Baked Almond-Crusted Italian Pork Chops
with roasted carrots / arugula salad
Coat these pork chops with mayonnaise and mustard to help them stay tender while baking. A seasoned almond crust gives them an Italian twist.
Smarts: The instructions call for two sheet pans, but you can cook the carrots and pork on one sheet pan if you prefer. Just keep an eye on them and remove them from the pan separately if they finish cooking at different times.
Smarts: The instructions call for two sheet pans, but you can cook the carrots and pork on one sheet pan if you prefer. Just keep an eye on them and remove them from the pan separately if they finish cooking at different times.
Proteins
Cuisines
Ingredients
Baked Almond-Crusted Italian Pork Chops:
- Almonds, sliced or slivered - 1 cup , finely chopped (sub almond meal)
- Italian seasoning - 1 Tbsp
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
- Cheese, parmesan (opt) - 1/4 cup , grated
- Pork chops, boneless - 4
- Mayonnaise - 2 Tbsp
- Mustard, dijon - 2 tsp
Balsamic Roasted Carrots:
- Baby carrots - 12 oz (sub regular carrots, sliced)
- Lemony Balsamic Vinaigrette (ingredients listed separately) - 2 Tbsp
Lemony Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- Vinegar, balsamic - 1 Tbsp
- Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 2 tsp
- Honey - 1 tsp
- Oil, olive - 4 Tbsp
Arugula Salad:
- Arugula - 6 oz (sub any salad greens)
- Lemony Balsamic Vinaigrette (ingredients listed separately) - 2 Tbsp
Prep
- Make vinaigrette - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating first.) Whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, mustard (portion for vinaigrette), and honey. Add olive oil while whisking. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Prep almond crust - If using almonds, finely chop them by hand or in the food processor. (Skip if using almond meal.) Combine almonds / almond meal, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and cheese. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Pork - Tenderize with a fork and season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
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Make
- Heat oven to 425F / 218C. Set out two sheet pans.
- On the first sheet pan, toss baby carrots with vinaigrette (portion for carrots) and some salt and pepper. Roast carrots, shaking the pan halfway through cooking, until tender, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Once carrots are cooking, spray second sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray or brush with some oil. Set pork chops on prepared pan.
- Combine mayonnaise and mustard (portion for pork). Spread over top and sides of pork chops. Press almond topping onto pork chops. (It’s messy, but it’s easiest to do this step with your hands.) For more golden brown color on the crust, drizzle or spray the top of the crust with some oil.
- Transfer pork chops to the oven and cook until it reaches 145F / 73C, 15 to 25 minutes (depending on thickness). (If you are using very thick pork chops that need to cook for a longer time, keep an eye on them towards the end of cooking. If the crust starts to get too brown, cover the chops lightly with some foil to prevent burning.)
- Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Toss arugula with vinaigrette (portion for salad).
- Serve pork with arugula and carrots on the side. Enjoy!
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