Grilled Chipotle Pork Chops

Name: Grilled Chipotle Pork Chops
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Tex Mex
Ingredients: 3 pork chops, about 1 inch thick, rinsed and patted dry; 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes; 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce plus 1 tsp of the adobo sauce; 1 tsp cumin; pinch cinnamon; 1 clove garlic; 1/2 tsp salt

Published: May 8, 2016 · Modified: Oct 30, 2021 by Cooking Chat · This post may contain affiliate links

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Grilled Chipotle Pork Chops, made with a quick chipotle marinade, are an easy full-flavored main course recipe from the grill. Our contribution for a spicy #SundaySupper!

I consider myself a fan of spicy food, so I definitely wanted to join the “Spice is Nice and Some Like it Hot” Sunday Supper. Thanks to Sara from The Chef Next Door for hosting this flavorful event!

Now, I need to qualify my fondness for spicy food. I don’t go for food that has so much heat that it burns. I feel that I can’t taste much when it gets that hot.

I like a robust spicy flavor, but one that still lets you taste the various nuanced elements of the dish. I guess that’s one reason why I’m a big fan of chipotle flavor, and sharing Grilled Chipotle Pork Chops today.

Chipotle tends to have more of a smoky flavor than five alarm heat. I guess that makes sense seeing as chipotles are smoked chile peppers. If I’m ordering out and I see something with chipotle in it, there’s a good chance it’s going to be ordered.

To enjoy chipotle flavor at home, I’ve got a quick chipotle sauce I put together. Sometimes I use this chipotle sauce to flavor up chicken that’s already been cooked, or add it to a taco.

Today we use our chipotle sauce as a quick marinade for grilled pork chops. The quantity of sauce called for provides enough for a both a marinade and then extra to pass at the table for those that want to double down on that chipotle spice.

You might well still have enough to flavor up something else with it during the week. Just be sure that you are passing the sauce that was set aside before adding it to the pork, you don’t want to be passing the excess chipotle used to marinade the pork. The photo below shows how it looks to those of us who like to add some extra chipotle sauce!

To make delicious grilled chipotle pork chops, be sure you don’t overcook that pork! Lean pork chops can get dry quickly if you cook them too long. Exact cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chops and your grilled temperatures, but it is likely to be cooked in right around 11 to 12 minutes.

What about kids and spicy food? Though we introduced our ten year old to spice fairly early, he will only go for some spice combos.

Our guy has developed a taste for garlic and cumin, but not chipotle. So I cooked one chop using the spice blend featuring those ingredients, described over here in our Heaven Sent Grilled Pork Chops post. And if you want another favorite pork recipe, be sure to check out our Boneless Baked Pork Ribs recipe!

We served the grilled chipotle pork chops with a salad and our Sweet Potatoes with Cumin Sage Butter, which is the perfect side for a spicy main!

Wine Pairing

You can either pick a red wine that has a little spice element to it, so that it will stand up to the meat while playing along with the chipotle, or a white wine with a touch of sweetness. We opted for the red choice, opening a nice bottle of Tempranillo (the grape varietal featured in a Rioja). If choosing a white, I would go for a Riesling.