillet it's cooked in. Or try cooking and crumbling up ground pork in a classic Sichuan dish like Dan Dan noodles; our recipe is not only great for dinner, but you'll find that it also works for lunch and even a midnight snack.
Pork chops are super fast to cook, and if you go boneless and pound them into thin cutlets, you can have a meal on the table in mere minutes. If it's a beauty plate you're hoping to make, nothing beats a bone-in pork chop. The result is so pretty that it hardly needs anything else on the plate—that being said, we do recommend that you eat your vegetables, too.
Then there's pork tenderloin, which does not betray its name. It's an elegant cut that never requires a steak knife. Serve it whole, as in our Spicy Pork with Parsnips and Sweet Potatoes , cut it up for a cheater's stew (you don't need to simmer your dish for hours for a delicious, tender meal), or use it for a fresh skillet dinner with an irresistible orange marmalade sauce, as shown here in the form of our Orange Pork with Watercress Rice.
Whether you feel like serving a stew, a quick skillet-fry, or a salad, pork has you covered for a fast, satisfying dinner.
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Pork Scaloppine
Similar to chicken piccata, this recipe uses thin pork cutlets in place of chicken. The cutlets cook up fast, and they're extremely tasty paired with this herb, caper, and wine sauce.
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Pork with Pears and Parsnip Mash
Pears, parsnips, and pork loin join forces to create this comforting supper in less than an hour. The mash is made with a combination of potatoes and parsnips, the latter of which add a delicious sweetness to the dish.
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Pork Rib Chops with Sweet Peppers and Basil
Pork rib chops are a super elegant cut of pork. The sweet and sour side dish of peppers and onions, with a splash of apple cider vinegar, is the perfect foil to the rich chop.
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Spicy Pork with Parsnips and Sweet Potatoes
We all love a sheet pan dinner, and this one puts pork tenderloin to perfect use. It takes only 20 minutes to put together and half an hour in the oven—that gives you enough time to help the kids with homework, grab a glass of wine, or take a bath!
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Broiled Pork Chops With Yellow-Pepper Puttanesca
Dinner is ready in 20 minutes. It's hard to beat that! Here, the classic pasta puttanesca sauce gets a remake with the addition of yellow bell peppers and is served with gorgeous pork rib chops.
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Dan Dan Noodles
Skip takeout and cook this famous Sichuan dish at home. The ingredients are reasonable, and it takes just over half an hour to put together this flavor-packed Asian noodle dish.
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Mapo Tofu
Tofu might get the headline in this recipe, but without ground pork, the dish is just not wholly authentic. The other essential ingredient are Sichuan peppercorns, which bring the tongue-numbing sensation that this dish is known for.
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Pork Tenderloin with Summer-Squash Couscous
A lovely summery dinner, a pork tenderloin cooks quickly on the grill. Planks of yellow squash and zucchini cook even faster, and everything is served together with an easy relish of scallions, mint, oil, and vinegar and a generous helping of pearled couscous.
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Pork, Mushroom, and Artichoke Fricassee
You are just one skillet away from this elegant dinner made with thinly sliced pork tenderloin, mushrooms, and canned artichokes. Serve with buttered noodles tossed with fresh parsley.
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Grilled Pork-and-Pineapple Tacos
Pork and pineapple are one of those ingredient matches made in heaven. Stuff them into tacos and top with shredded cabbage, salsa, chopped onions, and cilantro for dinner in under an hour.
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Ginger-Pork Salad
This hearty salad is not lettuce based but rather made with cabbage, broccoli, and cucumbers. It is served spooned over brown rice.
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Pork Agrodolce with Fennel and White Beans
Pork chops are brushed with a classic Italian sweet-and-sour sauce called agrodolce, then grilled. Throw sliced fennel on the grill with the pork to serve alongside.
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Pork-Meatball Skillet Bake
These cheesy pork meatballs simmer in a marinara sauce and are cooked right in a skillet. Serve straight from the skillet with crusty bread, or stuff them into rolls for a hearty sandwich.
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Quick Pork Goulash
This take on the traditional Hungarian stew uses pork tenderloin instead of the usual pork stew meat. That means this comforting dinner will be on the table in less than an hour.