Pork Chops Supreme Recipe (A 1970s Skillet Dinner Worth Bringing Back)
This Pork Chops Supreme recipe is the kind of 1970s skillet dinner that got labeled lazy cooking for decades, and I think that reputation is wrong. Dredged chops go into a hot pan, then get smothered in a mushroom and onion gravy built on canned cream of mushroom soup. It’s a one-skillet dinner from a decade that valued time and ease.
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I haven’t changed much in this classic vintage recipe. It comes together fast enough for a Tuesday and tastes like more effort than it actually takes. And, if you use meaty bone-in chops and don’t cook them to death, it’ll be a meaty, juicy dish with a great gravy perfect for mashed taters.
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Chef Jenn’s Take on Pork Chops Supreme
Most one-skillet pork chop recipes from this era get written off as dump-and-simmer cooking, canned soup poured over meat and called dinner. That’s not quite fair to this one. The original recipe goes straight from browning the pork chops to adding the can of soup and simmering. I tested it that way first, then again with fresh mushrooms, onion, and garlic cooked in the drippings before the soup goes in. The difference is real. The vegetables pick up the fond left behind from browning the chops, and that’s where most of the flavor in this dish actually comes from, not the soup itself.
The soup is still doing real work here. It thickens the gravy and keeps the chops from drying out over a 20-minute simmer. I just don’t think it should be doing all the work alone.
What You’ll Love About Pork Chops Supreme
- It uses one skillet from start to finish, which matters more on a weeknight than almost anything else on this list.
- The gravy comes together from what’s already in the pan, so the mushrooms and onions aren’t an extra dish to wash; they’re built right into the sauce.
- It reheats well enough that I’ve made a double batch on a Sunday just to have chops and gravy again on Wednesday.
History
Pork Chops Supreme belongs to the 1970s wave of skillet dinners built around canned condensed soup, a category of American home cooking that leaned hard into convenience without giving up the appearance of a composed, sit-down meal. Canned cream of mushroom soup had already become a pantry staple in the decades after World War II, and by the 1970s it was standing in for made-from-scratch gravy in recipe cards across the country. The word “supreme” shows up on a lot of dishes from this period: chicken supreme, pork chop supreme, and it generally signaled a step up from a plain skillet dinner without asking the cook to do much more work.
Ingredients
- Loin pork chops – Six, cut about half an inch thick. Thinner chops cook faster than the simmer time calls for and can dry out, so stick with thick-cut chops.
- Prepared Dijon mustard – A thin layer on one side of each chop before dredging. It disappears into the crust and adds depth, not heat.
- All-purpose flour – Standard dredge. Nothing special needed here.
- Kosher salt and black pepper – Season the flour, not just the meat, so the crust itself has flavor.
- Vegetable oil – Any neutral oil works for browning.
- Yellow onion – Sliced thin so it softens fully in the 5 to 7 minute cook time.
- Fresh mushrooms – Sliced, not canned. Canned mushrooms won’t brown, and browning is where the flavor comes from here.
- Garlic – Fresh, minced. Added at the end of the mushroom and onion cook so it doesn’t burn.
- Cream of mushroom soup – One 10.5-ounce can, undiluted straight into the pan. This recipe was built around it, don’t swap in a from-scratch béchamel unless you’re making a different dish on purpose.
- Water – Whisked into the soup to loosen it before it goes back in the pan. Add a splash more at the end if you want a thinner gravy.
- Fresh parsley – For garnish, chopped just before serving.
How to Make Pork Chops Supreme
Scroll down for the full recipe card with exact measurements and printable instructions.
Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on one side of each pork chop. It’s a small step, but it gives the crust something to hold onto and adds flavor you won’t taste as mustard once it’s cooked.
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish and dredge each chop on all sides. Don’t do this too far ahead of time. Flour that sits on wet meat too long turns gummy and won’t brown as well.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the chops for about 2 minutes per side, working in batches if your skillet is crowded. You’re not cooking them through here, just building color. Transfer them to a plate.
Reserve about 3 tablespoons of the drippings left in the pan and discard the rest. Those drippings carry the flavor from the browned chops straight into the vegetables.
Cook the onion and mushrooms in the reserved drippings for 5 to 7 minutes, until they’ve softened and picked up some color. Stir in the garlic for the last 30 seconds, just long enough to lose its raw bite.
Whisk the cream of mushroom soup and water together until smooth, then stir it into the skillet with the vegetables.
Return the pork chops to the skillet and spoon the gravy over the top. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the pork reaches 140°F and is tender. If the gravy looks too thick partway through, add a splash more water.
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve straight from the skillet.
Make It A Meal
I serve this with Grandma’s Mashed Potatoes more often than anything else, since the gravy was clearly made to end up on top of a pile of them. A green vegetable rounds it out without competing with the sauce, and Roasted Green Beans with Almonds and Lemon does that well.
For a heartier spread, add Honey Cornbread Muffins on the side. They hold up to being dragged through the extra gravy, which is really the point.
Storage
Store leftover pork chops and gravy in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in a 300°F oven until warmed through, adding a splash of water if the gravy has thickened too much. This dish doesn’t freeze particularly well, since the gravy tends to separate once thawed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bone-in chops work fine, but they’ll need a few extra minutes in the simmer to reach 140°F, since the bone slows how quickly the meat cooks through.
You can leave them out and go straight from browning the chops to the soup, which is actually how the original 1970s recipe was written. The gravy will be simpler and thinner on flavor, but it’s still the same dish at its core.
This usually means too much water got whisked in with the soup, but it’s an easy fix. Just simmer uncovered for the last few minutes if it needs to tighten up.
You can, but you’ll lose the browning step that builds most of the flavor in this version. If you go that route, brown the chops and cook down the mushrooms and onion in a skillet first, then transfer everything to the slow cooker with the soup mixture for 4 hours on low.
Pork Chops Supreme Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 ½-inch-thick loin pork chops
- prepared Dijon mustard
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 10.5 ounce cream of mushroom soup or 1 (10.5-ounce) can; undiluted
- ½ cup water
- fresh parsley chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Spread one side of each pork chop with a thin layer of Dijon mustard.
- Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish, then dredge the pork chops on all sides.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the pork chops for about 2 minutes per side, working in batches if needed. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
- Reserve about 3 tablespoons of the pan drippings, discarding any excess.
- Cook the onion and mushrooms in the reserved drippings for 5 to 7 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Whisk together the cream of mushroom soup and water until smooth, then stir it into the skillet with the vegetables.
- Return the pork chops to the skillet, spooning the gravy over the top. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the pork reaches 145°F and is tender. Add a splash of water if a thinner gravy is desired.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe Card Tips
- Dredge the chops right before they go into the oil, not ahead of time. Flour that sits on the meat too long turns gummy and won’t brown as well.
- Check doneness with a thermometer rather than the clock. Pull the chops at 140°F, since they’ll carry over a few more degrees while resting under the gravy.
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
