Pork Chops with Grilled Apricot Corn Salsa

 With just 6 ingredients and all cooked on the grill, these easy grilled apricot pork chops make a healthy and delicious summer dinner for any weeknight! (gluten-free, dairy-free)

One of the things I love most about summer, besides all of the amazing produce, is that you can make an entire meal on the grill! To me, that means little effort, big flavor, and almost zero cleanup. What more could you ask for in a summer dinner? These grilled pork chops with apricot and corn salsa are one such dinner that uses the grill and early summer produce for an easy and flavorful meal.

Why You'll Love These Grilled Pork Chops

These pork chops come together so easily with just six simple, fresh ingredients with a little help from the grill. Because pork is so flavorful, it needs little more than salt, pepper and oil to be juicy and delicious! Topped with a sweet and smoky salsa made from grilled apricots that get perfectly caramelized, charred corn, and basil, these chops are easy enough for weeknights but impressive enough for guests!

How To Make Pork Chops with Apricot Corn Salsa

1. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides and rub with olive oil.
2. Halve the apricots and remove the pits, then coat them with olive oil. Remove husks from the corn.
3. Grill the pork chops on high heat for 2-3 minutes per side, then move to indirect heat to finish cooking until the internal temperature reaches 135°F, about 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your pork chops.
4. While pork is cooking, grill the apricots and corn on high heat until grill lines just start to appear on the apricots and corn is charred, rotating corn to grill all sides.
5. Remove the pork chops and cover with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes while you make the salsa.
6. Cut the kernels from the corn, dice the grilled apricots, dice the onions, and slice the basil. Mix it all in a bowl with the balsamic vinegar.
7. Slice the pork chops and top with the salsa.

Tips and Recipe Variations

• Because pork chops vary in thickness, it's best to go by temperature instead of time. (If you don't already have a meat thermometer, I highly recommend you get one!) Pull the chops when they reach about 135°F. The temperature will rise 5-10 degrees as the pork chops rest.
• Don't skip the resting. It's important to allow the temperature to rise (see above) but also to allow the juices to settle back into the meat for a juicy pork chop!
• Avoid cooking the apricots too long or they will start to get mushy and be very difficult to handle. You just want to get some color on the cut side without over-cooking. High heat is the best way to achieve this.
• If you like a little more spice in your salsa, add some diced jalapeño.
• If you can't find apricots, substitute any stone fruit, like peaches, nectarines, or plums!
• If you don't have white balsamic vinegar, you can use regular balsamic, red wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar.

What To Serve With This Dinner

• To minimize cleanup, I like to grill a veggie with grilled dinners. Throw on some asparagus, summer squash, or zucchini. Or try my marinated grilled vegetables!
• Keep things light and fresh with a salad. I love my snap pea burrata salad, or a simple arugula salad.
• For a simple starchy side, you can never go wrong with some sliced sourdough bread thrown on the grill or my grilled sweet potato wedges.
• Grab a dry, citrusy white wine or rosé to complete the meal.

More Pork Chop Recipes You'll Love

• Honey Grilled Pork Chops With Grilled Plums
• Easy Skillet Pork Chops with Balsamic Glaze
• Pan Seared Pork Chops with Pears and Bourbon

If you love grilling season as much as I do, grab more inspiration from this roundup of Healthy Grilling Recipes!

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!

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This post was originally published July 2017 and has been updated.