Pork Recipes & Meal Ideas

It's like a souped-up loaded baked potato. (Get it?)

It's like DIY Hamburger Helper (in the best way possible).

It's ready in just 20 minutes.

The fanciest ham and cheese dinner you'll ever have.

Serve with saltines.

There's a good chance you have these ingredients on hand.

They're also impossibly easy — and keto-friendly.

Guaranteed to be the most comforting dish on the table.

Tangy, crunchy, and extra-quick, thanks to the Instant Pot.

Welcome to slow-cooked season.

The dish we've come to know as "warm spinach salad" wasn't really a salad at all, to hear the black cookbook authors tell it through the years, writes Toni Tipton-Martin. Here's how to make her version at home.

You may be thinking that a recipe for a thick, hearty soup is a bit odd considering that yesterday was the first day of spring. But this Spanish bean soup is not just any soup. Rather, it is a soup sent straight from the soup gods (if the soup gods took the form of my future mother-in-law). As I was walking out the back door of a recent family gathering, Tina (my future MIL) forced two large Tupperwares into my hand. This happens often, and I never quite know what I’m going to find inside.

It's packed with spicy sausage and plenty of veggies.

This soup comes with a memory: a bowl of hearty soup served by my mother-in-law one chilly fall afternoon many years ago. I remember the tomatoey broth being so complex yet so comforting, and the cheesy tortellini were a brilliant touch. I asked her for the recipe, but she, being the MacGyver of the kitchen that she is, didn’t have anything to give — it was a one-time-only melting pot of a week’s worth of leftovers. But I didn’t forget it.

When it comes to pairing wine with food, I don’t know that there’s a pair I like much better than a big plate of pasta with red wine sauce and tender, aromatic homemade meatballs — paired with a bold and delicious Chianti, of course. It’s a classic setup, a staple of Italian-American restaurants, and comfort food extraordinaire.

Green beans are a part of most every Southern family’s suppers. Their key distinction is that they are cooked down in liquid until quite soft, almost to the point of “mush.” In traditional Southern cooking, they are also cooked and flavored with ham hocks or pork knuckles. This take on the classic uses a smoked, bone-in ham steak for flavor, which can be found in almost every grocery store.

Part bread stuffing, part French Onion soup, 100% delicious.

Smoky BBQ sauce is the upgrade your pork tenderloin needs.

Here’s how most weeknight dinners go at my house: I’ve planned recipes a week in advance, grocery shopped, and meal prepped. Then a long afternoon meeting has me rushing between school pickup and bath time to get dinner on the table. I have a few miracle meals that fit the bill, and I just added this five-ingredient baked potato soup to the roster. Spoiler: No baked potatoes are required for this soup.

A bag of beans, a smoked meaty bone, and a slow cooker turn into a simple and delicious dinner.

I am a firm believer in the power of dumplings and soup. Not only is the combination tasty and comforting, but a little upfront effort also yields prepped emergency meals to stash in my freezer — and who doesn’t want that? These easy wontons are full of juicy, savory ground pork and swim in a 15-minute gingery broth that starts with boxed chicken broth. Best of all, the ingredients are all easy-to-find, and the wontons use a simple but pretty wrapping technique.

Around the World in 30 Soups: This month we’re collaborating with chefs, cookbook authors, and our own Kitchn crew to share a globetrotting adventure in soups from countries and cuisines around the world. Today’s stop: Mexico. We asked Gonzalo Guzmán, chef at San Francisco’s Nopalito and author of the eponymous cookbook, to share his take on one of the soups that speaks most to him of Mexico.

Around the World in 30 Soups: This month we’re collaborating with chefs, cookbook authors, and our own Kitchn crew to share a globetrotting adventure in soups from countries and cuisines around the world. Today’s stop: Ireland. We drew a classic Irish recipe with a modern twist from Rachel Allen, author of Rachel’s Irish Family Food.

One of my favorite soups is hot and sour soup, and I was flabbergasted to discover that it’s really quite easy — and cheap! — to make. Who woulda thunk it? Called suan la t’ang in Chinese, it gets its tang from the addition of white vinegar. Let me share a secret with you — not only did this recipe mark the first time I made hot and sour soup, but it also marked the first time I tasted it. Trust me, no one is more surprised than me.

When I think of my travels in Germany, I think of beers, brats, and mustard, and it’s still that satisfying trinity that I crave when the weather starts to cool down. Throwing everything into a slow cooker means I can come back to tender sausages that have been gently braising in beer, with a pile of sweet peppers and onions coated in grainy mustard right on top.

This recipe very handily fed almost a dozen people at a recent weekend get-together; there were even leftovers. It’s also a very easy and delicious recipe with terrific flavor. And yet it takes less than half an hour to put it all together. Perfect menu for company! This recipe is basically a riff on Elizabeth’s slow-cooked pork shoulder. Pork shoulder, also known as pork butt, is a relatively fatty and inexpensive cut of meat that is excellent for slow cooking and braises.

Pulled pork is one of those magical meals that every self-respecting meat-eater should be able to prepare by heart. And when you say pulled pork to any Southerner, you’ll hear descriptions of luscious pieces of tender meat rubbed with secret spice mixes and doused in sauces of spice and vinegar, tangy mustard, or sticky-sweet tomato and molasses. Although those classic smoky flavors are satisfying, sometimes you need a new spin on an old classic.

Shape a ball of pizza dough into this beautiful breakfast sandwich filled with scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese.

A perfect mess of Southern greens, thanks to the rule of three, with biscuits from a grand dame of Southern cooking to mop up the potlikker.

These cheddar bacon biscuits put all others to shame.

Think of this salad as a BLT in a bowl – fresh summer tomatoes with a bright vinaigrette, toasted croutons and crispy bacon. It’s hard to improve on a classic BLT, but this may do the trick. Simple and light, the salad puts the fresh tomatoes front and center. They’re so beautiful this time of year, why limit yourself to a single slice in a sandwich?

Tucked into a mix of chopped romaine, ruffled frisée, sweet red pear, and pungent blue cheese, crispy schnitzel brings some Oktoberfest flair to the dinner table.

Forget plain ol' pasta salad — this hearty twist is way more fun.

I’ll be honest with you: I like to be the person at a party who brings a dish that people can’t stop talking about. There’s a good chance you feel the same way. This recipe is here to help you embrace that feeling and make it your reality all summer long. Inspired by classic pasta salad, it makes a couple simple changes that deliver a huge reward.

On hot summer days, I want a bright, vibrant pasta salad with a wide variety of flavors and textures — not a wimpy mixture of bottled Italian salad dressing and overcooked pasta. This version, perfect for a backyard barbecue or poolside shindig, takes inspiration from antipasto, the Italian first course that includes all kinds of pickled veggies, cured meats, and of course, cheese.

The easiest way to give pasta salad a summery upgrade.

Potato salad is essential at any cookout. This creamy recipe is mayonnaise-free and full of crisp bacon and celery. The dressing has a cool, creamy tang that mayonnaise-based dressings just can’t beat. Bonus: this potato salad is even better when made ahead. And that marvelous dressing? Sour cream is part of its appeal, but the real secret lies in a nostalgic blast from the past: Cheez Whiz.

As many variations of potato salad as there are out there, it’s hard to beat the classic combination of smoky bacon and tender potatoes. In this tangy German-inspired potato salad, there’s bacon-y goodness infused into every single bite. For all you bacon-lovers out there, this recipe should be at the top of your list the next time a side of potato salad is needed to go next to some fried chicken, burgers, hot dogs, or barbecued ribs. This potato salad gets all its flavor from bacon.

The arrival of apples means incorporating the sweet, crunchy fruit in as many meals as possible. Dicing up red apples and tossing them into standard cabbage slaw adds a refreshing crunch and pretty pop of color. The fact that apples and bacon play nicely together also means that bacon can play a double role in this easy slaw: The bacon itself gives salty hits of flavor, and the bacon fat can replace some of the regular oil in the dressing for a touch of smokiness.

Cauliflower fried rice that tastes just like the real stuff.

You know those decadent flatbread pizzas that you devour at your favorite wine bar with friends? You can totally make those at home when you need a fast and fancy snack for book club (aka wine-drinking club) or even a date night at home. These flatbreads are everything you want in a grown-up, restaurant-inspired pizza. A crisp crust cradles jammy figs, salty prosciutto, and peppery arugula while pops of gorgonzola add just enough funky tang.

Cassoulet, a hearty slow-simmered stew of sausage, confit (typically duck), pork, and white beans, is one of the great hallmarks of French country cuisine. Here’s how to make it at home.

Chinese barbecue pork, crunchy veggies, and saucy noodles come together in this Chinese stir-fry.

There’s nothing I love more than having a mammoth-sized batch of soup on the stove, whether it’s going to serve a room full of people or supply me with a stockpile of meals. This New Mexico pork and green chile stew is the perfect candidate to make on a lazy Sunday and then live off of the rest of the week. It’s spicy, savory, and hearty, and just when you think it can’t get any better, it does! I hosted a formal Christmas party last year for all our family and friends.

From the very get-go of planning my Cozy Holiday Potluck, I knew that I wanted to make Bigos Stew. This Polish hunter’s dish is a real stick-to-your ribs kind of affair — pork and sausage (several kinds!), sauerkraut, porcini mushrooms, and a few glugs of good beer. It’s a bit rich to justify for a weeknight meal, but for a midwinter party with a group of friends who love to eat, it’s absolutely perfect.

I’ve loved black-eyed peas since I was very small. Their texture delights me — smooth and plump outside, but creamy inside, endowing their broth with a richness even though each pea holds its shape, distinctly marked with that elegant eye. I disliked butterbeans and limas, and found English peas pretty but not worthy of attention unless they were filling the mashed potatoe mountain we called a bird’s nest.

I have previously shared a recipe for chile verde — a beloved holiday favorite at my house — and while this recipe for pork, poblano, and pumpkin stew is very similar, where the stew really veers off is with its aromatics: tomato paste; San Marzano tomatoes; and a fragrant blend of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and brown sugar. This stew has a more Mediterranean vibe; a far cry from the Southwestern flavors of the original.

Chile verde is more than a simple stew. Pork shoulder is rendered into supple, tender meat after a slow simmer in a sauce of roasted tomatillos, peppers, cilantro, and oregano. The resulting meat and sauce can be poured over rice or tucked into a tortilla. While the salsa verde requires a little prep work up front, the rest of the cooking is hands-off, thanks to the trusty slow cooker. This is a perfect dish to perfume your house when the weather gets crisp this fall.

When the temperature drops in January, what we really want is food that fills us up and nourishes at the same time. So start your day with a hearty smoothie, but finish it with a wholesome stew. This is one of a series of stews designed to make you feel good in every possible way. Brimming with veggies and spices, each of these wholesome stews will support and reward your best New Year’s intentions.

This 30-minute chili, featuring the flavorful power couple of chorizo and chicken, is what you make on Wednesday when you hit a wall on what to make for dinner. A change of pace from a beefy chili, this one-pot meal kicks up the flavor with spicy chorizo and seared chicken thighs. Smoky, fire-roasted tomatoes and two types of beans make up the sauce, with a few dashes of spices and herbs added in to give it a complex flavor.

Like any great stew should, the aroma of this hearty pork and apple stew will make your kitchen smell amazing.

Let me guess — when chili is on the docket, you blindly reach for a can of diced tomatoes and the jar of red chili powder. I’m no different, but this time around we’re going to shake things up with a vibrant chili verde from the slow cooker. Fill your shopping basket with tomatillos, jalapeños, poblanos, cilantro, and oregano, and set aside the ground beef to reach for a pork shoulder instead.

Corn chowder is a classic soup bursting with the sweetness of corn. It’s oh-so-creamy and body warming. When you add quick-cooking shrimp, corn chowder not only tastes great and feeds the soul, but it is also transformed into a complete meal in a single bowl. Usually, the thickness of a chowder comes from two sources: the starchy potatoes and the heavy cream.

A trip to the Korean market is always fun when I’m getting ready to entertain or simply preparing a weeknight meal. We love Korean food at our house, and pork belly lettuce wraps are always a fun and active way to serve delicious, flavorful food, no matter the occasion. These lettuce wraps celebrate the popular Korean dish Samgyeopsal Gui, which simply means grilled pork belly. Koreans traditionally eat Samgyeopsal while grilling the meat themselves at the table.

I don’t know about the rest of the country, but Atlanta seems to be the epicenter of a giant burger boom. Everywhere you turn, there is a new chef-owned burger joint promising the best beefy bite between buns you’ve ever tasted. But are those $20 burgers really worth it? Perhaps once you try these Beef and Bacon Burgers you won’t think so. I love a good burger as much as the rest of the American (meat-eating) population, maybe even more.

I have a thing for pinwheel sandwiches; they’re just so pretty and such perfect finger foods. What if you could skip the tortilla or traditional wrap and use protein-loaded eggs instead? These wraps take the trifecta of breakfast foods — ham, eggs, and cheese — and turn them into portable bites that can work as breakfast or lunch.

Hearty is the name of the game when it comes to the taste, but easy is what this one-sheet-pan-wonder is really all about. Warm up the earthy-sweet flavor of beets with caraway, the seeds that make rye bread taste like rye bread, and serve them alongside juicy brats. With the swipe of one flavor, you’ll feel like your vegetables could be in the Black Forest. Bratwurst is a German sausage made from beef, pork, or veal, and they are often available precooked or uncooked.

How do you feel about spaghetti squash? Do you consider it a bad joke of a vegetable, promising carbs without remorse, but actually offering a bowl of slippery, slimy strings? Or do you love it for its teasing imitation of spaghetti, still holding its own with sweetness and a toothsome bite? Actually — never mind. I don’t really care how you feel about spaghetti squash.

You know that basic box of spaghetti you keep stashed in the pantry? I’m about to show you how to really make it live up to its full potential. This gem is easy enough to pull together on a Monday night when you’re pressed for time, but fancy enough to hold its own when you host friends or your new in-laws for dinner. Soft, creamy burrata steals the show to make everyday spaghetti and frozen peas feel super special.

There also happens to be crispy prosciutto crumbles involved.

As far as guilty pleasures go, a love of SpaghettiOs is pretty tame. Cranking open a can may have been acceptable for me as a 7-year-old back in 1989, but it’s time to admit that what I really love are the soft O-shaped noodles swimming in a sweet tomato sauce. With this wholesome take on a childhood favorite, I know I won’t be reaching for the can opener anytime soon. My traditional spaghetti dinner takes two pots, one pan, and an embarrassing number of bowls and utensils.

In the nineties, I went to college in Canada, a long way from my home in South Carolina. One snowy weekend, my mother came for a visit. Because I was in class when she arrived — and you can’t skip class the day your mother arrives — I left her a key.

What if I told you that you didn’t need to pick up a knife or turn on your oven to make a delicious lasagna? Yes, it’s true — this lasagna only has six ingredients and cooks all in one pan. Ready to learn more? I usually only make traditional lasagna once a year because it just involves too many ingredients and too much of my time.

November can feel so single-minded. It’s all about Thanksgiving, turkey, cranberries, and feasting! But Thanksgiving is only one day, and life goes on around it. This is a recipe for a weeknight when you want something comforting, but not too heavy. These petite meatballs are fresh, lemony, and meltingly tender. And, perhaps best of all, they’re not turkey.This recipe was actually inspired by (and adapted from) Chez Panisse. I visited the café at Chez Panisse a couple years ago.

Most small homestyle restaurants in Mexico City serve a variation of this dish — hearty meatballs smothered in a smoky tomato sauce, with lots of warm tortillas for sopping it all up. Occasionally it’s the star in the three-course, economically priced meal called comida corrida, a lunchtime tradition in the city.

What is a Swedish meatball? Köttbullar, like all traditional recipes, have thousands of variations, but what nearly all Swedish meatballs have in common is that they are made of ground pork and beef, use bread and milk as a binder, are covered with a rich gravy, and are served with lingonberry jam. With this recipe we’re sticking with tradition and delivering meatballs spiced, fried, and sauced to perfection.

Diner-style meatloaf cooks up tender and tasty when made in the pressure cooker. Topped with ketchup and enjoyed warm or cold, it's easy to see how meatloaf became a classic.

A few pantry staples give this classic a sweet and tangy twist you'll love.

Swedish meatballs are one of the easiest, most delicious ways to switch up your weeknight meatball routine. Unlike their Italian counterpart, Swedish meatballs are warmly spiced (think: nutmeg and allspice) and simmered in a creamy gravy, perfect for ladling over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. These meatballs are too good to only be enjoyed inside the IKEA food court. Here’s how you can make an even better version any night of the week.

The meatloaf to make when you want glaze on every bite.

A heads up: It's definitely spicy.