Slow Cooker Italian Pork Chops with Potatoes and Green Beans

Recipe: $10.45 | Per Serving: $2.61 | Yield: 4

This easy slow cooker recipe is one you'll come back to again and again. Tangy (homemade or store bought) Italian Dressing is poured over rich pork chops and potatoes and slow cooked all day long to infuse the flavors. It's a weeknight winner!

This recipe is inspired by my friend's family recipe for Italian pork chops - which they simmer over the stove for an hour or longer. She made this for us once back in 2018 - back when we could have regular weekend visitors and run races with tens of thousands of other runners and just live a normal life.

I modified her recipe for the slow cooker and have been making it ever since! It is really easy and super delicious. Her family usually serves it with rice, and sometimes with pasta or potatoes. In my family we always had pork chops with mashed potatoes, but I wanted to simplify this. Solution: baby potatoes cooked directly in the slow cooker!

For this recipe you'll need:

• pork chops
• baby potatoes
• a few key ingredients for an impromptu Italian dressing (or your favorite store-bought version)
• fresh green beans for steamin' 

How to Steam Green Beans

• Find a colander or steamer basket that fits into a large pot, and can still fit a lid that somewhat / mostly fits. I use a metal strainer and a clear pot lid that mostly fits on my Dutch oven. 
• Add about 2 inches of water to the bottom. Bring to a boil and then place the colander / steamer basket into the pot. Fill with the green beans and cover with the lid. Set a timer for about 3 minutes. The beans are done when they're all bright green, but still very crisp, and before they turn a darker more olive green. 
• I like a clear lid here because you can see the green beans. That is the benefit of this method over the bamboo steamer basket, but the bamboo steamers do cook faster, and have double decker options, so it may only take 1-2 minutes. 

A steamed green bean is the first green vegetable I remember liking as a kid. We would steam them up in a bamboo steamer basket with fresh garlic cloves, and then drizzle them with garlic infused olive oil. You can do that here as well (it is delicious), but this recipe just calls for simple steamed green beans. 

Pork and something zesty is a classic pairing (for good reason). Think of pork and sauerkraut, or a hot dog with pickles, or pork schnitzel with capers and lemon.

 Pork tends to be a fattier, richer meat that pairs well with  something fresh and acidic to cut through the richness. Here we have a tangy Italian dressing with red wine vinegar and lemon juice to give it extra fresh and tangy flavor. 

What Potatoes Should I Use?

Here I call for "baby potatoes" so you're looking for potatoes that are about 1-inch across. If they're larger (as some in these photos), you'll want to cut them in half. Most stores will sell smaller potatoes in mesh bags, but they are sometimes $1-$2 more expensive.

If that's the case in your area, you can always buy Yukon Golds or Red potatoes and quarter them. They won't hold their shape as well, but they'll soak up the sauce even better! I think fingerlings would work here as well, but I haven't tried them. 

This dish is a cinch to throw together in the morning or the night before (and store in the fridge), and yields tender and flavorful pork. Although it is a slow cooker meal, it is one that I would be happy to serve to guests! The steamed green beans provide a night bright green freshness to the table and round it out nicely, but could always be replaced with your favorite salad or a simple bed of spring mix.

Paleo: Yep!
Vegetarian: No, but I bet it would be great with white beans instead of pork!
Low FODMAP: skip the garlic in the dressing and yes! just go easy on the green beans if they irritate you.

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