Healthy and quick, this easy One-Pan Plum Sauce Pork with carrots, peppers, and ginger is the perfect meal for a weeknight, make-ahead, and is completely company-worthy! It's also WW friendly.
This recipe can made ahead or within 30 minutes with only a few minutes of preparation time! This recipe is popular any time of the year, ideal for a Sunday dinner or special occasion, and pairs well with rice.
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Make-ahead, company-worthy meals can be a challenge, and while my Make-ahead Lasagna is a reliable favorite, it’s not ideal for every occasion or repeat guests. That’s why I love this Pork in Plum Sauce—it’s simple, elegant, and stress-free, making it perfect for impressing company without the hassle of overly complicated dishes.
🥘 Ingredient Notes
For this recipe, you'll need:
- Pork loin ( boneless or bone-in). I used bone-in (pork loin chops) for the main photos and boneless for the process images and ingredient photo.
- Plum sauce. You can use any type of plum sauce - it doesn't have to say Chinese plum sauce.
- Fresh ginger. Do not use ground ginger spice, as you won't get the same delicious results!
- Crushed red pepper flakes. Add a welcome hint of heat to this recipe.
- Crispy (dry) Chow Mein noodles. I like to use these noodles in this dish as a garnish, but I prefer them when I mix them in and they get a little soft. I generally use Farkay brand but you can use any brand you prefer. I use these chow mein noodles in my Chow Mein Casserole as well!
*See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities
📖 Variations & Substitutions
- Peppers: Use different colors of bell peppers to your preference or use frozen mixed peppers instead of fresh
- Pork: You can use any type of boneless (like pork tenderloin) or bone-in pork
- Spice: Spice it up a little more by adding more crushed red pepper flakes, sriracha, or sweet chili sauce
- Onion: If you don't have green onion, you can use white onion. Just be sure to cook it for 1 minute 30 seconds in the microwave with 3 teaspoon of water (then drain) before adding it to the dish
- Plum sauce - you can use store-bought or a homemade plum sauce recipe. You could also use hoisin sauce as a substitute.
- Rice - you can use any type of rice such as instant, basmati, jasmine, or cauliflower rice to bring down the WW points
🔪How to Make Pork with Plum Sauce
- Step 1: Mix flour, salt, and pepper together.
- Step 2: In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
- Step 3: Coat both sides of each pork with flour mixture.
- Step 4: Place pork chops in oil heated pan.
- Step 5: Fry pork chops over medium-high heat, turning once, for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until the pork is browned. *You just want to brown them, not cook them through.
- Step 6: Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in plum sauce, orange juice, orange zest, and hot pepper flakes. Add carrot, both red and green pepper, onion, and ginger to the pan.
- Step 7: Cover and cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes.*Use an instant-read thermometer to ensure doneness- internal temperature should be 145 degrees F (62 degrees C). The peppers should still have a slight crunch. *Note: if meat is cut thinner, it may require less cooking time.
- Step 8: Garnish with crispy/dry chow mein noodles, if desired. *I prefer to mix these noodles in, as I like them to get a bit soft. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice on a serving platter
Recipe Tips
- Brown, Don’t Cook Through. When browning the pork, aim for a golden brown but avoid cooking them fully during this step. The meat will finish cooking while simmering in the sauce, absorbing all the delicious flavors.
- Ensure Pork is Tender and Juicy. It can be difficult to judge when pork is done (especially without cutting into it). The best way to check for doneness is internal temperature, with an instant read thermometer (affiliate link). When inserted, the thermometer should read 145 degrees F or 62 degrees C for pork. This will ensure your pork is cooked perfectly!
- Don’t Skip the Zest. The orange zest adds a bright, citrusy note that complements the sweetness of the plum sauce. Use a microplane or fine grater to avoid including the bitter white pith.
- Keep the Vegetables Crisp. To retain a slight crunch, cut the bell peppers and carrots into uniform pieces and avoid overcooking them.
- Don’t Crowd the Pan. Brown the pork chops in batches if needed. Overcrowding the pan can cause the pork to steam rather than sear, resulting in less flavorful meat.
- Store your fresh ginger in the freezer and grate it right into your food. I store my ginger in the freezer in a small freezer bag, pull it out, and peel it with a carrot peeler, then grate it right into my food. Frozen ginger is very easy to grate. It lasts several months in the freezer and this hack saves you both time and money!
👪 Serving Size
This savory plum sauce with pork recipe makes 4 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
This recipe is 9 Weight Watchers points per serving if you use bone-in pork chops. If you use boneless (which I often do) it brings this meal down to 7 WW points
*NOTE: points do not include optional crunchy chow mein noodle topping or rice
Top Tip
The microwave is not your dinner party friend!
Speaking from experience, I recommend heating these pork chops up on the stove (instead of the microwave) if you make it ahead and want to serve it to company. I learned the hard way that the microwave is not your friend when it comes to dinner parties. It may heat things up fast, but it also cools things down really fast too and it's no fun serving cold food to guest!
🌡️Storage
Fridge: Store this Plum Sauce Pork recipe in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezer: You can also freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
🍰What to eat with Plum Pork
All you need is rice to go with this pork! You could also serve it over the crispy chow mein noodles. Or over these Chipotle Mashed potatoes.
For an appetizer, I recommend Caprese Salad Sticks or this Bruschetta with Baguette.
If you need a make-ahead, easy dessert that's also totally company-worthy, which of course you do, try my No Bake Black Forest Tiramisu (shown below). It's always well-loved by guests and potluck goers alike.
And if you are looking for something lighter, try this Light & Healthy Carrot Cake.
❔ Recipe FAQ's
Yes! It can be made ahead, up to 3 days (and even frozen for 3 months), or made right after work for dinner.
If frozen, defrost in the fridge overnight. Reheat on the stovetop (covered) over medium-low heat until warmed through to preserve the flavors and prevent the pork from drying out. If you are serving guests, avoid using the microwave for reheating, as it can cool the dish too quickly once removed.
While plum sauce is readily available at most grocery stores in the condiment aisle (or the "international section") if you can’t find plum sauce, or don't have any one hand, you can quickly make your own (see substitutions and variations). You could also substitute hoisin sauce.
This one-pan plum pork is one of my favorite easy juicy pork recipes and I have been making it for years. So, if you're looking for delicious dinners that are company-worthy, easy, and make-ahead, then you'll love this Pork with Plum Sauce!
🐖More Pork Dinner Recipes
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📋 Plum Sauce Pork Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 slices pork loin boneless or bone-in pork chops
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper
- 1 cup shredded carrots about 2 medium carrots
- 2 green onions, chopped chopped
- ½ red pepper cored and sliced (julienned)
- ½ green pepper cored and sliced (julienned)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- ⅔ cup plum sauce
- 4 tablespoon orange juice
- ¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes/crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Garnish
- dry (crispy) chow mein noodles (optional)
Instructions
- Mix flour and salt and pepper together.¼ cup flour, ¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper
- In large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Coat both sides of each pork with flour mixture and place pork chops in oil heated pan.4 slices pork loin
- Fry pork over medium-high heat, turning once, for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until the pork is browned.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in plum sauce, orange juice, orange zest and hot pepper flakes. Add carrot, both red and green pepper, onion and ginger to pan,1 cup shredded carrots, 2 green onions, chopped, ½ red pepper, ½ green pepper, 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, ⅔ cup plum sauce, 4 tablespoon orange juice, ¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes/crushed red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon orange zest
- Cover and cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes.*Use an instant-read thermometer to ensure doneness- internal temperature should be 145 degrees F (62 degrees C).*Note: if meat is cut thinner, it may require less cooking time.
- Serve over rice or cauliflower rice.
Garnish:
- Garnish with crispy/dry chow mein noodles, if desired.dry (crispy) chow mein noodles
Notes
-
- Brown, Don’t Cook Through. When browning the pork, aim for golden brown, but avoid cooking them fully during this step. The meat will finish cooking while simmering in the sauce, absorbing all the delicious flavors.
-
- Ensure Pork is Tender and Juicy. It can be difficult to judge when pork is done (especially without cutting into it). The best way to check for doneness is internal temperature, with an instant read thermometer (affiliate link). When inserted, the thermometer should read 145 degrees F or 62 degrees C for pork. This will ensure your pork is cooked perfectly!
-
- Don’t Skip the Zest. The orange zest adds a bright, citrusy note that complements the sweetness of the plum sauce. Use a microplane or fine grater to avoid including the bitter white pith.
-
- Keep the Vegetables Crisp. To retain a slight crunch, cut the bell peppers and carrots into uniform pieces and avoid overcooking them.
-
- Don’t Crowd the Pan. Brown the pork chops in batches if needed. Overcrowding the pan can cause the pork to steam rather than sear, resulting in less flavorful meat.
-
- Store your fresh ginger in the freezer and grate it right into your food. I store my ginger in the freezer in a small freezer bag, pull it out and peel it with a carrot peeler, then grate it right into my food. Frozen ginger is very easy to grate. It lasts several months in the freezer and this hack saves you both time and money!
Terri Gilson
I've been making these One-Pan Plum Sauce Pork Chops for years, and they're my go-to for easy, impressive dinners. The plum sauce gives them such a delicious flavor, and I love that I can make them ahead or whip them up in 30 minutes. They're perfect for those nights when you want to serve something special without the stress!
Sean@Diversivore
BOY do I agree with you. Company-worthy (and family-friendly!) make-ahead food is hard to come by! I love the way plum and pork work together (actually pork and sweet/sour fruits in general work really nicely). Love the quick cleanup here too!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Sean!
Colleen
Pork and plum are such a perfect pair. I agree with you about keeping it simple, especially when it's as delicious as this looks!
Terri Gilson
Thanks Colleen!
Terri Gilson
Thank you Denise! I hope you like it ? and Happy New Year to you as well!
Denise from Urb’n’Spice
This dish sounds and looks absolutely delicious, Terri. So colorful! I am looking forward to trying it soon. Your entertaining tips are spot on, too! Cheers and Happy New Year!