Name: Creamy Pork Casserole
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 800g (28oz) of Boneless Pork Loin Rib Chops (remove visible fat), sliced into smaller pieces; 1 onion, finely chopped; 2 cloves of garlic; 150g (5.5oz) of cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly; 250g (9oz) of butternut squash, peeled and cubed small; 1/2 tbs of paprika (not smoked); pinch of mixed herbs; 400g (14oz) can of chopped tomatoes; 1 teaspoon of tabasco sauce; 1 cup (240ml) of chicken stock; 5 tablespoons of low-fat cream cheese; cooking oil spray; Salt and black pepper; fresh chopped Italian Parsley to serve

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Creamy Pork Casserole - tender pieces of pork loin in a rich creamy tomato sauce with mushrooms and butternut squash.

Creamy Pork Casserole in deep frying pan with roasted garlic and herb potatoes in background

Creamy Tomato Sauce for Casserole

I love a good ole casserole, but it has to have a good sauce or gravy. So when I had some pork loins that needed to be used up, I had a real craving for a yummy creamy tomato sauce. The kind of sauce you can literally eat on its own with a spoon.

This sauce does not disappoint and has so much flavour from the added vegetables such as butternut squash and mushrooms. The butternut squash adds a lovely natural sweet taste and removes some of the acidity of the canned tomatoes. Perfect!!

Creamy Pork Casserole in deep frying pan with scattered parsley and patterned napkin

Best Cut of Pork for Casseroles

So you may be wondering what is the best cut of pork to use for a pork casserole. Well, my favourite is Boneless Pork Loin Rib Chops, they really absorb all that flavour in the sauce and stay nice and tender.

Other cuts that are good for this are:

Chump End/Chops
Tenderloin or Leg
Pork Shoulder

Just be aware that you need to trim off any visible fat and some cuts are much fattier than others.

close up of Creamy Pork Casserole in deep frying pan with wooden spoon

Can I use other meat or protein?

That's a great question and if you don't like pork, this works just as well with boneless skinless chicken thighs. Chicken breasts will work too, but I prefer to use thighs in casserole dishes as the meat stays much more tender and absorbs more flavour.

Hey, you could even use some fillets of white fish in this creamy sauce or even prawns (shrimp).

Just be aware that whatever you choose for your protein base it may have a slightly shorter cooking time than the pork.

You could even make this vegetarian, by adding in quorn pieces or something like chickpeas or cannelini beans instead of meat. Yum!!

Creamy Pork Casserole in deep frying pan with wooden spoon, scattered parsley and garlic herb roast potatoes in yellow bowl

Sides for Creamy Pork Casserole

You may be wondering what sides work well with this casserole dish. Some of my favourites are:

Pasta
Rice
Crushed Roast Potatoes
Garlic and Herb Roast Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Sour Cream and Spring Onion Mashed Cauliflower
Perfect Oven Baked Chips
Garlic and Herb Potato Wedges

and if you are wondering on some choice for a vegetable side, a few of my favourites are:

Fresh Baby Spinach
Sauted Shredded Garlic Brussel Sprouts
Roasted Broccoli
Roasted Cauliflower
ROSEMARY ROASTED POTATOES, PARSNIPS, CARROTS AND ONION
MAPLE GLAZED CARROTS

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 900 delicious Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers friendly recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, value and smart points etc

creamy pork casserole in white bowl with garlic and herb potatoes and spinach

Can I use Quark instead of Cream Cheese?

It's a question I see often and there are a few things to consider.

Quark is much more sour tasting that cream cheese (like Philadelphia) so you won't get that yummy creamy taste with quark.

Secondly, quark doesn't cope well with heat, unlike cream cheese which melts into a creamy goodness. If you overheat the quark it will split resulting in a not very pleasant looking sauce.

Lastly, it really isn't that many for the amount of cream cheese used when you divide up into portions.

That aside if you really can't bear to use up some points, be all means use quark, just take into account what I have mentioned above.

I recommend spooning some of the sauce into the quark to slowly warm up and never use straight from the fridge. Then remove the pan from the heat when you stir in the quark into the whole dish.

close up of creamy pork casserole in white bowl with garlic and herb potatoes and

Originally created on the 26th January 2012 and updated on the 31st March 2020

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Recipe Card

Creamy Pork Casserole

Yield: SERVES 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Creamy Pork Casserole - tender pieces of pork loin in a rich creamy tomato sauce with mushrooms and butternut squash.

Ingredients

800g (28oz) of Boneless Pork Loin Rib Chops (remove visible fat), sliced into smaller pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
150g (5.5oz) of cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
250g (9oz) of butternut squash, peeled and cubed small
½ tbs of paprika (not smoked)
pinch of mixed herbs
400g (14oz) can of chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon of tabasco sauce
1 cup (240ml) of chicken stock
5 tablespoons of low-fat cream cheese
cooking oil spray
Salt and black pepper
fresh chopped Italian Parsley to serve

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180c (fan 160c) or 350f, gas mark 4
Spray a cast-iron casserole pan or ovenproof deep frying pan with some cooking oil spray. Lightly brown the pieces of pork in batches, seasoning with salt and black pepper as you do and remove and set aside.
Add the onion and fry until softened, use a little bit of the stock to deglaze the pan and stop any sticking, scraping up any food that is stuck to the bottom.
Add in the mushrooms and continue to fry for a few more minutes.
Add the garlic, butternut squash, mixed herbs and paprika, and stir to coat.
Add in the chopped tomatoes, tabasco and chicken stock
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat slightly.
Stir in the cream cheese until melted.
Add in the pieces of pork ensuring they are fully covered with the sauce.
Place in the oven covered and bake for 40 minutes, remove the lid for the last 15 minutes
Top with some freshly chopped Italian parsley
Taste and season as needed with salt and black pepper.
Serve with your choice of sides

Notes

Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:

Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
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