Cooked apples with sage and other seasonings are perfect toppings for pan-fried pork chops, just like Dumbledore had at the Yule Ball.
Jump to RecipeThroughout the Harry Potter books, there are some foods that are mentioned in one line. One such recipe is the pork chops that Albus Dumbledore orders for his meal at the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire. It’s fun to work with some unexplained recipes. It gives me more of a chance to try out my own take on the food.
If you have only watched the movies, then this reference is completely skipped over. #thebooksarealwaysbetter During the Yule Ball, after the champions have their opening dance, everyone sits down at some tables to have dinner. There aren’t any waiters, and no one knows what to do after reading the menu. Until Dumbledore tells his plate “pork chops” and the food magically appears. Harry orders Goulash for himself. After dinner is when the wizarding band The Weird Sisters performs. All of the students are dancing (except Harry and Ron and the Patil twins) as shown in the movie.

There was no food as yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. Harry picked his up uncertainly and looked around – there were no waiters. Dumbledore, however, looked carefully down at his own menu, then said very clearly to his plate, “pork chops!”
And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their order with their plates too.
-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I decided to try a recipe I’ve been wanting for a long time. Without more description, I had leeway with the recipe. I’ve heard of and seen many recipes for apples cooked with pork, but never tried it. For some reason, the combination always seemed a bit odd. But now that I’ve eaten it, I am a firm believer in the two together! I had a bag of apples in the refrigerator that we hadn’t eaten and needed to use soon.
One of the members of our Harry Potter Club is dairy-free. This was a great recipe to share since there is no dairy in it either.

Apple and Sage Pork Chops Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1 tsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 4 pork chops (boneless)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion (thinly sliced)
- 2 apples (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup apple juice
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Preparation
In a small bowl, mix together all of the seasonings: flour, salt, rubbed sage, minced garlic, thyme leaves, allspice, and paprika.

Use one tablespoon of the seasoning mixture to sprinkle on both sides of the pork chops. Save the rest of the seasoning mix for later.
In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, warm the oil, then add the pork chops. Brown the pork on both sides until they are almost done. Then remove them from the skillet.

Add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, until they start to soften.

Add the apples to the onion and cook for another 2 minutes while stirring.

In a medium bowl, combine the apple juice, brown sugar, and remaining seasoning mixture together. Return the pork chops to the pan and pour in the juice mix.

Bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and let the meat simmer for about 5 minutes or until the pork is cooked.

Serve warm with some of the apple and onions on top of the pork.


Recipe
Originally Published On: June 19, 2018
Last Updated On: July 27, 2023

Apple and Sage Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 1 tsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 4 pork chops (boneless)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion (thinly sliced)
- 2 apples (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup apple juice
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the flour, salt, sage, garlic, thyme, allspice, and paprika
- Sprinkle one tablespoon of seasoning mixture over both sides of the pork chops and save the rest for later
- In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium-high heat
- Brown the pork chops on both sides until they are almost cooked
- Remove the pork from the pan and add the sliced onion, cooking for about 3 minutes
- Add the sliced apples to the pan with the onions and cook another 2 minutes
- In a medium bowl, combine the apple juice, brown sugar, and remaining seasoning mixture
- Return the pork chops to the pan and pour the juice mixture into the pan
- Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat to low
- Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the pork chops are done
- Serve warm with the apples and onions over the pork
Notes
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
More Harry Potter-Inspired Recipes to try
- Butterbeer: A Harry Potter Party Essential
- Harry Potter’s Birthday Cake
- Crystallized Pineapple: A Sweet Treat with Only 3 Ingredients
- Harry Potter’s Treacle Tarts Recipe: Sweet and Vegan
- Canary Creams from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes
- Sorting Hat Cupcakes
- Sweet and Creamy Butterbeer Ice Cream
- Soft and Sweet Treacle Fudge
- Rock Cakes that Won’t Break your Teeth
- Paczki: Polish Doughnuts
- Pumpkin Juice
- The Welcoming Feast Roast Beef
- One-Pot Goulash
- Kreacher’s French Onion Soup
- Nearly-Headless Nick’s Deathday Cake
- Chocolate and Caramel Cockroach Clusters
- Dumbledore’s Apple and Sage Pork Chops
- Pumpkin Pasties from the Hogwarts Express
Apple Recipes to try
- Dutch Oven Apple Cobbler Dump Cake Recipe for Camping
- Slow Cooker Apple Crumble
- Apple Cider Chicken
- Apple Crisp
- Dumbledore’s Apple and Sage Pork Chops
- Easy Apple Pie
- Sautéed Apples with Ice Cream
- Spiked Hot Apple Cider
- The Best Apple Cider Cocktails to Make This Fall
More Pork Recipes
- Sheet Pan Ranch Pork and Potatoes
- Brown Sugar Glazed Pork
- Un-Stuffed Pork Chops
- Smoked Pork Butt Recipe
- Skillet Pork Chops with Pan Gravy
- Creole Pork with Cheesy Polenta
- Grilled Pineapple Pork Chops
- Potato-Crusted Pork Chops
- Super Easy Marinated Baked Pork
- Pork and Noodles with Bok Choy
- Honey-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Radish Salad
- Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
- Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Easy Brown Gravy
- Dumbledore’s Apple and Sage Pork Chops
- Beef and Pork Chili in the Slow Cooker
- BBQ Pork Potatoes in the Slow Cooker
- Tomato Caper Pork
- Asian Pork Salad
- Italian-Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin
This looks so yummy. I love cooking with apples.
This was the first time I used apples in a main dish rather than with desserts and it was delicious!
I bet the apples add a little sweetness. Love it.
They did. I wasn’t sure about cooking with apples like this, but I really liked the subtle sweetness they added to the pork.
Yum this actually looks like something I can make! I’m always up for trying new recipes – I bet my kids would love this.
My boys both really liked it. They will eat pork, and both really like apples, so it worked well for us! I hope your family enjoys it, too!
i love apples used in savory dishes! the spices sound so flavorful!
This was my first time using apples mixed with savory, but I really liked the way it balanced everything! I will definitely be doing it again.
Pork chops are one of our favorites and this looks delicious. My kids love trying new flavors!
We all like pork chops here, too. It’s one thing that my boys agree on, and they loved the apples on this one!
The recipe look so delicious, as i’m a vegetarian and don’t eat pork so i’ll substitute this with tofu or broccoli.
Let me know how it goes! I’ve never cooked tofu before, so don’t have any experience with it. But broccoli would be interesting with these flavors for sure!
This recipe is perfect for the fall. I know my boys would love it.
My boys love it, too. Apples are one of their favorites and we all will eat pork.
Potter head here. Yule ball and their magnificent dinners are one of the finest scenes. Thank you for this recipe. It suits this weather. Would love to have it.
Yay! Always love meeting a fellow Potter head 🙂 I wish the Yule Ball was given more justice in the movies because I loved it in the book.
We should def try this sometime. I love the idea of cooking the apples with the pork chops instead of just having applesauce on the side.
The apples work so well with the pork and the sweet flavor helps balance out the sage.