Grilled Pork Chops with Spicy Cherry Plum Salsa
This post was sponsored by Honest Cooking, and all opinions expressed here are my own.
Grilled Pork Chops with Spicy Cherry Plum Salsa are juicy, grilled pork chops topped with a sweet and spicy fruit salsa. It’s the perfect summer dinner!
Grilling is definitely one of my favorite things about summer. Yes, I do grill year round, but it’s much more enjoyable when the weather is gorgeous.
Sunshiny grilling vibes are the very best kind. 🙂
These Grilled Pork Chops with Spicy Cherry Plum Salsa is my kind of summer meal. It’s healthy, easy, and lightning quick. My favorite part — besides eating it! — is that I don’t even have to wash a pot afterward.
I heart my grill. 🙂
The inspiration for this dish came from Santa Rita Wine’s 120 Hero’s Salute Red Blend and Badia seasoning.
I received them both, and was asked to develop a recipe that would utilize the seasoning in a grilled dish that would pair beautifully with the wine. This dish just does that.
When I tasted a bit of the Badia seasoning, which you can find on their website here) I immediately tasted cumin, which made me think pork chops.
The seasoning is inspired by Latin cooking and is a blend of cumin, onion, garlic, and other herbs, and I’ll definitely find many uses for it in my kitchen.
I’m a red wine lover, and I found the Santa Rita Wine red blend to be very smooth and fruity, with hints of spices, vanilla, coffee, and tobacco. It had a delicious depth of flavor, and I thought that it would complement the dark stone fruit that’s in season right now.
The spicy-sweet cherry plum salsa was the perfect thing to bring this dish together.
Grilled pork chops
The smoky grilled flavor of the pork chops was plenty here, but I wanted to add even more smokiness to the dish by grilling the plum as well.
A perk to grilling the plums is that the peels slip right off once they’re cooked. I live for shortcuts!
The best part about grilled fruit is how syrupy the juices get, and that sweet, smoky syrup went right into that salsa.
I also added pitted cherries, red onion, lime juice, cilantro, and some jalapeño. I was tasting the salsa along the way as I made it, and honestly, the jalapeño addition is what made it really exciting and balanced everything out.
Sweet and spicy is always where it’s at for me. 🙂
These Grilled Pork Chops with Spicy Cherry Plum Salsa are what summer is all about. No dirty dishes piled up for you to clean, so you can be outside in the beautiful summer weather with a delicious glass of red.
Need I say more? 🙂
Love to grill? See all of my Grilling recipes.
Try these other delicious pork recipes:
Serve grilled pork chops with these delicious sides:
Grilled Pork Chops with Plum Cherry Salsa
Ingredients
For the salsa:
- 2 medium plums halved and pitted
- 1 cup cherries pitted and coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1 jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 lime juiced
- salt and black pepper to taste
For the pork chops:
- 1 tablespoon canola oil for the grill
- 4 pork loin chops about 1" thick
- 2 teaspoons Badia seasoning*
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium and brush the grill grates with the canola oil.
- Place the plums cut side down on the hot grill and cook about 3 minutes per side or until softened and charred. Remove from the grill and allow to cool. When the plums are cool enough to handle, remove the peel and chop into 1/2" chunks and place in a small bowl. Add the cherries, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and black pepper, to taste. Set aside to let the flavors meld while the pork chops cook.
- Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper, followed by a generous amount of the Badia seasoning on both sides.
- Place the pork chops on the grill and cook 4-5 minutes per side, or until a thermometer reads 150 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the chops. Remove from heat, cover loosely with foil, and allow to rest about 8-10 minutes.
- Serve warm with salsa, and enjoy!
Notes
- *Badia seasoning may be found at http://badiaspices.com.
- I have a handy cherry pitter that I use to make pitting my cherries so much easier!
- You don't have to peel the plums, because once they're grilled, the peels slip right off.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
38 Comments on “Grilled Pork Chops with Spicy Cherry Plum Salsa”
I am so in love with this salsa and we make something similar very often. I have never understood why people only make salsa with tomatoes, when there are so many other fruits to use.
Salsa is so much more than just tomatoes — agreed! I love sweet and savory flavors together so much more!
Grilling is one of my favorite things about summer, too! My husband is actually the grill master, but I love preparing foods for it. These pork chops look SO good, Marcie! I always end up preparing pork chops the same way, so I’m loving this cherry plum salsa. I think I could just eat it with a spoon!
Thanks, Gayle! By the time I finished “testing” the salsa, there was only half of it left. 🙂
Beautiful! I just made a fresh cherry salsa (on the blog in July) and I love that you used plums in it along with the cherries!
Thank you, Mimi! 🙂
This salsa looks so beautiful and YUM!Love those pork chops too 🙂
Thank you, Kushi!
Why oh why have I never made a salsa with plums? That sounds amazing!! And spooned over grilled pork chops?? Perfect summer meal!
The wine I had with this had a plum flavor, which gave me the idea to use plums with cherries — I liked it so much it almost didn’t make it to the plate! 🙂 Thanks, Ashley!
I am seriously in love with that salsa…it looks like the perfect light topping for pork chops, AND it’s gorgeous!
Thanks, Denise! 🙂
That fruit salsa looks like the perfect complement for this grilled pork! I’ve never actually grilled pork chops, but I’m not sure why! These look delicious!
Thank you, Kristine! Pork is a nice change from chicken! 🙂
Yay for summer grilling! These pork chops look so juicy and flavorful, Marcie! Oh my goodness and I love that you topped them with a cherry plum salsa! I would find every excuse to put that on everything! So fresh and delicious!
Thanks, Kelly, and that salsa almost didn’t make it to the pork chops! lol
Grilling is one of my favorite parts of summer too, Marcie! I mean what is there not to love about cooking outdoors, right… well, as long as the mosquito aren’t too bad. 😉 Love these pork chops and YES to cherry salsa! We are totally twinning on that, girlfriend! Great minds indeed think alike! I need to add these chops to my grilling rotation, and I still have a bottle of Santa Rita to pair with it! Woot woot! Cheers!
I do love the outdoors, but unfortunately mosquitos love me which isn’t a good thing. 🙁 Thanks, Cheyanne, and I’m going to head over and see that cherry salsa of yours right now! 🙂
That salsa is so unique and looks delicious! I don’t have a grill but it’s on the to-buy list once we finally have a yard or large enough patio. Not having to wash any dishes + being outside in the sunshine + drinking good wine is my idea of a perfect summer evening. 🙂
I’m glad you agree, Sarah! Have a great weekend. 🙂
Love the cherry/plum combination! These pork chops look perfect! Love grilling, too!
Thank you, Mira!
I love sweet and spicy flavors, and this plum salsa is speaking to me. Love how vibrant and luscious it has turned out! Perfect paring for grilled pork!
Thank you, Anu!
This cherry plum salsa looks great!
Thank you, Laura!
Oh yeah….I want to grill all.the.things this time of the year. These chops look so juicy and perfect!
Thanks so much, Ashley!
Loving the video! This would be so perfect for my husband Marcie.
Thank you, Jessica!
That cherry plum salsa looks amazingly delicious and beautiful! Fruit salsas are the best. 🙂
Thank you, Christin, and I totally agree! 🙂
Your salsa sounds like a great addition to grilled pork! So yummy!
Thank you, Jamie! I could’ve made a meal out of just the salsa I think. 🙂
I could eat this salsa on everything!!
Me, too! 🙂