Juicy Baked Pork Chops (easy recipe that always turns out tender)
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These oven baked pork chops are the most popular baked pork chop recipe on the internet for good reason: they’re easy to make, tender, super juicy, and flavorful. A few simple ingredients and pantry-staple spices are all you need to make this incredible dinner.
I’ve been told I’m an expert at making pork chops and have more than 16 pork chop recipes for you. Try these smothered pork chops and pan-fried pork chops next. Or go for my popular baked pork tenderloin!
Let’s give it up for easy and delicious pork chop recipes! This is one of my family’s favorite dinner recipes, and we go back to it repeatedly. The flavorful pork chops always turn out tender and juicy. After you make these baked pork chops, you’ll make them again and again. The recipe is speedy and easy to prepare and is a great one to keep in your back pocket for when you need dinner stat or can’t figure out what to make tonight. You can use boneless or bone-in pork chops – it’s your choice!
In this recipe, I keep it simple and don’t sear the chops on the stove. Instead, they go straight into the oven. From my experience, this makes the chops more tender and saves an extra step of work. And with the gorgeous color of the spices, you won’t miss the sear. Serve these with a big salad and some potatoes roasted in the oven at the same time as the pork chops. It makes for the best dinner.
Why you’ll love these baked pork chops
- 100% juicy pork chops. ← truth!
- With these chops, in just over 20 minutes you can be sitting down to a delicious dinner.
- The easy spice rub, made with spices you probably have in your pantry right now, makes the chops taste amazing.
- Pork chops are a budget-friendly protein option. Knowing how to cook them so they don’t dry out will make your dinners less expensive and more delicious.
- The kitchen-staple ingredients mean you shouldn’t have to run to the grocery store to make our recipe.
- Easily made with bone-in or boneless pork chops. Choose whichever you like best!
How long do pork chops take to bake at 400 degrees?
The biggest trick to making oven-baked pork chops is not overcooking them. Since pork chops are lean, they will dry out if left in the oven for too long. But don’t worry, here’s an easy way to know exactly how long you should cook your chops.
Boneless pork chops should cook for 7 minutes per ½-inch of thickness in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven. If you use bone-in pork chops, cook them for 8 minutes per ½ inch.
- Boneless pork chops 1 ½ inches thick should be baked for 21 minutes.
- Bone-in pork chops 1 ½ inches thick should be baked for 24 minutes.
If you’re new to roasting pork chops, using an instant-read meat thermometer is the best way to determine whether they are fully cooked. Pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. We use our meat thermometer to make sure the meat doesn’t overcook.
What spices are the best with pork?
This spice blend is made with simple ingredients and you can use it on both chicken and pork. It’s a delicious way to create flavorful pork chops. It’s my go-to recipe and I’ve made it so many times and never get tired of it. Here are the pantry staples it is made with:
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Oregano – you can substitute Italian seasoning if you’d like
- Salt – sea salt or kosher salt
- Black pepper
It’s a basic spice rub that takes only a couple of minutes to make and has so much flavor. I recommend doubling (or tripling) the amounts so you can have some on hand for other dinners. Try sprinkling a little bit on some potatoes or sweet potatoes and baking them at the same time as your chops.
Pork recipes often call for brown sugar, but it is really not necessary. There is no reason to take a lean cut of meat and add a bunch of sugar. These chops are sugar-free and delicious.
What to serve with your oven baked pork chops
I like to serve these with a simple green salad and a veggie side that gets roasted on a baking sheet in the oven alongside these delicious pork chops. For a great meal that the whole family will love, try adding one of my favorite side dishes:
- Crispy Roasted Potatoes
- Roasted Asparagus or Roasted Broccoli
- Basmati Rice or brown rice
Store and Reheat
Store: I love a good pork chop sliced over a salad for lunch, so sometimes I make extra to have leftovers. They will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in your fridge.
Reheat: I like to slice them thin and warm them briefly in a pan over medium heat. You can also use a microwave.
Freeze: Yes! If you’d like to meal-prep, these baked pork chops will keep for at least three months in the freezer.
Watch how to make baked pork chops:
Juicy Baked Pork Chops (easy recipe that always turns out tender)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 4 boneless pork chops
Instructions
- Turn your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Measure the thickness of your pork chops so you know how long to bake them – see notes.
- In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oregano.1 tablespoon paprika, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over both sides of the pork chops. Sprinkle the spice mix evenly over both sides of the pork chops, then place them in a baking dish – see notes. Drizzle them with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.2 tablespoons olive oil, 4 boneless pork chops
- Bake the pork chops uncovered for 7 minutes per ½ inch of thickness, or until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit – for 1 ½ inch pork chops, you'll bake them for 21 minutes. Once you remove them from the oven, let them rest in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.
Last step:
- After you make this recipe, take a picture with your phone and share it in the comments section below. I love seeing it when you make my recipes!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Delicious! Made this exactly as instructed. So tasty and juicy. Husband loved it and wants it again very soon. Thank you for sharing this. Definitely a keeper!
I’ve made this recipe several times over the last year and a half. It’s easy and tastes fantastic. I don’t keep onion powder on hand, so I omit it. Sometimes I use smoked paprika and other times I use sweet and spicy paprika. It’s always a hit in my home. Thank you.
Prepared this tonight and it will not be repeated. While juicy, something was lacking and the pork was tough. Perhaps a lower temp for longer time would help, but I will not try it.
For thicker chops, we usually brine for an hour as recommended by America’s Test Kitchen to retain moisture. Have you tried this or have a comment? Thanks!
I haven’t, but brining is a great trick. I’d recommend leaving the salt out of the spices mix if you go that route. 🙂
I found this recipe by googling pork chop recipes.It was quick and easy to prepare which was a big plus. They came out absolutely delicious!! So flavorful!!! This recipe is a keeper!! ❤️❤️
just wondering if can use pork steaks instead.
I’ve always thought of pork steaks and chops as the same thing. I’m sure what you have will work. 🙂
Have made these 2 times now, my husband loves them. Easy to make, easy clean up too. Will keep in my recipe book.
Very delicious! Pork was tender! Great Recipe! Will definitely make this again!
Was too dry did it exactly how do you said except I didn’t add oregano
Delicious recipe with absolutely no changes needed!
Best pork chops I have ever made! They are so juicy. I did have to reduce the amount of paprika, after the first time. It was just too spicy for me. I also cut the onion and garlic powder in half. My husband loves them.
I really expected this to be good but it was pretty tasteless. I used A LOT of the seasoning also. I think it would help to add a little tenderizer into this. Not sure but it’s missing something(s).
There is quite a lot of spices in this recipe so if it tasted bland I would first check your spices. If they’re more than 2 years old it’s time to replace them. 🙂
Tasteless? That doesn’t seem remotely possible unless you left out a couple of ingredients (like the salt maybe)??
I made these for my family and they were described as the opposite of tasteless. If anything I used a bit too much rub on my chops. They were delicious and even my 16 year old who doesn’t usually care for chops loved them because they were so juicy. This recipe is on our family’s rotation now.
This was a wonderful recipe! The spices were wonderful! I did do one thing differently, I salted the pork chops and let it sit for 20 minutes and then Dabbed the salt off. I then sprayed olive oil on the chops and covered in the spices. Sprayed again. Turned over and repeated the process. Baked as directed.
I have a sprayer that it’s like a squirt bottle. So it puts a nice coding without using so much. It really cut the fat down on the oil portion. It was magnificent, well done! My hubby went crazy over them.
I have made it twice and it is delicious tender and tasty! Love it and so easy
Really good, best served with something with acidic values like garlicky swiss chard hit with a splash of red wine vinegar. The perfect bite with mashed(carbohydrate) greens and chop!
Delicious!
Thank you for sharing the recipe for juicy pork chops. It was so good! I’m going to keep that recipe, and try the ingredients on chicken next!