Slow Cooker Creamy Pork Chops
Big Recipe
Ingredients
4 to 6 bone-in or boneless pork chops
2 cans (10.5 oz each) cream of mushroom soup
1 packet ranch seasoning mix
1 small onion, sliced (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
1/2 cup chicken broth (optional for thinner sauce)
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions
Season both sides of the pork chops lightly with salt and black pepper. Place the pork chops in the bottom of the slow cooker in a single layer. Sprinkle the ranch seasoning evenly over the pork chops. Pour the cream of mushroom soup over the top, spreading it to fully cover the meat. Add sliced onion and minced garlic if using. Pour in the chicken broth if you want extra sauce.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours, until the pork chops are very tender and cooked through. Spoon the sauce over the pork chops before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles. Add green beans, carrots, or peas on the side for a complete meal.
Tips
For extra flavor, sear the pork chops in a hot skillet for 2 minutes per side before placing them in the slow cooker.
You can substitute cream of chicken soup for cream of mushroom soup.
Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This slow cooker pork chops recipe comes from a long tradition of American “dump-and-cook” meals that became popular in the mid-20th century.
In the 1950s and 1960s, canned soups like cream of mushroom and cream of chicken were heavily marketed as cooking shortcuts. Home cooks discovered that these soups could act as both sauce and seasoning, especially for tougher cuts of meat. Around the same time, electric slow cookers (originally called crock pots) became common in households, making it easy to cook meat slowly while people were at work.
The combination of pork chops with cream soup and seasoning mixes (like ranch or onion soup mix) became popular in the 1970s and 1980s because it was cheap, filling, and nearly foolproof. Recipes were often shared in church cookbooks, community potlucks, and later on food blogs and social media.
Today, this dish is considered a classic comfort food recipe. It represents practical home cooking: minimal ingredients, long slow cooking, and a creamy gravy that pairs well with mashed potatoes or rice. It is popular because it is easy, reliable, and tastes like a traditional family meal.
Conclusion
Slow cooker pork chops are more than just an easy recipe. They reflect a history of practical home cooking built around convenience, affordability, and comfort. Using canned soup and simple seasonings shows how families adapted new products and appliances to make warm, filling meals with less effort. Over time, this dish became a classic comfort food, passed down through communities and now shared online, proving that simple recipes can have lasting appeal and emotional value at the table.