Pork chops with a creamy za’atar sauce is a wonderful. easy and tasty recipe that makes a great entertaining dish or regular week night meal option thanks to its quick cooking time. This dish uses boneless pork chops making cooking time really fast.
Boneless pork chops are a miracle dish in the kitchen when you are looking for quick meals to prepare. They brown up in a pan in minutes and go into a very hot oven to finish cooking. In total, even with a sauce, it takes no more than 30 minutes to prepare a delicious meal with them.
If you are not familiar with Za’atar, it is a middle eastern spice blend that has so many amazing flavors including sumac. It is pretty easy to find this in the local grocery stores now too!
The ingredients in a za’atar seasoning blend are most often:
- white sesame seeds
- sumac
- oregano
- thyme
- lemon
- salt
- cumin
- sometimes chili flakes or other seasonings
Za’atar seasoning varies as much as homemade pasta sauce recipes. Every region and family will have their own. Spice makers will also have their own closely guarded recipes and only list some of the ingredients.
I have tried some brands of za’atar only to find I really did not like them. My absolute favorite brand and the one that convinced me this spice was a keeper is the brand I order online from my spice sage. I am not paid to write this either. It really is delicious and balanced making just about everything I put it on taste delicious.
If you are unable to find this spice in your local grocery store, online ordering is a great way to go and is totally worth the effort.
Now about that cream sauce. Everyone loves a good sauce to dip their pork chops in and I am no different. A boneless pork chop almost seems naked without one.
This cream sauce is actually very light despite the fact that we are using cream. It is only a small amount of cream per serving and the za’atar seasoning flavors it beautifully. In fact, the cream tones down the seasoning so if this is your first time using za’atar, this is a perfect recipe to start with.
The recipe below is for pork chops that are quite thick (about 3/4 inch). If your pork chops are thinner than this you will need to reduce the cooking time to not over cook your pork. Over cooked pork is dry and no fun to eat.
If you do end up overcooking the pork a little bit, don’t worry since the sauce will make up for that. This recipe is forgiving for that reason!
If you want another recipe idea for boneless pork chops, I love to make kabobs out of them. They are really delicious and you don’t need to worry about them drying out!
If you are looking for an amazing way to prepare some boneless pork chops, I definitely recommend giving this a try!
Pork Chops with Za’atar Cream Sauce
Equipment
- heavy bottom pan that is oven proof
Ingredients
- 4 thick cut boneless pork chops the best quality meat you can find
- 2 tbsp za'atar seasoning
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp butter or ghee
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp salt plus more for the sauce to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper plus more for the sauce to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees
- Now heat a heavy bottom oven proof skillet over medium high heat
- Season your pork chops with salt and pepper
- add your olive oil to the pre-heated skillet
- add your pork chops to the skillet and sear the pork chops on both sides (about 2 minutes on each side)
- After you sear your pork chops, place them in the oven in the same skillet you seared them in until they are fully cooked (the internal temperature of the chops reach 145 degrees or about 10 minutes)
- When they are done cooking, remove the skillet from the oven. Remove pork chops from the skillet on to a plate and tent with aluminum foil to rest for about 5 minutes.
- While the pork chops are resting, place your skillet back on the stovetop over medium heat
- Add your butter and za'atar seasoning and cook for about 2-3 minutes to bring out the flavors of the za'atar in the butter and making sure to scrape down any bits in the pan into the mixture.
- Now add your cream and mix well.
- Cook for about another 1-2 minutes or until the mixture just starts to thicken.
- Place your pork chops nicely on a platter and pour any of the juices from the plate into the skillet and mix well
- Taste for seasoning. Add any salt or pepper that you need (to taste)
- Spoon your za'atar cream mixture over top of your pork
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
