Sheet Pan Pork Chops with Apples & Sweet Potatoes

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Sheet Pan Pork Chops are so simple to make! Combine them with apples, sweet potatoes and asparagus for the perfect fall meal! Or switch up the spices and veggies to create your own sheet pan meal!

I love the convenience of sheet pans meals and the combinations of meals you can make are endless. There are some things to keep in mind when picking out your ingredients for a custom sheet pan mean that your family will love and I will go over those in this article.

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Whether your are using your oven, the Ninja Foodi Digital Flip oven or the NEW and much improved (in my opinion) Ninja Foodi XL Pro Oven, sheet pan meals are one of the easiest quick dinners you can make!

Here is an example of another quick and easy sheet pan meal that I made using the Ninja Foodi Digital Flip oven. If you want to make it using a regular oven, you may need to adjust your temperatures up a little and it might take a few more minutes to cook.

Lemon & Rosemary Chicken Sheet Pan Meal

Things to Consider when Making a Sheet Pan Meal

Cook time, temperature, and size are the three basic things to consider when you want to put your own sheet pan meal together.

Cook Time

Sheet pan dinners usually consist of a protein, a starch, and a vegetable. When picking your combination of these ingredients, the cook time of each one needs to be factored in.

Although many people simply throw everything on the pan and cook it all at once, I have not found that to be the best way to do it most of the time. To get the best flavor and texture of the different foods, I usually stagger the cook time.

For example, if the potatoes are going to take 25 minutes to cook, but the meat is only going to take 10, then I start the potatoes while I'm seasoning and prepping the meat. This approach gives you complete control over the outcome and everything will be cooked perfectly when dinner is done!

If you are using the Ninja Foodi Digital Flip Oven, you will decrease your cook time by about 25% of the time it would take in the oven. This is because of surface area inside the oven. Keep in mind that 375℉ is 375℉ no matter what appliance you use. However, there is much more heat loss in larger ovens than in smaller ones and that is why foods cook faster in small ovens.

The small space often requires temperature adjustments as well.

Temperature

Choosing the right temperature at which to cook the sheet pan dinner is also very important. Different foods cook better at different temperatures.

For example, while potatoes will cook at lower temps, they don't get that brown, roasted crust that makes them perfect in my book. They also take much longer to cook through at lower temps and most individual servings of meats and the meat will overcook in the time it takes for the potatoes to cook. This is why I stagger the ingredients based on what they are and known cook times.

In this Sheet Pan Pork Chop dinner, I start out cooking the sweet potatoes on a higher temp, then add the asparagus and finally the pork chops, at which time I lower the temperature to avoid drying out the pork and burning the other components of the dinner.

Learning to create your own sheet pan meals is fairly easy when you effectively manage your times and temperatures. You can also alter the size of many ingredients.

Size

By size, I'm referring to how big the chunks of potatoes are or how thick your pork chop or chicken breast is. The size and density of your vegetables also come into play.

For example, small broccoli florets will cook faster than larger ones. Carrots are more dense than squash and will take longer. A 1" pork chop will cook faster than a 2".

If you wanted to cook potatoes and 1" pork chops at the same time for a sheet pan meal, you could cut the potatoes really small so they cook at the same time as the pork.

Or, you could cut your chicken breast through the middle so each piece is thinner and it would cook faster, if you wanted to pair the chicken with quick cooking vegetables.

These are examples of controlling size so you control cook time.

Can I make this for 4 or 6 people?

You can increase any of the ingredients to accomdate the number of people you need to serve, and the times and temps will be the same.

The only limiting factor is space on your tray, so I would check that before starting the meal.

What substitutions can I make for the sweet potatoes and asparagus?

You could use white potatoes instead of the sweet potatoes and adjust the time based on size of the potato chunks. Russet potatoes tend to take a little longer to cook than sweet potatoes, so cut your chunks a little smaller for the same cook time or increase the cook time by a few minutes.

You can also do a Baked Potato instead of chunks, but you would need to increase your cook time by about 20 minutes depending on the size of your potato. This would be the case if using a regular potato or a sweet potato.

Rutabaga is a great option for a lower carb meal, but rutabaga takes a lot longer to cook, so you would want to start the rutabaga at least 25 minutes ahead of adding anything else. The size of the chunks of rutabaga makes a difference; so, the larger the chunks, the longer they will take to cook.

You can also skip the potato part of this meal and do all pork chops and veggies!

As far as the vegetables go, there are plenty of them that could be substituted instead of asparagus. The important thing to keep in mind is how you like them cooked and how you usually prepare them.

Let's take broccoli for an example. I wouldn't hesitate to use frozen broccoli instead of the asparagus and I would put it in at the same time I put in the asparagus. However, I wouldn't necessarily use raw broccoli unless it's really covered in oil, because the florets tend to burn as they roast. I'm a fan of steamed broccoli, but if you like roasted broccoli, then go ahead and roast them. The size of the florets matter for cook time, so don't make them too big or too small if you plan on putting them in at the same time as I put in the asparagus.

Cauliflower would be about the same as broccoli.

Fresh string beans can also be used, but they will take longer than the asparagus. I would put them in maybe 5 minutes after the sweet potatoes. If they are frozen, I like to put them in a separate pan with a bit of water.

Carrots are also a great choice, but will take longer. If they are large carrots, I would put them in with the sweet potatoes. If they are skinny ones, maybe 5-10 minutes after the sweet potatoes go in.

Zucchini and squash are also great to use, but they don't take much time at all. If you like them soft, put them in at the same time as I put in the asparagus. If you like them firmer, then I would add them when you add the pork chops.

You can also control the cook time of most vegetables by cutting them smaller or larger.

Can I use a different cut of meat instead of pork?

Yes, of course.

Chicken

Chicken does take longer to cook and the time depends on the thickness, cut, and if it is bone-in or boneless.

For boneless chicken breasts that are 1½-2" thick, I would plan on about 20 minutes of cook time. Thin chicken breasts will only take around 12-15 minutes.

Thighs take a little longer because of the fat content and meat density.

Bone-in will also take longer because the heat is absorbed by the bone as well as the meat and it takes longer to fully cook the meat.

Beef

You can even do steaks on this sheet pan meal, but I would use a higher temp and maybe protect the vegetables with foil or another heat resistant covering while broiling or Air Crisping the steak.

Ground beef would also work, or little hamburgers. Depending on the thickness, you can probably add them at the same time you would put the pork on the tray.

Other cuts of pork

You could certainly do a pork tenderloin and I would add it about 7-10 minutes after the sweet potatoes depending on size. They are usually pretty thin and will cook in about 20 minutes.

You can do a pork loin, but the timing will depend on size and there are so many variables that it would be hard for me to give suggestions.

You also want to make sure the pork loin will fit in the flip oven if that is what you are using.

While this isn't a different cut of pork, it's a different style and it works perfectly as a sheet pan pork chop! In fact, when I started testing the recipe, I was using breaded pork chops. The times and temps are exactly the same if you decide to use the recipe for Shake 'N Bake Style Pork Chops.

Thicker pork chops will take longer. I tested 1½" pork chops and they took 12 minutes.

Suggestions for making Sheet Pan Pork Chops in the regular oven

I haven't tested the recipe this way, but I have cooked pork chops in the oven before, so my suggestions for this recipe are as follows.

Preheat the oven to 425℉/220℃.

Follow the same directions for cooking the sweet potatoes, but you may need to add another few minutes.

Add the asparagus, apples and pork chops at the same time and lower the heat to 350℉/175℃. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the pork chops are done.

Serve & Enjoy!

How to Make Sheet Pan Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes, Apples, & Asparagus

The first thing you want to do is take out your pork from the refrigerator to allow it to come to room temperature. This will help the pork chops cook faster and more evenly. If you forget to take them out, then you will need to increase your time by a few minutes.

I don't recommend using frozen pork chops for this recipe, but if you do, I would add them at the very beginning when putting in the sweet potatoes and keep an eye on them so they don't overcook.

Make up the seasoning blend by combining all the ingredients into a small bowl and mix. If you don't like spice, reduce or omit the chipotle pepper.

Peel and chop your sweet potato into 2" cubes. The smaller the sweet potato, the faster they will cook and the timing in this recipe is based on about 2" cubes.

Place the cut sweet potatoes on the tray that came with the Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven. You can put them in the middle or off to one side.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the seasoning blend. Reserve enough blend to use on the pork and the apples.

Place the pan in the oven and select Air Roast on 400℉/200℃ and set the time for 10 minutes.

While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prep the asparagus. I like to pick out thin asparagus with tight buds on the top. The thicker the asparagus, the tougher it is going to be.

I've tested the recipe with very thin (in the video) and slightly thicker asparagus and both worked perfect with the timing. If your asparagus is really thick, you will want to add it a few minutes earlier to make sure it's cooked enough.

To prep the asparagus, I grab both ends of the stalk and bend it until it breaks. I find this technique to result in only cooking the tender part of the asparagus. You can use the ends for asparagus soup and pop them in the freezer until you are ready to make it.

Here is a short video that shows you how I break the asparagus.

When 10 minutes of the 15 minutes is up, add the asparagus to the tray. Drizzle it with olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Close the door and let the remaining 5 minutes of air roast finish.

While the asparagus and potatoes are roasting, core and cut the apple into wedges. The best apple corer I've ever used is this one from Pampered Chef. It's simply amazing and I use it to core the cabbage for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. It goes through the tough core of cabbage like butter!

I keep the skin on, but you can certainly remove it. If you like really soft apples, you can put them in with the sweet potatoes in the beginning. It works fine, but I wanted a little more texture to my apples, so I add them with the pork chops.

Drizzle the apples with a little olive oil and sprinkle on the seasoning blend, reserving enough for the pork.

Season both sides of the pork with the seasoning blend. Add 1-2 tsp of Apple Butter Bourbon BBQ Sauce to the top and spread. Apple Butter also works great!

Slide the pan back into the oven and select the Air Fry function on 325℉/165℃ for 8 minutes. I usually set the time to 10 and check the temperature at 8 minutes.

The pork needs to be at least 145℉/63℃ and then let it rest. You do not want to overcook pork or it will be dry. If you learned that pork had to be cooked to 165℉/74℃, that temperature has been decreased to 145℉/63℃.

I find using a probe-type thermometer or an instant read is the most accurate way to tell if your meat is done. The instant read I use the most is the Thermapen Mk4, it is very highly rated and fast.

Once the pork is done, remove the tray from the oven and allow the meat to rest for at least 5 minutes.

Plate and Serve!

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