Italian Style Pork Chops with Pasta
My Italian Style Pork Chops with Pasta is an easy to follow recipe for pan fried pork chops smothered in marinara sauce and served over spaghetti. It’s ready in just 30 minutes!
Your family is going to love this Southern (pan-fried pork chops) and Italian (marinara sauce and spaghetti) mashup recipe! It’s quick and easy, and it makes a fantastic dinner for either weeknights or weekends.
You can come home, drop your coat and purse at the door, and literally have dinner on the table in 30 minutes with this recipe. That’s because I use a purchased marinara sauce in it.
Now, if you want to make your own, please go right ahead. I very often do. But some of the jarred brands are really very good.
I’ve tried lots of different ones, but I do tend to prefer a plain marinara, especially for this dish. Then I can jazz it up any way I want. I usually add some red pepper flakes, maybe some Parmesan cheese, and maybe a glug or two of wine. Do whatever you like!
This makes four servings for regular eaters or serves two really hungry folks :-) Offer some hot garlic bread, a salad, and a glass of wine with it for a satisfying dinner!
🛒 Ingredient Notes
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- Pork Chops – Use any cut for this recipe. Center cut, bone-in, boneless… they all work fine. I prefer pork loin chops with the t-bone. They’re a bit more flavorful and often cheaper than boneless cuts.
- Marinara Sauce – There’s no shame in purchasing bottled marinara sauce! With so many brands on the market, it’s hard to go wrong. I usually grab a jar of Bertolli Traditional Marinara.
- Red Pepper Flakes – These are completely optional, but you’ll want to include them if you like your sauce on the spicy side!
- Parmesan Cheese – What’s a good pasta dish without a topping of Parmesan? Use any brand you like or have on hand. The Bel Gioioso Shaved Parmesan is great for convenience!
You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe at the bottom of this post.
🔪 How to Make Italian Style Pork Chops with Pasta
- Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops.
- Sprinkle the flour over the chops to lightly coat them.
- Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large deep skillet.
- Add the chops and cook until nicely browned on both sides. Work in batches if necessary to prevent crowding the pan.
- When the chops are thoroughly browned on both sides, pour over the marinara sauce. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until they’re done all the way through (about 20 minutes).
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.
- When the spaghetti is done, remove the pork chops to a plate leaving the marinara sauce in the skillet.
- Add the red pepper flakes (if using) to the marinara sauce.
- Drain the spaghetti reserving some of the cooking water.
- Add the spaghetti to the sauce in the skillet.
- Toss to coat the spaghetti with the sauce. Add a small amount of the pasta cooking water if the marinara sauce is too thick.
- Serve the chops alongside the spaghetti. Top with grated parmesan cheese.
🔐 What’s the Secret to Making Tender Pork Chops?
The key to tender pork chops is to purchase a thicker cut with the bone in, and then cook them low and slow. An initial browning over high heat seals in the juices, and the low temperature with longer cooking time keeps the meat tender.
🍽️ What Goes With Italian Style Pork Chops?
Serve this with anything you’d normally serve with spaghetti. Garlic bread and salad are a classic choice. Sauteed green beans and oven-roasted broccoli or Brussels sprouts are also good options.
🧾 More Recipes You’ll Like
Questions? I’m happy to help!
If you have more questions about the recipe, or if you’ve made it and would like to leave a comment, scroll down to leave your thoughts, questions, and/or rating!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
📖 Recipe
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Italian Style Pork Chops with Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops
- salt
- pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 24 ounces marinara sauce (about 3 cups — either homemade or purchased)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops.
- Sprinkle the flour over the chops to lightly coat them.
- Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large deep skillet.
- Add the chops and cook until nicely browned on both sides. Work in batches if necessary to prevent crowding the pan.
- When the pork chops are thoroughly browned on both sides, pour over the marinara sauce.
- Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the chops are done all the way through (about 20 minutes).
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.
- When the spaghetti is done, remove the pork chops to a plate leaving the marinara sauce in the skillet.
- Add the red pepper flakes (if using) to the marinara sauce.
- Drain the spaghetti reserving some of the cooking water. Add the spaghetti to the sauce in the skillet.
- Toss to coat the spaghetti with the sauce. Add a small amount of the pasta cooking water if the marinara sauce is too thick.
- Serve the pork chops alongside the spaghetti. Top with grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
— This post was originally published on February 18, 2011. It has been updated with new photos and additional information.
Family loved it, super easy and quick, we used pork loin chops and our own jarred tomato’s.
Thanks for letting me know your family enjoyed the recipe!
hi! This recipe looks good. & I plan to try it out tonight. Is it okay if I take a screenshot of the recipe and instructions so that I may keep in my phone under my recipe folder for further use?
Sure, you can make a copy for your personal use. Please don’t post the photo or recipe anywhere online without permission. Thanks!
This recipe was amazing, just one modification, remove the excess oil from the pan before adding the sauce.
Trying this tonight, we usually put country rib or cut up pork chops when our gravy/sauce for extra flavor for pasta sauce but not as a whole meal. I added in chopped garlic weith red pepperflakes and italian spice.
I was going to make this tonight and got the chops all browned and then decided I didn’t want to dirty another pan to cook pasta. :-( But, I still plan to do it sometime soon. Thanks for the great idea!
This was fast and easy! Taste great too! THANK YOU!
I am a busy college student who was looking for a new and easy way to make some porkchops I had in the freezer and made this recipe tonight. SO good! Thank you for the recipe, I’ve never had pork chops with red sauce but it is now something I will continue to make! :)
I am making this tonight! I googled food network and yours loooks better than any of theirs. All I had available was boneless pork chops and pasta and Spaghetti sauce. It’s gonna be awesome. I’ll add some fresh Basil or Thyme and lots of other spices. Thank you!!!!!
Was wondering what to have this Sunday and your recipe made up my mind.
Pork and pasta. Perfect…. and easy!
Thanks.
Let me know how you like it, Teri!
We would love this dinner, sounds easy, the pictures is mouth watering! Lovely dish!
Thanks, Claudia! I know it’s not “authentic” Italian, but it sure is good anyway :-)
What would make it authentic. My Italian mom used to always make pasta with pork and i forgot how it tasted so good. Great recipe. You need to have a good marinara recipe though, I agree the canned stuff has gotten better but no thanks. Ha Ha.
Gorgeous!
I love this combination!
Great photo too :)
Why have I never combined pork chops and pasta before?!?! This looks wonderful and certainly fits the bill for a fast family meal.
You should try the pork chops and pasta. It turned out very, very good. We both loved it!
This looks really good! …as I’m sitting here eating popcorn for dinner… shame on me. Happy Weekend:@)
Hey – sometimes popcorn is just what you want! Enjoy your weekend :-)