Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops

The beauty of this recipe is that the meat marinates as it freezes and thaws, so that when you cook these Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops for your family, they come out moist, tender, and full of flavor. It’s one of the tricks of freezer meal cooking that I absolutely love! Serve the chops over rice, and you have a meal that’s ready in minutes and tastes fantastic.

To expand on that theme, if you take any of our marinated meat recipes, add an easy veggie and an easy starch, you can take all of the stress out of mealtime. Just rinse and repeat! You’ll love this flavorful recipe for Korean Beef Bulgogi, for instance! Our Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken is another great example of this technique.

If you’ve been around for any length of time, you know I like to keep my freezer stuffed with a fun variety of meals, so that we never lack for something easy and delicious to eat. That’s where the recipes from the Freezer Meals 101 Club came from and it’s how I keep my family fed in spite of a crazy busy, never-ending schedule.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 pork chops boneless, about 1-inch thick
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. hot sauce
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Assembly Instructions

1. Add pork chops to the freezer bag.
2. Add other ingredients and squish to combine.
3. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking Instructions

1. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
2. Place pork chops on a lined baking sheet.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°F.
4. Pork chops are cooked with the centre reaches 145°F when checked with a meat thermometer.
   

My pork turned really dark in the freezer. Is it still good?

You can see that the pork darkens in the freezing/thawing process from my pictures – and that’s perfectly fine! It’s a sign that your pork has soaked up all the goodness of the marinade and is going to taste ah-mazing. Make sure you use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness, since the color of the meat is not a good indication of doneness.

Why should I buy low-sodium soy sauce? That seems contradictory.

We recommend a low-sodium soy sauce for the flavor because there is so much salt in the typical hot sauce, and the lemon will enhance the salt as well. It is worth purchasing this reduced sodium type of soy sauce for the recipe.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops Recipe Ideas

Use the same marinade and cooking method for chicken thighs or chicken breasts. It will work for either meat!

Try a different hot sauce every time you make this recipe. You’ll change up the flavors and keep it fresh, and there are so many great hot sauces to choose from.

Buy pork when it is on sale, or soy sauce when it goes on sale, to save money and make the recipe in bulk! I like to make three or four recipes at a time when I am batch cooking on the weekends. It’s such a timesaver!

Substitute with pineapple juice or lime juice as needed.

Add diced raw ginger or crushed ginger spice to the marinade for a slight variation.

How do I store Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops

Cooked pork chops can be diced and frozen, or placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where the meat will keep for two or three days. Leftovers can be turned into a sandwich, a topping for a baked potato or salad, or eaten with your leftover veggies and starch.

What to Serve with Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops

Easy veggies and an easy starch!

For easy veggies, I like to stock up on frozen “steam-in” bags of vegetables, fresh veggies that have been pre-washed and are ready to roast (broccoli, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts, for example) or bagged salads. If roasting veggies, just toss in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast for about ten to twelve minutes at 400ºF while your main dish is cooking.

For an easy starch, you can cook a big batch of rice on the weekends and heat it up as needed, throw rice in your rice cooker, or purchase frozen rice that can be microwaved. Another great option is pre-made mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes. You can even make mashed potatoes ahead and freeze to reheat later. Just add butter to help the reheating process in the microwave. I also like to keep tater tots, French fries, and sweet potato fries in our freezer as a starch option.