Grilled Paprika Pork Chops with Spanish Wine Pairings

This Grilled Paprika Pork Chops recipe is a delicious way to bring Spanish flavors to the table at home. A simple rub of smoked paprika, garlic powder, and a pinch of saffron turns basic pork chops into a flavorful main dish that’s even better with a Spanish wine pairing.

I've been leaning into Spanish flavors and wines following a trip to Spain earlier this year, where I savored the food and wine culture. I have great memories of the trip, from a casual glass of Catalan red with cheese and a view in Girona, to unhurried meals built around high-quality, simple ingredients. I came home wanting to bring some of that into my everyday cooking, and pork chops with a Spanish-style rub turned out to be an easy, regular way to do it.

These paprika pork chops pair well with a range of Spanish wines. I’m featuring one of my favorites as part of Spanish Wine Pairings for Summer, our August Wine Pairing Weekend event - plus a second pairing I’ve previously tested with this dish.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How To Make Paprika Pork Chops
• Serving suggestions
• Wine pairing for Paprika Pork Chops
• Recipe card
• More Spanish Pairings for Summer

Ingredients

Here’s a summary of the ingredients found in our grilled paprika pork chops.

• Pork chops - Most recently I made this with boneless chops, a bit over 1 inch thick for more consistent grilling, though I’ve also made it with bone-in in the past.
• Smoked paprika - The core flavor of the rub, bringing a smoky, earthy character that works well with the grill. Good-quality paprika makes a real difference here. I really like the smoked paprika from Curio Spice Co., which I pick up locally at Nouvelle Maison in Winchester, MA.
• Garlic powder - Adds savory depth to round out the rub.
• Salt - Balances and brings out the other flavors in the rub.
• Saffron (optional) - A pinch adds a subtle, distinctive note and a nod to Spanish cooking, but the rub works well without it if you don’t have any on hand.
• Titin Spanish extra virgin olive oil (optional) - I recently tried finishing these paprika pork chops with a drizzle of this high-quality Spanish extra virgin olive oil at the table. It adds flavor and helps keep the meat tasting juicy. I’ve featured Titin on the podcast - it’s a good one if you want to try a really good Spanish oil.

How To Make Paprika Pork Chops

Here's a quick overview of how to make Grilled Paprika Pork Chops. Head to the recipe card for more detail.

Start by making the rub. Combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and optional paprika in a bowl.

Prep the pork chops. Take the pork chops out of the packaging, pat dry, and then set them on a clean work surface. I used a disposable paper plate here for convenience, or use a cutting board dedicated to raw meat.

Sprinkle the rub (about half of it) onto the pork chops, then rub it in with your fingers. Turn the chops over, and sprinkle the remainder of the rub onto the other side of the chops, and work it in with your fingers.

Let the chops rest with the paprika rub, at room temperature, while the grill gets heated. Letting them sit for about 10 to 15 minutes before grilling helps develop the flavors.

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, and coat well with cooking oil spray.

When the grill has reached at least 400 degrees, turn on of the grill knobs to off or very low to create an indirect heat area. Place the chops on the grill, directly over an active burner.

Grill on direct heat for 4 minutes, then flip to put the pork chops on the indirect heat zone. Grill for another 4 minutes, then check for doneness. Pork chops should be cooked to 145 degrees. If they are done, set aside to rest for a few minutes before serving. Cook for a few more minutes if they are not done.

Note: Grilling time will vary based on the size of your chops and the grill. Add about 1 minute per side if you are preparing bone-in pork chops.

Serving suggestions

We plated one chop per person. With good size pork chops, that is actually more than the typical 4 to 5 ounce recommended serving for meat. So we wound up with a bit leftover.

I like these paprika pork chops served simply, with a drizzle of good Spanish extra virgin olive oil (as mentioned earlier I’ve been using Titin) at the table - it added flavor and helped keep the meat tasting juicy.

Tomato and Warm Spinach Salad with Manchego

This time, I paired the chops with quinoa and a simple side salad that leans into the same Spanish flavors - wilted spinach, fresh cherry tomatoes, a few olives, and shaved Manchego, finished with extra virgin olive oil and a splash of sherry vinegar. It’s light and colorful, and comes together quickly while the chops are on the grill.

Other side options

Spanish roasted potatoes - I’ve also served these chops with my Spanish Roasted Potatoes recipe, which echoes the smoked paprika in the rub, and very similar to something you might enoy in Spain.

Sautéed Arugula – This sautéed arugula with red bell peppers is another good side option to serve with pork chops and other grilled meat.

Wine pairing for Paprika Pork Chops

2021 Buil & Giné “Giné Giné” Priorat (Garnatxa & Carinyena, $25, 14-15% ABV)

For today’s article, I paired the paprika pork chops with a Priorat from Buil & Giné, a blend of Garnatxa and Carinyena - the Catalan spellings of Garnacha and Cariñena. You’ll typically see these names on labels from Priorat and other Catalan wine regions. In the glass, it showed a deep, dark red color, with a woodsy nose and dark berry aromas. On the palate, plum and a bit of baking spice came through.

The pairing was excellent - the wine had enough structure to stand up to the grilled flavors and paprika rub. The fruit and acidity refreshed, and also went well with the warm spinach salad.

Buil & Giné is based in Gratallops, a small village at the heart of DOQ Priorat in Catalonia’s Tarragona province. It’s a different corner of Catalonia than Girona, where I traveled earlier this year, but it’s a highly regarded wine region. The winery was founded in 1996 by Xavi Buil, continuing a family winemaking tradition that traces back to his grandfather, Joan Giné. I’m definitely hoping to visit Priorat on future trip to Spain – I just couldn’t pull off the logistics during our 2026 trip to Barcelona.

Before dinner, we also tried the wine with a bit of Manchego, which worked nicely too - a pairing I’ll be exploring more in an upcoming post on Manchego wine pairings.

Rioja

I’ve also paired these chops with a LAN Crianza Rioja (~$14, a Tempranillo-based blend from Rioja Alta) in the past - the wine’s structure and spice notes stood up well to the smoky char and the paprika rub, too. Disclosure: this wine was provided as a complimentary sample.

 

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Recipe card

 

More Spanish Pairings for Summer

Be sure to check out the rest of the Wine Pairing Weekend articles on the Spanish Wine Pairings for Summer theme:

• Culinary Cam will be sharing “An Iberian Peninsula Pairing: Bife à Portuguesa + Bodegas Shaya Habis Verdejo Old Vines 2019“
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm is pairing “La Cantera Reserva and Ribs with a Tempranillo Glaze“
• Terri from A Good Life wrote about “Bacanísimo Monastrell: A Bold Spanish Red Worth Sharing“
• Here on Cooking Chat, we have this article “Grilled Paprika Pork Chops with Spanish Wine Pairings”.

Check out the articles and follow the conversation on social media with the hashtag #winePW!