Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes

Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes: This easy slow cooker dinner mixes creamy scalloped potatoes with soft, juicy pork chops using just four simple ingredients. It’s a cozy, old-fashioned meal that cooks all day and fills your kitchen with warm, homey smells. Perfect for busy nights when you want a filling dinner without any fuss or fancy cooking skills.

This slow cooker pork chops and scalloped potatoes recipe comes straight from my aunt’s old recipe box from 1962. She kept it in her kitchen drawer, right next to her bridge score pads. Every month, she made this dish for her bridge club friends. Family stories say that nobody ever left her house without asking for the recipe.

This is a true cozy, Midwestern meal. It feels fancy and special, but it only uses simple pantry foods and easy cooking steps. There are no hard tricks here at all.

Everything cooks together in one pot. Thin potato slices, a creamy sauce, and tender pork chops all mix together as they cook. The pork soaks up all the yummy flavor while the potatoes turn soft and slightly golden on the edges. On busy weeknights, this is one of my favorite meals. I can start it before work, then come home to a kitchen that smells like someone cooked all day long.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 pork chops, boneless or bone-in (about 1 inch thick, 2 to 2½ pounds total)
• 6 medium potatoes (russet or Yukon Gold), peeled and cut into very thin slices (about ⅛ inch thick)
• 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 packet (1 ounce) onion soup mix

Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes: Directions

1. Get the slow cooker ready. Spray the inside of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray, or rub a little butter inside. This stops food from sticking and makes cleanup much easier.
2. Slice the potatoes. Peel your potatoes, then cut them into thin, even rounds, about ⅛ inch thick. Try to make them as thin as you can. Thinner slices turn softer and taste more like real scalloped potatoes. They also soak up more of the tasty sauce.
3. Mix the sauce. In a medium bowl, stir together the cream of mushroom soup and the onion soup mix packet. Keep stirring until it’s smooth and well blended. The mix will look thick and smell a little salty — that’s exactly what gives this dish its old-fashioned, bridge-club flavor.
4. Add a first layer of sauce. Spread a thin layer of the soup mixture (about 2 to 3 tablespoons) across the bottom of the slow cooker. This keeps the potato slices from sticking to the bottom as they cook.
5. Layer the potatoes. Place about half of your sliced potatoes into the slow cooker. Overlap them slightly, just like real scalloped potatoes. Then spoon about half of the leftover soup mixture over the top, spreading it so most of the potato slices get coated.
6. Add the pork chops. Lay the pork chops on top of the potatoes in one flat layer. A little overlap is fine, but try to keep them spread out evenly so they cook at the same speed.
7. Cover the chops with sauce. Spoon the rest of the soup mixture over the pork chops. Spread it around so most of the meat is covered, letting some sauce drip down between the potato slices. This helps make a creamy sauce with tasty browned edges later on.
8. Cook it low and slow. Put the lid on your slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, or on HIGH for 3½ to 4 hours. You’ll know it’s done when the pork chops feel tender and the potatoes are soft when you poke them with a fork. The edges should look golden, with a few browned, caramelized spots.
9. Make it extra golden (optional step). If you want a browned, slightly crispy top like the original bridge-club dish, carefully move the pork chops and top potatoes with some sauce into a baking dish. Spoon extra potatoes and sauce around them. Put the dish under your oven’s broiler on the top rack for 3 to 5 minutes. Watch it closely so it doesn’t burn — you just want the edges lightly browned and bubbly.
10. Let it rest, then serve. Let the dish sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Scoop out the pork chops and potatoes, then spoon plenty of the creamy sauce right on top. Enjoy!