Pork chops, meet blackberry sage pan sauce. Pan sauce, meet pork chops. I just know you two will get along beautifully and live a long, happy life as blackberry sage pork chops (until I eat you, anyway).
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Pan sauces are the easiest way to turn a boring cut of meat (pork chop, chicken breast, etc.) into a restaurant quality, fancy-pants meal. They’re fast, easy, and help clean off that brown stuff that’s stuck to the bottom of your skillet (that “stuff” is actually called “fond” and it’s quite flavorful). So, if you haven’t tried making a pan sauce yet, I suggest it be moved right to the top of your “to do” list.
For this particular pan sauce I combined blackberry jam, rich and tangy balsamic vinegar, a little butter for richness, and dried sage. The juices and browned bits from the pork give the sauce a savory base and that umami flavor that makes you want to keep coming back for more. Seriously, though, I was practically drinking this sauce… One spoonful at a time, of course. That pork chop was just there to help me sop up more of the amazing sauce.
So, wanna see how Blackberry Sage Pork Chops are born?
Blackberry Sage Pork Chops
Servings 4Ingredients
- 4 thin center cut pork chops (about 1 lb. total) ($4.15)
- pinch of salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1/2 cup blackberry jam or preserves ($1.38)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ($0.40)
- 1 Tbsp water ($0.00)
- 1/2 tsp dried sage ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- Take the chops out of the refrigerator and let them warm on the countertop for about 10 minutes. Remove them from the package, pat dry with a paper towel, then season both sides of each chop with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot (it should appear wavy on the surface, but not be smoking), add the chops. Let the pork chops cook until browned on each side (3-5 minutes per side), then transfer them to a clean plate. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Let the skillet cool for just a couple of minutes, then add the blackberry jam, butter, balsamic vinegar, water, and sage. Return the skillet to the burner and turn the heat on to low. Whisk the ingredients together until the jam and the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet have dissolved into the sauce. Turn the heat up to medium and let the sauce come to a simmer. Let the sauce simmer over medium heat until it’s thick enough to coat a spoon (5 minutes or so). Turn the heat off, taste the sauce, and add salt as needed (I added 1/8 tsp).
- Return the chops and any juices that have accumulated on the plate to the sauce. Coat each side of the chops in the sauce and let them warm through in the simmering sauce. Spoon the sauce over each chop after plating.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Blackberry Sage Pork Chops – Step by Step Photos
Start with four thin, center cut pork chops, about one pound total. Let the chops warm for about ten minutes on the counter. Cold chops don’t sear quite as well as room temperature chops. Pat the chops dry with a paper towel (this also aids searing) and season each side with a pinch of salt and pepper. I’m not sure why that one chops is so different, unless it’s not actually a chop… I think I’ve been had.
Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. You want the oil hot so that it looks a little wavy on the surface, but not smoking. Once the oil is hot, add the pork chops and let them brown on each side. The oil should be hot enough that this happens fairly quickly (3-5 minutes). If the heat is too low, they’ll let off a lot of moisture and become kind of tough…
I’ll admit, my heat was a little too low (see how blonde that one in the back is?), but it’s all good because the sauce is so phenomenal that I didn’t care. Let the chops brown on each side then remove them to a clean plate.
What you’re left with is a skillet full of this brown gunk that looks like a nightmare to clean up, right? Wrong. This gunk is called “fond” and it has all sorts of magical flavor. It will get dissolved into the sauce, leaving not a trace behind to be scrubbed off later. Take the skillet off the heat for just a couple of minutes to cool down a bit. We don’t want to burn the butter.
Once the pan has cooled off just a touch, add 1/2 cup blackberry jam (jam or preserves, not jelly please), 1 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp water, and 1/2 tsp dried sage. Place the skillet over low heat and whisk until all the ingredients are dissolved and all the browned bits stuck to the bottom have dissolved in as well. Turn the heat up to medium and let it simmer until it thickens. It should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Taste the sauce and add a pinch of salt if needed (I added 1/8 tsp).
Add the chops back to the sauce, coating each side. Add any juices or drippings that accumulated on the plate as well. Let the chops warm briefly in the simmering sauce, then serve. Thin cut pork chops cook very quickly, so the browning step likely cooked them all the way through. If you’re using thicker cut chops, you can let them simmer in the sauce for a little while until they are done all the way through.
I added a little parsley to the Blackberry Sage Pork Chops for color in the photos, but it’s not needed for the recipe. If you happen to have fresh sage or basil, though, that would of course be phenomenal.
Make sure to spoon that delicious blackberry sage sauce over top of the pork chops after serving. *drool*
I followed the recipe exactly and the chops were tough. The sauce is delicious but the chops themselves were bland and not very edible.
My gf sent me this recipe well over 2 years ago and it’s in our rotation at least twice a week! 🤤 You can switch things up and use apple butter and apple cider vinegar. You can sub blueberry preserves (which are divine!), it’s such an “adaptable” recipe! I have shared with random strangers at Costco in the preserves aisle (again, when you’re whipping it up twice a week, you need preserves in bulk LOL). Love, love, love this recipe! We usually use bone in, thick cut chops, but have used any and all cuts. Again, EXTREMELY versatile. Thanks for such an amazing recipe!! 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
I make this anytime pork is on sale. I prefer bone in which just adds some extra flavor. One of the easiest yet still delicious recipes I’ve found.
Recommend making with couscous (the little kind not pearl), it soaks up the sauce in a delicious way.
I didn’t have any blackberry jam or preserves so I used raspberry, and it turned out great! This is going right into the rotation.
This has been a go-to recipe that I cook regularly. It’s so good! I usually serve it with mashed potatoes
This is soooo good. I made a few substitutions based on what I had on hand. Bought turkey breast cutlets on sale so used those. Also used sugar free jam to reduce calories a bit, and one less tablespoon of vinegar. Paired it with roasted red potatoes and green beans. So delicious
I found a jar of homemade blackberry jam (hiding in my pantry) and thought it might make a great cover for pork. Searched Pinterest and found this recipe. The best part is that the ingredients are few and already in the pantry.
OMG! Made them tonight served with baby potatoes, steamed carrots and broccoli. Will we have this again? For sure! A great combination of flavours. Just a hint of sage worked well with the balsamic vinegar and berry sweetness. Thanks for the great recipe!
This sauce is mouthwatering-ly delicious! My family loved it! My sauce was a little thin for my preference so I will use a little bit of cornstarch to thicken it.
My husband hates pork so I make this with chicken. Either B/S thighs or breasts that I cut into smaller fillets (4 fillets to a breast). Amazing flavors.
Beth, this dish was a big hit for my family. We all could not stop eating that sauce. The only thing I found the sauce too be to thin so I added some corn starch. Otherwise, it’s an awesome dish.
Happy to hear it Julie!
In case anyone makes the same mistake: I wasn’t thinking and bought bone-in thick chops, and I was hungry and stubborn and went ahead and the entire time was telling myself, This is stupid and you should have marinaded them and you’re wasting good meat. But… good news, they were delicious anyway! Instead of waiting for the sauce to thicken and just putting the chops back in to warm, I browned the chops, took them out long enough to get the sauce mixed and back to bubbling, and then put them back in to cook the rest of the way. Worked great! Thank you, as always, for such a delicious and easy recipe.
Just made these for the family and even the picky kids ate it! We adults loved the sauce – super sweet and made the chops juicy.
All three of my kids nommed this up, and that’s quite a feat.
Just made this with apricot preserves instead of the blackberry and it was amazing!
Far too sweet!
I have been using Budget Bytes since 2011. I go through phases where I start to cook a bunch and 95% of what I cook comes from Budget Bytes. But rarely post comments cause almost everything Beth does is awesome so why bother just staring the obvious again.
But just made the Blackberry Sage Pork Chops and OMG, that may have been the best meal I ever cooked. Followed recipe exactly. And yes, I couldn’t stop tasting the sauce. The pork chops were moist and beyond delicious.
My only problem is my pan is small (fixing soon) so had to make two chops at a time. So while I was making mine had to listen to my wife moan about how good it was. Was cruel LOL.
Make this! You will not regret it!!
Thank you, Joshua!! <3
So delicious!!! Used jam I canned last weekend and fresh sage from a friends garden. Outstanding flavor combination!
These look great! I have all the ingredients except the blackberry jam. Hmmm. Think pepper jelly would work as a substitute? Thanks!
Hmm, no, personally I can’t imagine those flavors blending well.
I plan on making this recipe and cooking the chops in my instant pot. I have made this before on the stove and just love it. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes.
I forgot to mention that I used sugar free preserves and I did not have sage in the cubbord. I used poultry seasoning instead.
TASTY! I doubled up on the sauce knowing we were having rice. I made curry rice by Goya.
I would imagine cranberry sauce in the cubbord would go nicely too. My oldest banned pork chops but no mire! Thank you.
This was amazing with cherry conserve!!
Made this with huckleberry jam and it was delicious! Will be making again :)
A good pairing that I’ve found: add sauteed mushrooms before finishing the sauce, serve over polenta. YUM.
Made this and two other recopies from this site as sides, and all came out amazing! Took a lot of will power not to just drink the jam based “gravy” on its own! I used a blueberry jam picked up from a farmer’s market near my home.
Loved it!!!
I love this recipe!
No lie… I would (if left alone) drink the blackberry/sage sauce by itself. Who needs the porkchops. So delicious!
I totally agree. :D
Best pork chops I’ve ever cooked or eaten.
Do you think it’d be ok to use fresh sage rather than dried?
Yes, absolutely. :) I’d probably use a little less, though, because fresh sage can be kind of strong.
Yum, just made this with regular cut pork chops and it was great! I’ve never cooked pork chops where they came out so soft and juicy. I also made herby sweet potato fries and they were great dipped in the blackberry sauce. Thanks!
So, I was given a lot if blackberry juice and we don’t eat much syrup in jam so I’m looking for ways to use it beyond smoothies. I’m also nit a very adventurous cook typically but I’m thinking if I used juice and cornstarch to thicken I might get a similar result. What says the expert?
I would reduce it with a touch of cornstarch to make a syrup. THEN MAKE A BLACKBERRY PUDDING!! Check out our vanilla pudding recipe and add black berry reduced syrup to taste before adding sugar. XOXO -Monti
This was great! I’m not surprised because literally all the recipes I’ve made from your site have turned out awesome :) I accidentally was heavy handed on the balsamic vinegar addition, maybe close to twice the amount called for in your recipe — yet my clumsiness yielded a tart, juicy, not too sweet glaze. Yay!
OMG!!! I made this last night…I wish there was a way to make and bottle that sauce! Delicious. Definitely one of my new favorite recipes.
I really loved this recipe. I must admit I was a bit suspicious at first – the pan sauce was very, very dark – it reminded me of the Swedish dish blodpudding – and the smell of vinegar quite strong. A super yummy result, however, when all the ingredients had simmered for a bit. Have now ordered your cookbook…
I am truly thankful to the holder of this web page who has shared this fantastic article at here.
My husband doesn’t like any kind of vinegar, can I leave that out or substitute it?
For this recipe you really need to use vinegar. It’s one of the main flavors of the sauce and helps to balance the strong sweetness of the jam.
Thanks for the quick response! I have left overs from your Taco Soup recipe if he doesn’t like this with the vinegar :D I’m exited to try these pork chops!
I made this twice now…so incredibly easy and yummy! It pairs well with caramelized butternut squash drizzled with brown butter and roasted hazelnuts. Drool factor: 10!
http://www.thebittenword.com/thebittenword/2014/01/roasted-butternut-squash-with-browned-butter-and-hazelnuts.html
Amazing!!!!! I loved everything about it!!!
Delicious – I made this with raspberry jam instead of blackberry, and I used thyme instead of sage. I felt it was a little sweet at the end (and I used closer to 1/4 cup of jam than 1/2 cup) so probably next time I’d use even less jam. I served it with a simple rice and green pea dish and it was great.
This is fantastic! I’m usually not a huge fan of pork chops, but these came out tender and not dry at all. The sauce is ridiculously yummy. Plus the whole thing looks nice enough that you can cook it for guests! I made this with the smoky fries recipe, and my boyfriend and I devoured everything.
This is my new favorite recipe. I usually keep blackberry jam stocked anyway, so this is amazing. Thank you!
Delicious!!!! We all love it, so tasty. I served it with your Skillet potatoes recipe.
Thank you again, for another hit.
I roasted a pork loin seasoned with salt, pepper and rosemary in my cast iron skillet & made the blackberry sauce. I left out the sage because I didn’t have any. I also used fresh blackberries smashed up with a sprinkle of sugar instead of the preserves. Delicious! Boyfriend and I both loved it.
I LOVED THIS! And my boyfriend and two year old did too! I used fresh blackberries smashed with a touch of sugar instead of the preserves though, and left out the water. But it was delicious!!
Completely delicious. Thank you!
Saw 1/3 of a jar of blackberry preserves in the fridge, and ran to buy pork chops! We loved this sauce, and the pork, and the ease of the recipe. All the pan sauce soaked into the rice I served on the side, and it was irresistible. Thank you for another winner!
Damn tasty! Thanks!
I loved the sauce with this dish so much that I decided to try a modified version of this for the slow cooker, using a good sized boneless pork sirloin roast. I doubled the sauce recipe, but eliminated the water (the roast makes considerable liquid as it cooks) and added a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic, 1/3 diced yellow onion, and some pepper (to taste). I then cut the roast into thirds, peppered all sides, then quick-browned them in a little olive oil and placed them into the slow cooker, pouring the sauce mixture over the top, and cooked on low for 4.5 hours (adjust depending on your roast size). After checking to see that the meat was done by cutting the largest piece, I plated the meat, poured the sauce into a saucepan, and replaced the meat into the slow cooker set on warm. I simmered the sauce mixture, adding flour to thicken it up a bit, then chilled it down to room temperature to serve.
The amazing thing about this modification is that the roast makes a huge amount of melt-in-your-mouth pork, and is quadruples the amount of meat (at least) the original recipe yields, and the roast costs less than double the pork chops!
Nice!!
I made these a few times now. My lover never was a fan of pork because it was always tough or chewy. This pork is just way tender and delicious. He really likes it now. I have also made it with apple cider vinegar (we are not fans of balsamic) and today I made it with cherry preserve. It was amazing.
Made these last night with a kumquat pomegranate jam that I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with for ages. Soooo good – can’t wait to try it with other jams as well!
If I wanted to try this with peach preserves – what herb should I use? Still sage? Or something else?
I think I’d still stick with sage.
Could I use a cast-iron skillet? Would the drippings come up as easily?
Yes, a cast iron would also work great for this recipe. The drippings should come up just as easily. :)
I made these tonight and they are PHENOMENAL. Thank you so much!!
Hey Beth,
Do you think it makes a difference to use ground sage vs. regular dried sage?
Thank you!! This is hands down my new fav food blog!
If you use regular dried sage, you’ll probably want to crush it a bit because the leaves might be too big. I used ground/rubbed sage.
Hi Beth- all we have is a pork tenderloin. Would you cook the tenderloin whole, or slice it and cook?
I’ve made a similar dish with a whole tenderloin. I browned it in the skillet, then transferred to a baking dish and baked in the oven till done. I made the sauce in the skillet with the browned bits while it finished baking. Then just drench it in sauce when it comes out of the oven. :)
I’m a huge fan of sweet and savory dishes, so this is right up my alley. Had some apricot jam in the fridge already so I used that instead of purchasing another jar of jam. Also, added a touch of cayenne. So, good!
I have been a longtime lurker of this blog and I have to say this looks like the most disgusting recipe I have seen on here. I love blackberries and I love pork chops but this just doesn’t seem right..
Which means I must try it because everything else has been delicious.
I was a bit dubious about this recipe because I’m not a huge jam fan, but I had a hankering for pork so I gave it a go. I served it with pancetta wrapped asaparagus and chunky fries. So delicious! I’m excited to do this one again.
We just made these and they were AWESOME!! We reached that unfortunate choice of having leftovers or eating it all… There was nothing left.
These were awesome! I used thyme instead of sage, based on what I had on hand. I’m going to try making it in a saucepan to serve with pork tenderloin – think I’ll use a little broth instead of water to replace the porkiness from the fond. Thank you, Beth, for consistently awesome recipes!
looks delicious. you think blueberry preserves will work here? :D that’s what I currently have on hand. thank you, Beth!
Oooh, yes, I think blueberry would be quite good.
These were amazing and super easy! I made them last night along with your smoky roasted sweet potatoes (also wonderful!). My boyfriend really liked them and I will definitely be making them again :-) I love your blog! Thanks!
Soooooooo good!
I made these for dinner tonight, they turned out great! The sauce was sweet and savory with nice acidity. I made simple roasted asparagus to eat with them. I can’t wait to have these again.
Thanks for another fantastic recipe.
Made this last night and it was awesome! My friend could only describe as a comment I can’t really say :) but it was good nonetheless. The thin is I have a fair amount of the sauce left. Is there anything else I could do with the leftover?
I’d probably just dip some bread in it or spoon it over rice. :)
Well, this was darn good. I added a bit too much sage, so it was a little strong in that reguard, but overall really very tasty.
Will probably not replace the old porkchop standby with the family, but the variety will be appreciated.
My mouth is watering right now, because I’m a HUGE fan of pork chops. This recipe reminds me of rasberry chicken with shallots-which is absolutely delicious. Since I’m planning on making these pork chops pretty soon, what side dish would you recommend, Beth? Thanks!! :-)
Well, you can’t beat pork chops and potatoes for a good down home meal, and you definitely want some green, so I’d try the Skillet Potatoes and Green Beans. :)
That is exactly the meal I made tonight – these porkchops with that potato/green bean recipe. Very yummy; the sauce for these chops is delicious!!!
This looks so good – thank you! Will you teach us how to make those french fries too? :)
Yep, the post is coming up soon! ;D
Hi Beth! Do you think its possible to use the raspberry jam used in the oat bars instead of the blackberry jam?
Yes, I think raspberry would also be very good in this. :)
Hi Beth! Do you think the jam used for the oat bars (raspberry jam) could be used instead of the blackberry jam? Trying to use up ingredients :) Appreciate your efforts on the site!
We just finished eating these (with smashed red potatoes and fresh green beans) and my whole family said this must be made again. My chops were thinner than yours (1.25 pounds gave 5 large-size chops) so they browned very quickly. The balsamic vinegar and blackberry jam balanced each other out. I wish I had something to sop up the leftover glaze in the pan!
I have some frozen blackberries from my CSA. I might try smashing those and using them instead. That way I don’t end up adding yet another jar to the condiment graveyard my fridge.
Make sure to add a decent amount of sugar. It’s the sugar in the jam that balances the balsamic vinegar.
Hi! The recipe looks amazing! Do you think the sauce would work with chicken or beef as well? Thanks!
I think it would also be really good with chicken. Beef I’m not sure… I think I’d have to try it. :)