Open a foil packet and there’s your sauce: warm ranch butter ready to spoon over the pork and whatever else is on the plate. These slow cooker ranch pork chops start with just three ingredients, and each chop gets its own little packet to hold the butter and cooking juices.
There’s no bowl of sauce to mix. Dry ranch seasoning goes over the meat, sliced butter sits on top, and the foil folds around both. Once the packets are tucked into the slow cooker, you can turn your attention to the rest of dinner. Mashed potatoes are a good place to start—you’ll want something to catch those juices.
Servings: 4 · Cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or HIGH for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
The Foil Fold Deserves a Minute
A loose fold gives the butter somewhere to escape. Use heavy-duty foil, or double up thinner foil, and leave enough around each chop to close the packet securely. Bring the long edges together, roll them down, then fold in the ends.
The packets belong in a single layer in the crock. Keep them side by side rather than piled on top of one another. When dinner is ready, lift them out with tongs and open the folds away from your face; the steam inside is hot.
Ingredients for 3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops in Foil Packets
- 4 boneless pork chops, about 1-inch thick
- 1 (1-ounce) packet dry ranch seasoning mix
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, sliced
How to Make the Ranch Pork Chop Packets
- Lay out 4 sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, each large enough to wrap one pork chop into a sealed packet. If your foil is thin, double it so the juices don’t leak out during cooking.
- Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel so the seasoning sticks well. Place one pork chop in the center of each sheet of foil.
- Sprinkle the dry ranch seasoning evenly over the tops and sides of all four pork chops, dividing the packet between them as evenly as you can.
- Top each seasoned pork chop with an equal portion of the sliced butter, laying the slices right on top so they melt down over the meat as it cooks.
- Fold each piece of foil up and over the pork chop, bringing the long sides together first and rolling them down to seal, then folding in the ends tightly. You want each chop wrapped individually in a snug packet so the juices stay inside and steam the meat.
- Place the foil-wrapped pork chops in a single layer in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. It’s fine if they’re close together, but avoid stacking if you can so they cook evenly.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, or on HIGH for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the pork chops are very tender and cooked through. Use a food thermometer to check that the center of each chop has reached at least 145°F before removing it from the heat; color alone is not a reliable doneness test.
- When ready to serve, carefully lift each foil packet out of the slow cooker using tongs. Open the packets slowly, facing them away from you, as the trapped steam will be hot.
- Transfer each pork chop to a plate and let it rest for at least 3 minutes before cutting or eating. Spoon some of the buttery ranch juices from the foil over the top, and serve with potatoes or noodles if desired.
Doneness note: The temperature check and rest follow USDA guidance for pork chops. Cooking times are a guide; use the thermometer to check each piece.
Make Room for the Ranch Butter
Spoon the juices over mashed potatoes or egg noodles as well as the pork. The butter is already seasoned, so a plain side gives it somewhere to go. Green beans, peas, or a tossed salad round out the plate without another rich sauce.
Applesauce or coleslaw works alongside the chops, too. Add dinner rolls or crusty bread if you’d rather mop up the last spoonful that way. Before discarding the foil, tip the remaining juices onto the plate.
Reheat the Pork with Its Juices
Keep any leftovers refrigerated with their cooking juices. For another meal, transfer the pork and juices to a skillet and reheat until a food thermometer reads 165°F throughout. USDA recommends reheating leftovers on the stovetop, in an oven, or in a microwave; a slow cooker isn’t recommended for bringing chilled leftovers back up to temperature.
3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops in Foil Packets Recipe
3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops in Foil Packets
Ingredients
Method
- Lay out 4 sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, each large enough to wrap one pork chop into a sealed packet. If your foil is thin, double it so the juices don’t leak out during cooking.
- Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel so the seasoning sticks well. Place one pork chop in the center of each sheet of foil.
- Sprinkle the dry ranch seasoning evenly over the tops and sides of all four pork chops, dividing the packet between them as evenly as you can.
- Top each seasoned pork chop with an equal portion of the sliced butter, laying the slices right on top so they melt down over the meat as it cooks.
- Fold each piece of foil up and over the pork chop, bringing the long sides together first and rolling them down to seal, then folding in the ends tightly. You want each chop wrapped individually in a snug packet so the juices stay inside and steam the meat.
- Place the foil-wrapped pork chops in a single layer in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. It’s fine if they’re close together, but avoid stacking if you can so they cook evenly.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, or on HIGH for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the pork chops are very tender and cooked through. Use a food thermometer to check that the center of each chop has reached at least 145°F before removing it from the heat; color alone is not a reliable doneness test.
- When ready to serve, carefully lift each foil packet out of the slow cooker using tongs. Open the packets slowly, facing them away from you, as the trapped steam will be hot.
- Transfer each pork chop to a plate and let it rest for at least 3 minutes before cutting or eating. Spoon some of the buttery ranch juices from the foil over the top, and serve with potatoes or noodles if desired.
