Thin pork cutlets are quickly becoming one of my favorite midweek meals, and these cheesy pork cutlets are the perfect way to use them. If you’re looking for an irresistible pork chop pasta recipe, make this your go-to.
All my life, I have been a pork chop girl. I have never met a pork chop I didn’t like, even the overcooked ones. My favorites–which I’ve mentioned before–are the breaded bone-in pork chops my mom used to make. I also make a few different breaded pork chops, like these dill-panko pork chops and my lightly breaded basil-Parmesan pork chops.
How to make cheesy pork cutlets
For this pork chop pasta recipe, I use thin pork cutlets, about ½-inch thick. You can certainly use thicker chops, but the cooking time will be longer. I love the thinner chops because they cook super fast.
Step 1: Prep!
- Making the tomato sauce: You can make your own tomato sauce, but I reach for store-bought for a quick weeknight meal. I am normally a devotee of Michael’s of Brooklyn’s arrabbiata sauce. This time, I broke into Seggiano Arrabbiata Sauce and it was delicious! You can use any flavor of sauce you like, such as tomato-basil or garlic marinara. As always, feel free to use homemade or your favorite store-bought brand! For this recipe, I like to pour the sauce into a baking dish and warm it in the oven as I prepare the pork. You can use the same skillet you used to fry the pork to simmer the sauce, but it’s nice to have the sauce warm up as you cook the pork instead of after!
- Cooking the pasta: Bring a pot of water to a boil before starting the pork. Once boiling, add the pasta and reserve ¼ cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and set it aside.
- Breading the pork: Use thin-sliced, boneless pork cutlets. Dredge them in a simple mixture of Italian seasoning, Wondra, and crushed red pepper. I prefer Wondra because it creates a thin, crisp coating. You can also use all-purpose flour.
Step 2: Pork!
- Frying the pork: After dredging the pork chops, fry them in olive oil until crisp. You may need to cook them in batches depending on the size of your skillet. Transfer them to a cooling rack. These are thin, so they only cook for 2–3 minutes per side. The broiler will cook them the rest of the way.
- Broiling the pork: After your pork chops are done, remove the baking dish of sauce from the oven. Arrange the pork chops in the sauce and sprinkle the mozzarella on top. You need about 1 tablespoon mozzarella for each chop, but no one can stop you from adding more! Broil for just a minute or two until the mozzarella is melted, bubbly, and browned.
Step 3: Pasta!
- Serving the pork: Remove the cutlets from the baking dish and transfer them to a serving platter. You can scatter a few basil leaves on top and more Parmesan if you like.
- Saucing the pasta: Add grated Parmesan cheese to the baking dish of sauce along with the pasta water. Stir until melted. Throw in the drained pasta and toss to coat. You’ll have little bits of mozzarella that melt off the pork chops and mix into the sauce, which is even more delicious. Pour the pasta onto a second serving platter.
Step 4: Serve it up!
Now you have two platters: one with cheesy pork cutlets and one with saucy pasta. To serve, simply spoon the cooked pasta into shallow bowls and place a pork chop alongside it. Finish with torn basil and more Parmesan cheese. I served with a small side salad that rounded out the meal nicely.
I hope you loved this recipe as much as I did! If you make it, please rate the recipe and drop a comment below to let me know what you think.
Cheesy Pork Cutlets
Thin pork cutlets are quickly becoming one of my favorite midweek meals, and these cheesy pork cutlets are the perfect way to use them.
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Servings: 4
Calories: 588kcal
Equipment
- 9×12 Baking Dish
- Skillet
- Large pot
- Colander
Ingredients
Pork chops:
- 1 pound ½-thick boneless pork chops, about 6 pork chops total
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅔ cup Wondra or all-purpose flour; I prefer Wondra
- 1½ tablespoons Italian seasoning, see note 1
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 6 tablespoons shredded mozzarella; you’ll need about 1 tablespoon per pork chop but you can use more or less as you like
- Salt and pepper
Pasta and sauce:
- 24- ounce jar store-bought arrabbiata sauce or marinara sauce
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 8 ounces uncooked penne
- 12 basil leaves, torn
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Warm the tomato sauce and cook the pasta:
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Pour the tomato sauce into a 9×12″ baking dish. If your chops are bigger, use a larger baking dish. Cover with foil and transfer to the oven to warm it. See note 2.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Set aside.
Fry the pork chops:
- Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wide pot over medium heat.
- As the oil heats, dredge the pork chops.
- Combine the flour, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper in a bowl. Dip each chop into the flour mixture and shake off the excess. Transfer the pork to the skillet and cook in batches for 3 minutes per side until nearly cooked through and crispy on each side. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Finish the pork chops:
- Remove the baking dish of sauce from the oven and turn on the broiler. Arrange the pork chops on top of the sauce and add 1 tablespoon mozzarella on top of each chop. Transfer to the broiler for 1–2 minutes until the chops are cooked through, and the mozzarella is browned and bubbly.
Finish the pasta:
- Remove the baking dish from the oven. Transfer the pork chops to a serving platter with a few spoonfuls of sauce.
- Add the pasta cooking water to the sauce in the baking dish with ½ cup grated Parmesan and stir until the cheese melts. Add the cooked pasta. Toss to coat. Taste and season.
- Pour the pasta and sauce onto a large serving platter.
To serve:
- Spoon the pasta into shallow bowls and serve with a pork chop on the side. Finish with more grated Parmesan and basil leaves on top. Enjoy!
Notes
Note 1: My Italian seasoning has dehydrated pecorino Romano cheese in it. If your Italian seasoning has just herbs, you may want to add a tablespoon or two of freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese, but that is totally optional!
Note 2: If you prefer, you can use the skillet to warm the sauce for the pork chops. Wipe out the skillet after you fry the pork chops, add the sauce, and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, arrange the pork chops on top with mozzarella, and then broil. I prefer the baking dish as I can fit all the pork chops evenly without as much overlap as the skillet.
Nutrition
Calories: 588kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 22g | Sodium: 1238mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin C: 12mg
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