Sunday Pork Chops & Rice

Time :1 25

Yield :8 servings

Creamy chicken and rice casserole baked with melted cheese, topped with herbs and black pepper, served in a glass dish on a wooden table with white plates and striped napkins.

The Scoop

This Sunday Pork Chops & Rice bake is giving peak 1990s Midwestern casserole core, and honestly? Respect!

It’s the ultimate zero-effort, maximum-sodium food (or dare we say life) hack for when your mental battery is sitting at a solid 4% and the thought of dirtying a second pan makes you want to cry. Throwing raw rice, canned soup, and pork chops into a dish, sealing it tightly like a secret, and letting the oven do 100% of the emotional labor is pure tactical survival.

It’s comforting, it’s completely unbothered, and it surely delivers that nostalgic, non-ironic, stay-at-home-mom-energy we all secretly crave on a Sunday evening.

Hack it:

Sear the pork chops in a hot skillet with butter for two minutes per side before placing them over the rice. This builds deep Maillard browning and prevents the meat from looking pale.

8 ounces of fresh sliced cremini mushrooms and a teaspoon of fresh thyme directly into the rice and soup base to add earthy complexity.

If substituting brown or wild rice for white, increase the chicken broth by 1/2 cup and extend the covered bake time by 15–20 minutes so the tougher grains fully soften.

Swap standard canned soups for reduced-sodium versions to better control the overall salt level from the onion soup mix.

Leftovers:

Make a crispy pork & rice hash: Chop cold leftover pork and fry it with the rice in a hot buttered skillet until the bottom layer forms a golden, crunchy crust, then top with fried eggs.

Or stuff bell peppers: Pack the leftover pork-and-rice mixture into hollowed bell pepper halves, top with a slice of Swiss or Gruyère, and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20 minutes.

How about a creamy pork & rice soup: Simmer leftover rice and chopped pork in warm chicken broth with a splash of cream and fresh parsley for an instant soup base.

Savory Breakfast Burritos: Reheat the rice and pork, roll inside a warm flour tortilla with scrambled eggs and sharp cheddar, and sear in a pan.

Ingredients

1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups long grain rice, uncooked
1 packet dry onion soup mix
8 pork chops, boneless
1 tablespoon seasoned pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup, the cream of mushroom soup, the chicken broth, the uncooked rice, and the onion soup mix.
Pour the rice mixture into the prepared baking dish.
On a large plate, season both sides of the pork chops with the seasoned pepper.
Place the seasoned pork chops on top of the rice mixture.
Bake the pork mixture, covered tightly with foil until the pork chops reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F, about 1 hour 15 minutes-1 hour 30 minutes.
Serve.