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, always turns out perfect, juicy and tasty and so simple!
IT DIDN’T SAY THE TEMPERATURE.
The temperature is in the first instruction in the recipe card: Turn your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Measure the thickness of your pork chops so you know how long to bake them.
Extremely rude to yell at the author with all caps! Even ruder not to apologize when she nicely pointed out YOUR mistake!
I’m single and don’t like to plan meals ahead but have become determined to eat well, especially plenty of protein. I have never had such success with pork chops! And SO easy! Your instructions on cooking time were a revelation—creating perfectly tender chops. I’m going to mix up a bunch of the rub to keep on hand to make things even easier. Thank you Thank you!
This mixture is wonderful on chicken too!!
We loved these pork chops! Easy to put together and was delicious. This was the first recipe I made from your site. I will be returning frequently.
This recipe is truly the best and this is the only way I will be making baked pork chops from now on
I couldn’t help but think the cook time HAD to be a misprint so I cooked my 3/4″ pork chops for about 13 minutes. I should have followed the exact instructions. The rub is phenomenal!
For 5 boneless Costco porkchops (all between 1.5″ – 2″) I needed to bake for 30 minutes at 400F, and the 2 thicker ones needed 35 minutes.
Very easy recipe! I made this for my son but the only thing I did differently was substituted the paprika for cayenne pepper and the salt & pepper for Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere). After seasoning them, I added some pieces of garlic butter on top & it was delicious!!
These really were the best pork chops I’ve ever made. Followed the recipe pretty exactly. Thanks so much!
It was simple and fast to make for my mom.
I used thinner, bone-in pork chops & mine didn’t produce as much juice as yours, BUT they were VERY juicy and tender nonetheless. Best pork chops I’ve ever made. Lesson learned – I’ll never pre-sear & overcook & dry out my pork chops again. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
You must be filtering out the comments because there is no way you have that many high ratings. This recipe was deplorable! Literally no flavor, rubbery pork chops! Would never eat it again.
We don’t filter out comments (unless they’re rude or inappropriate). I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t have success with our recipe.
I followed the directions and my family loved the results! I’ve bookmarked the recipe and don’t think that I will ever cook 1 inch pork chops any other way ever again. The pork chops were tender, taste and cooked to perfection. I did brine them for 3 hrs. before cooking in a solution of 2 tsp. Old Bay, 2 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. kosher salt and 4 cups of water – so, maybe that made a difference.
Loved this recipe, so easy and love the spice mix. I did a half and half mix of regular and smoked paprika. My chops were dry because I forgot the most important step of measuring the chops…I cooked them for 18 min and they were only 3/4 inch chops 🙁 But still tasty and will try this again with proper cooking time 🙂 Thank you !
I never thought I could cook pork chops that were still juicy. This recipe is fabulous.! Thank you !!!!
I tried this recipe because I love chops, but mostly fried, but now, I will keep this handy and use cause my family loved them as well…yum
These are the juiciest pork chops ever! I always used the fry briefly and then put in oven, but this is so easy. Thank you.