Pork Chops Stuffed with Feta and Spinach

Making stuffed pork chops can be tricky. So many things can go wrong.  Technique is very important.  I use large rib chops about 1 1/2 inches thick. I cut a pocket in the chops (leaving only an inch wide opening for the stuffing).  Then, I brine the chops in 6 cups water with 1/4 cup table salt and 3/4 cups brown sugar for 1 hour.  I rinse the chops.  Pat dry, and preheat my oven and a baking pan to 450 degrees.  I stuff the chops.  In a skillet, I brown the chops in a little oil over med/high heat for 3 mins on each side.  Then I transfer chops to the preheated pan in the oven, on a rack in the lower 1/3 of oven.  I bake them until the center of stuffing reaches 135 degrees, about 15 to 20 mins. for large chops.  I remove the chops from the oven and tent loosely with foil for 10 mins.  That allows juices to redistribute and heat to carry over and raise the center of the chop to 145 degrees. 

I wish that I had read the reviews on this before starting. Eight mins in the broiler was not enough and I ended up baking it at 425 for another 10 mins. I will probably never do another recipe that calls for pork chop "pockets" as these were absurdly difficult and resulted in pieces of thinner meat that became overdone in the time that it took to cook the thicker pieces (chicken would have been easier, or pounding and folding the meat as some others suggested). I can see how if may have been good with the meat cook more evenly and tenderly but our chops were not stellar... the stuffing turned out okay and I used fresh spinach.

This is a staple in our house! We had some trouble getting the inside of the pork to cook without overcooking the outside, so we started pounding the pork chops thinner and folding it in half with the filling inside. Same taste and concept, just easier for the meat to cook. So delicious - we pair with roasted asparagus or broccoli. 

Absolutely delicious.  Substituted Goat Cheese for the feta and left out the lemon.  Huge hit with the family and will definitely do again.  My pork chops were huge, boneless ones from Costco so I butterflied and just spread the spinach mixture over the top.  I brushed the bottom with the mustard/garlic/oregano mixture and broiled for 16 minutes.  Perfect and impressive enough to serve to guests.

Big hit with the picky hubby. Really liked the stuffing, Make extra lemon/mustard and baste often.

Frankly, I was underwhelmed by this dish. It was okay, but I probably wouldn't make it again.

Just made this recipe for a weeknight dinner and if you do the prep work ahead of time (i.e. - on Sunday), it makes for an easy dinner (prep through the stuffing stage and then season / baste the night you plan on cooking them off fully). TIP: buy thin cut pork chops and then pound out with a mallet; fold to "stuff" (this makes it easier to broil and not have raw pork). I used 1 tbsp. less of cream cheese, and fresh whole spinach (chopped). I think that the feta amount is a tad too much, so next time I would cut it back some. To save time, I just seasoned the outside with garlic powder, oregano, salt & pepper. Served with a tossed salad of red onion, bell pepper, tomato and cucumber drizzled with olive oil and some kalamata olive juice and a dash of salt. Overall, it was a good meal and I would make again - enjoy!

Great taste. Used 1 " thick pork chops, had to cook twice as long.

Everyone loved this. You can stuff the chops ahead of time and refrigerate until you are ready to broil or grill. I left out the cream cheese and increased the feta and I sautéed fresh spinach, not frozen. It was fabulous.

Did not like this recipe, the sun dried tomato over powered everything else. The time was to long but that's my own fault, I know my oven and it cooks s little shooter then most.

Simple and quick recipe. Makes very tasty pork chops. The filling was very tasty. I made them with what I had on hand. I didn't have any dried tomatoes so I used fresh ones. Next time I will buy some dried ones as I think it will add to the flavor and texture. Also next time I plan to add olives as others have mentioned.

I made this for Sunday family dinner. Everyone loved it! I had bought very thick cut boneless pork shops from Costco so following the advice of other reviewers, I briefly put them under the broiler so that the top would be browned and then baked them in a 350 degree oven for about an hour. They were moist and so very flavorful. The stuffing took some time to prepare so I wouldn't ever make them for a weeknight but everyone at the table agreed that this was a repeatable recipe. I highly recommend.

Made this for the family and everybody loved it! Instead of Feta cheese I used some goat cheese, and I added some pine nuts and a little olive oil. Turned out great. Cooked them on the grill instead of the broiler.

It was okay, but not spectacular. For those of you wondering about how to cut a pocket: it's best if your knife is very sharp, so you don't have to press really hard. That way, you can gently slice and not force your way through. Also, bring your cutting board to the edge of the counter, place the chop flat on the counter close to the edge, this gives room for your hand. Focus on keeping the knife blade level with the cutting board. Pierce the meat, then make small strokes, checking regularly with your finger to see how deep the pocket is.

I served them at a dinner party and i thought they presented well. I had thick cut chops from the butcher so i broiled them for about 7 minutes and then baked them at 350 for about an hour- which was a little to long. I also was only able to brush one side because it felt like the stuffing was falling out when i tried to flip them.

It was quite a bit of work to prepare these, but they are very tasty. I baked them at 425 for 25 minutes, since I didn't want to broil. I also added pine nuts to the filling, which I think was a really good touch. I sure would like to know an easy way to cut the pocket into the chops without breaking through to the other side!

This has become the way we cook the fantastic thick "Husker" pork chops we get from Iowa! Easy to make, gets raves. (The spinach does make an excellent side dish if you make just two chops. But then, why would you?)

Delicious!!!

Fantastic recipe! I used fresh baby spinach instead of the frozen so I just sauteed it down with a little olive oil and the garlic. It was pretty easy to make and the flavors worked very well together. It heated up well the next day for leftovers too.

So easy and tasty. I left out the Dijon mustard and it was a bit dry but still very tasty. It's going on the dinner circuit.

This was very very good and I wouldn't hesitate to serve it to guests. I didn't have any feta on hand, so I used gorgonzola. I also used fresh spinach vs. frozen. I pan-seared the stuffed chops and then finished in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes. Served along side roasted garlic couscous and the rest of the spinach mixture. A bit time consuming for a weeknight, but easy enough for the weekend. And it would work just as well with chicken breasts.

Pretty easy and tastes great! made 2 porkchops as there was only 2 of us and ate the rest of the spinach mixture as a vegetable. The spinach would be great as a stand-alone vegetable. Also, would be great with chicken breasts - stuffed & broiled as per the recipee or on the grill with spinach on the side. will be making again!!

I love these porkchops. They're a bit time consuming for a weeknight, especially because they create a bunch of dishes that have to be washed (and we don't have a dishwasher). But they're delicious and really take the boring out of pork chops. They also hold up when reheating the next day if you have left overs - but I recommend cutting up the meat prior to reheating.

This was delicious! I can't wait to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow! I would absolutely make this again!!

These were great! I didn't do the broiling thing, but browned both sides of the chops on the stovetop before baking on 375. I used fresh spinach which I sautéed with some diced onion before mixing in the sundried tomato and garlic. I skipped the dijon as I am not a mustard fan and just used some salt and oregano on the outside. A great dish and looked great to serve. I paired with a quinoa dish and some roasted summer veggies. I will definitely make this again!

This was amazing! Every last bit was scraped off the plate, and it looks like something that could be served for a fancy occasion. I added 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives and a handful of pine nuts and replaced cream cheese with low fat cottage cheese and baked pork for closer to 30 min. Even so we had to nuke the pork in the microwave for 5 minutes. Nonetheless, delicious!

i used chicken instead of pork didnt add any of the tomatos and mixed the spinach with provel, cottage cheese, and cream cheese i also baked the chicken was absolutly amazing! will totally make again!

Awesome!!!! These pork chops were absolutely wonderful and fairly simple to make!

This was quite good. I left out the sun-dried tomatoes because my husband is not a huge fan. I also had some kalamata olives and pine nuts, so added those in, which I highly recommend. I had trouble finding thicker pork chops at the store (how ridiculous is that?), so took another reviewer's advice and use a small pork tenderloin. I also baked it instead of broiled. Very tasty with rave reviews from husband.

Delicious!!!!

This was delicious! I absolutely loved the flavor of the lemon. We used a very grainy dijon mustard which I think really elevated this dish. We also served this with orzo which was a great companion. Next time I will use fresh spinach (not a huuuge frozen spinach fan) - I can't wait to make this again, especially knowing how healthy it is!

Most of the family loved it.. just not our 12 year old. Very creamy cheesy stuffing.. would be great on crackers as someone else posted.

Great recipe. Both my husband and I loved it. The only change I made was that I substituted the cream cheese with two of the laughing cow light (garlic & herb) cheese wedges. Really delicious and fairly easy. I served with honey roasted red potatoes which balanced perfectly with the dish.

Delicious! I will definitely make this again. I omitted the sun-dried tomato, as I'm not a fan of them. I served the chops with a greek salad. Super easy!

Excellent!! Will definitely make these again. I thougth the lemon added a great, bright flavor.

Probably one of my favorite Cooking Light recipes to date. My boyfriend doesn't like pork chops so we used chicken instead, which was the only change I made to the recipe. The filling was amazing, I would probably eat it on chips I liked it that much. The sauce that used to baste while cooking adds a great flavor to the meat. Since I used chicken I cooked the meat for about 10 minutes on each side on the broiler rack. It came out juicy and delicious. The filling did not melt everywhere, which I was concerned about, but stayed inside during cooking and when flipping halfway. A+

Loved this!! Made recipe up to and including the stuffing the chops step in the morning, then stored in fridge until time to cook in the evening. Served with couscous, whole green beans, and greek salad. Would be great for company cause most everything can be done earlier in the day.

I love stuffed pork chops & this is a really good recipe for it. I followed the recipe, except I omitted the mustard. I only used a little olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice & oregano on the outside of the pork chops. It took longer to cook than stated in the recipe but, I just baked it at 450 after I broiled it until it was cooked through. I will make this again.

We felt like the chops were of medium difficulty to prepare. They were great! We will definitely make these again.

Outstanding recipe. The flavors of the Feta cheese, lemon and spinach really was a great combination.

yummmmmmmm these were SO good, especiallyt the stuffing...i love lemon but these were a wee bit too lemony so i would skip the rind next time and the sauce was so good i made a little extra

Awesome recipe. I bought two extra thick pork chops, managed to stuff almost all the filling in the two. Had to cook for about 20 minutes but still very juicy and cooked perfect. I love it.

What a quick and easy meal! I used large center cut pork chops so they did take a little longer to cook than the recipe called for but they were delicious! I used fresh spinach, just cooked it with the olive oil and garlic, then drained off the excess water before I added the tomatoes and other ingredients. We did not find the lemon overwhelming at all, but I did not measure how much I put in. I just kind of estimated. My kids don't like spinach so I didn't stuff theirs, but I did baste them with the mustard sauce and they were still pretty tasty and moist. Next time I might add chopped kalamata olives and pine nuts too. Definitely a winner for us!

Delicious! Such a good combination of flavors esp the tomatoes in the mixture. Very simple to make i followed as stated except i omited the lemon rind as previous comments suggested. I will def add this to my list of go to weeknight meals. Although this is a company worthy meal.

My husband LOVES this recipe. We made it with chicken instead of the pork, which turned out great. We also made extra sauce for the basting to keep it moist and had to broil the chicken longer to cook all the way through. It's a fabulous recipe that we are hooked on. Hope you enjoy too!

So gooood! Loved it.

great ****

This was a hit with everyone. The lemon was slightly overwhelming, so next time I'll cut it down and replace the difference with olive oil. Also I'd crush the garlic instead of mincing to incorporate the flavors more. Regarding cooking times, 2 minutes on the second side wasn't enough. I served it with a greek salad (romaine, onion, cucumber, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta, and a lemon/oregano vinagrette) and wheat pilaf with a touch of the same flavors in the pork chops and salad. This was a very quick meal so prep and cook, so good for week nights, but also elegant enough for company. We will have it again.

The filling is outstanding. The chops had to be broiled way longer than the recipe stated. The color of the chops wasn't very appetizing. I cut back on the lemon after reading the reviews. I think the next time I might try it on chicken like another reviewer wrote. Overall, a very good recipe that I will put in my recipe file (which is set aside for the very best)

I made this for New Years Day and I made a boneless pork roast butterflied it and pounded it out stuffed and rolled. Was great and a big hit. I did use a bit less of the lemon and it turned out great. I baked the roast then broiled it so the sauce got crusty and was great. This would also be great for fish or chicken.

The stuffing is amazing...I didn't think broiling the pork chops made them very tender. Next time, I am going to bake at 350 for an hour instead. But a very delicious recipe and an impressive presentation!

Easy, very flavorful, beautiful presentation. Mixed reviews on the amount of lemon rind -- half thought it too lemony, so I suppose you could reduce the rind to 1/4 tsp to be cautious. Used the George Foreman and the chops browned beautifully and were done in 8 minutes -- probably were done earlier but I didn't check. Served with the suggested baked pita wedges, but seasoned with zatar and salt. Greek salad.

Awesome! Even the kids loved them. They are large and very filling so plan on a simple side dish like salad or grilled veggies.