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!
Love this recipe. Very tasty and juicy. Have you ever tried searing the chops first before putting in the oven?
I haven’t but I would be careful as the spices will likely burn in the pan.
Great recipe. My pork chops were only 3/8 inch thick so I reduced the cooking time to 9mins and they turned out perfect. This recipe is a new family favorite for us!
Excellent pork chops – we all loved them! Quick question – is the spice blend meant to be used with 4 chops or should some be left over?
We use all of it on the four chops. It’s quite flavorful so you can use less if you prefer. The spices are great on chicken, too!
1. There’s no way the cut pork chops in the photo above are 1.25” thick.
2. Four 1.25” thick pork chops tucked snuggly in a baking dish in a 400 degree oven might make it to 90-95 degrees in 20 minutes, but they’d struggle to get there.
3. Realistically, 35-40 minutes will get these to a reasonably safe temperature, with a covered five minute rest.
The cooking time can be decreased if plenty of room is left around the meat. If they are snug, they will cook significantly slower.
With plenty of cooking time, the recipe comes out ok, but there are plenty of better pork chop recipes out there!
The chops in the pictures were measured prior to cooking so I can assure you they were 1.25″ thick. This recipe has been tested many times and the cooking time and method works great for us – we live at sea level. If you live at a higher elevation, your chops will take longer to cook, as stated in the recipe notes. 🙂
Easy to make and super delicious!!!!!!!
Made it had to adjust the cook time because we’re at 6000 feet and the chips were twice the size. Regardless they came out perfect and the seasoning was an added bonus. Thanks for posting!!!
Made today for the first time. They were such a hit and so easy. Absolutely delicious and very tender. I will be making them again for sure!
Great recipe – made this for the fellas at the firehouse- easy and delicious. Also a nice simple recipe for home .
Best pork chops I’ve ever baked. No fuss prep and easy cooking. This will make me buy chops more often than when grilling out! Now will try your grilled chop recipe!
This recipe didn’t work for me. I baked the boneless chops for 15 min. @ 400 degrees. They were 3/4″ thick. They were still white, no color, and barely 80 degrees. Left them in another 10 minutes, still white, no color. I finally put them in a skillet and fried them to brown them up. They came out almost hard, dry and very chewy. What did I do wrong? Would a lower temp. and longer cooking time have been better?
In this recipe, the meat does not brown. The red color you see in the pictures comes from the spices. Testing the temperature (like it sounds like you did initially) is the best way to tell if the chops are cooked. Dry and chewy chops means that they were cooked too long.
I don’t think I will ever use a different technique! This recipe is delicious and the pork is juicy and tender.
The first time I followed the recipe for the seasoning mix. The second time making this, I used 3/4” pork tenderloins seasoned with Spade L Pork Seasoning and olive oil, only. I always serve pork with fresh, thin sliced honeycrisp apples and a roasted vegetable. Easy and so yummy.
What a great serving suggestion!
The best pork chops ever! So moist! I omitted the paprika, but used the rest of the seasonings. And I got 2 thumbs up from my husband! This is a great recipe! Will definitely make more!
My family LOVES these juicy baked pork chops! A recent statement by my son: “Can we have those good pork chops again? Not the ones you used to make, but the good ones with the recipe you found online.” My husband swears that they are as good (or better) than “what you can get at a steak house!” This is now THE go-to pork chop recipe.
I love the story!!
I’m giving a pre-review. I forgot to mention on the commentary for your awesome baked tenderlion recipe that I have given up on pork loin chops because they come out tough. I bet this will work great! Thanks I have become a great fan!
Just made these for the first time and WOW. Amazing, my teenager is picky and he is raving about these. Thanks for sharing. We may eat this like we eat chicken nuggets lol
These pork chops are the best I have ever fixed in 52 years of marriage! The recipe turned out exactly like the recipe said they would! Moist and flavorful and easy to prepare. I’ll be making them again and again!!