Gone are the days of tough, dried out pork chops. With this Juicy Oven Baked Pork Chops Recipe you can have perfectly seasoned, juicy and flavorful pork chops every time!
Thousands and thousands of you have enjoyed my Juicy Oven Baked Chicken recipe, so I thought it was time to share my tips and tricks to success with baked pork chops… the other white meat!
It’s actually super simple to make juicy, tender pork chops, but there are a few key things that you’ll want to do in order to achieve success every time.
How To Bake Pork Chops
Make sure to follow these steps to set yourself up for success with this recipe.
- Thickness of Pork Chops – pork chops can come in all shapes and sizes, but if you want to BAKE your pork chops, pick out a nice thick cut pork chop. I like anything over 1 inch thick. This recipe works great with either boneless or bone-in.
- Brine Your Pork – My preferred method of brining pork chops is a wet brine, but dry brining can also work. *see notes below on brining and why it’s important.
- Season – feel free to switch up the seasonings to your taste preference, but my go-to spice blend is written in the recipe.
- Bake at a HIGH temperature – we’re skipping the searing of meat, so we need to make sure we cook these pork chops at a high temperature of 425 degrees F. to lock in those juices.
- Let it Rest – giving your pork a chance to rest under foil after it’s baked will help to relax the pork, making it ultra tender and juicy.
How To Brine Pork Chops… and WHY?
Brining may sounds like a difficult or tedious step, but it’s soooo crucial with a thick cut pork chops. And bonus – brining pork chops is actually crazy simple.
The process of brining creates a chemical reaction that happens between the structure of the meat and the salt. It helps to tenderize the lean pork, which is exactly what we want. The longer you can brine your pork chops, the better, but give it at least 30 minutes.
- Wet Brine – Fill a large bowl with warm water and stir in 1 tablespoon of kosher salt for every cup of water. Submerge your pork chops in the water and if you’re doing a quick brine, let them sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. For longer brining, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
- Dry Brine – Place the pork chops on a plate or cutting board and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle kosher salt all over the pork chops and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let sit out on counter until room temperature, at least 30 to 45 minutes.
- Pat Dry – After wet or dry brining the pork, make sure to pat dry with paper towels. No need to rinse with water, the pork will not be overly salty when baked.
How Long Does It Take To Bake Pork Chops?
There are a few variables when it comes to baking pork chops – thickness, bone-in vs. boneless and temperature of the pork before it’s baked. Here are my basic guidelines for baking pork chops and how long it can take.
- Let the pork sit at room temperature for at least 30 to 45 minutes. (this is the perfect time to brine!)
- If the pork is at room temperature and brined here is how long they should bake
- BONE-IN Pork Chops @ 425 degrees F.
- 1/2 inch thick – 8 to 10 minutes
- 1 inch thick – 18 to 20 minutes
- 1 1/2 inch + thick – 25 minutes
- BONELESS Pork Chops @ 425 degrees F.
- 1/2 inch thick – 6 to 7 minutes
- 1 inch thick – 12 to 15 minutes
- 1 1/2 inch + thick – 20 minutes
- BONE-IN Pork Chops @ 425 degrees F.
What Temperature Should Pork Chops Be Cooked To?
Pork chops should be reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F when cooked. The best way to know for sure if your pork is cooked to the appropriate temperature is to test with an instant read meat thermometer. I keep this one on my fridge and use it all the time.
PRO TIP: In order to get the juiciest pork chops, I actually bake them to 143 degrees F before pulling them from my oven. With just two degrees to go, I’ll cover them with foil so the residual heat will peak at 145 degrees F while it rests, ensuring that it does not over cook.
What To Serve with Baked Pork Chops
The simple spice blend makes the flavor of these pork chops very versatile when it comes to side dishes that pair well. Here are a few of my favorites to serve alongside pork chops.
- Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
- Creamy Corn Salad
- Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
- Garden Salad with Ranch Dressing
- Garlic Parmesan Rice
More Pork Chop Recipes To Try:
I’m confident you’ll love this recipe and will be blown away at how juicy and tender these pork chops are!
Juicy Oven Baked Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 4 cups warm water
- 4 tbsp salt, for the brine
- 5 (4 oz) thick cut boneless pork chops, about 1 inch thick
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika, sweet or smoked
Instructions
- Place the warm water in a large bowl and add the salt. Stir until the salt is dissolved and then place the pork chops in the salt water, making sure they're covered (add more if necessary). Let the pork chops sit in the water at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes, or place in fridge and brine for up to 24 hours. Just make sure to let pork sit at room temperature for 45 minutes before seasoning.
- Preheat oven to 425° F. and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Remove pork chops from salt water and pat dry with paper towels, making sure to remove all moisture. Drizzle both sides of pork chops with olive oil, then season both sides with garlic powder, pepper and paprika. You should not need to season with extra salt, but you can adjust seasonings to taste.
- Bake in oven according to the time chart in the notes section, or until internal temperature reaches 143° F. Remove from oven and cover loosely with foil for 5 minutes before slicing and enjoying.
Notes
-
- BONE-IN Pork Chops @ 425 degrees F.
- 1/2 inch thick - 8 to 10 minutes
- 1 inch thick - 18 to 20 minutes
- 1 1/2 inch + thick - 25 minutes
- BONELESS Pork Chops @ 425 degrees F.
- 1/2 inch thick - 6 to 7 minutes
- 1 inch thick - 12 to 15 minutes
- 1 1/2 inch + thick - 20 minutes
- BONE-IN Pork Chops @ 425 degrees F.
Cheesy Jalapeño Beer Bread Recipe
:D
Can you use the air fryer to bake these instead of oven?
Shane
Very good
Bill Jones
A fantastic recipe. I reduced the salt in the wet brine by half because I intended to use seasoning with salt in baking the pork chops. The family loved the chops and they came out flavorful and juicy. Baked at 350 for 20 minutes. They could easily have gone a few more minutes and been just as juicy. I was using 1″ chops.
Zerrol Grantham
Quick, easy, delicious. Finally, a web site that uses common ingredients to make uncommon dishes. “Simple recipes … easy cleanup” is the way to go. Love it. z.
Shawn
I’m so glad you enjoyed the pork chops Zerrol!
Kelley Kajdasz
Pork.chops have way more than 1 g of protein. You might wanna correct the nutritional values listed.
Ashton M Webster
Pork Chops came out perfectly!
Thanks for the notes for baking times.
Shawn
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Ashton!
Lawrence F Schneeman
I had thick cut bone in pork chops and used a thermometer. Cooked to 143 degrees (approximately 27 minutes) and let sit. Internal temperature reached 150 degrees. Meat was very tough and I was disappointed with the chops. Any ideas?
Sad in Cincinnati
Shawn
I’m assuming you brined the pork chops before-hand like it states in the recipe? If not, this could be a big reason they weren’t tender. The next issue I’m noticing is that they peaked at 150 degrees, which is a little more on the well done side of pork. I’m guessing with bone-in chops that are that large, you’ll want to pull them a little earlier, more like 140 degrees if the temperature continues to rise so quickly. Let me know if that was helpful!
Kendal
Never loved pork chops due to how tough they are, but wow I will definitely be making more in the future. I did adde other seasonings to mine but they turned out perfect!
Marta
Beautiful and tender pork chops in 15 minutes!!! Totally impressed. Seems rare to find an online recipe that works exactly as advertised. Thank you!
Shawn
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe Marta! Thank you for the comment!
Abbe
I have finally made pork chops up to my partners’ standards thanks to this recipe!!! Yummy! Easy! Thank you!
Shawn
Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed the recipe Abbe!
Stacey
Made these tonight and they were a hit. My chops were 1 inch thick, I brined them for about 45 minutes, and baked for 16 minutes. I was a little bummed that at 16 minutes they were 155-160 degrees. Despite the high temp they were still juicy and tender! We will be baking our chops this way from now on. Thank you!
Shawn
NICE!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the pork chops and that they were nice and juicy for you!
Carol
I bought 2 very thick pork chops, one we ate and very tough, the other we frozen. I decided we needed to start cleaning out the freezer wondering how to make this chop something other than shoe leather. I ran across this recipe and we were so surprised at how it turned out. This was a 1.5″ chop and I fallowed the directions to a T, marinaded it for 7 hours and it was ‘s up! I know salt is needed for brining but not sure how much as we are not salt fans. I did 2C water to 1.5T salt and feel I can cut the salt to 1T next time.
Thanks for the detailed instructions on drying and seasoning the pork, these “small” details make or break a recipe!
Shawn
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Carol! Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer
Tried this recipe last week and I’m having it again tonight. I used 1.5” boneless chops and added a little Pablo bread crumbs and grated Parmesan to the coating and they were absolutely delicious! I had never bribed my chops before but it really did make a difference in the tenderness. Thank you
Shawn
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it!
JOHN HOEGEMANN
I bought thick chops, followed the recipe, Everything looked and smelled perfect. One bite and I tossed them in the trash. I’ll use lemon juice from now on. Salt was overpowering, and I never tasted pork. I tried it, but it is, unfortunately, not for me.
Shawn
Sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe John. Did you happen to brine the pork chops for too long? You don’t want to go over 24 hours, but maybe start with just 30 minutes if you’re sensitive to salt. It’s not meant to be a salty taste, the salt just changes the chemical makeup of the pork and helps to keep it juicy when baked.
Susan Wolfe
I am 75 years old and in ALL of these years I have never had a family member or anyone else, tell me to BRINE pork chops. I have heard of brining a turkey but never pork chops. I tried this last night, and changed the recipe slightly, and OH MAN WERE THESE GOOD!! I had just never heard of brining pork chops but it DEFINITELY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. I am so happy I found your web site!! You don’t use exoctic outlandish recipes but good food that any family would eat.
Shawn
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Susan! Thanks for your sweet comment!
Jim
Wow! Best chops ever. Great technique! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Shawn
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Jim! Thanks for your comment!
Dave
Shawn, My wife and I make oven baked pork chops quite a bit. We have been using
Shake and Bake or any other brand of coating. We sometimes use “Crunchy” style.
We will try this brine and seasoning on the next batch.
We love your recipes. Have you ever used a Pressure Smoker”? We have one that we use sometimes, makes quick meals like insta pot and you don’t have to use wood chips if you don’t want to smoke. Pressure smoked baked potatoes are great……. and we cold smoke cheese also. Keep up the great recipes ……….
Shawn
I haven’t heard of a pressure smoker before?! I’ll have to look into it, sounds amazing!
Amelia Mellard
If I don’t have kosher salt can u use table salt?
Shawn
That should be just fine!