Sweet-Sour Kraut & Chops

This pork chop casserole layers browned chops over a bed of sauerkraut and crushed pineapple that’s been sweetened with brown sugar, all sitting on top of tender sliced potatoes. It’s a one-dish meal with German roots and a sweet-sour punch that makes the whole house smell incredible.

The two-stage baking is smart engineering. Potatoes and onion get a 45-minute head start in the oven to soften before the sauerkraut-pineapple mixture and seared chops go on top. This means the potatoes are creamy and tender by the time the pork finishes cooking, and nothing comes out undercooked.

Rinsing the sauerkraut before combining it with the pineapple is an important detail. It tempers the salt and sourness, so the brown sugar and sweet pineapple juice can actually balance the flavor into a true sweet-sour profile instead of just sour with a hint of sweet. The undrained crushed pineapple provides liquid that keeps everything moist during the second bake.

Pro Tips

• Brown the chops well on both sides before placing on the casserole. That seared crust adds flavor and holds up better during the second 45 minutes of covered baking.
• Rinse and drain the sauerkraut. This is the step that makes the sweet-sour balance work. Skip it and the whole dish tastes aggressively salty and sour.
• Slice potatoes thin and uniform. Thick slices won’t cook through in the first 45 minutes and will still be hard under all those layers.
• Keep it covered for both bakes. The foil traps steam that cooks the chops gently and keeps the potatoes from drying out.

Variations

• Add caraway seeds to the sauerkraut mixture for a more authentic German flavor.
• Smoked pork chops instead of regular for a deeper, smokier taste that pairs beautifully with the sweet kraut.
• Apple slices: Layer sliced apples with the sauerkraut for another classic German combination.