Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Honey Garlic Herb Butter
These pan-fried pork chops are truly magical. They are amazingly tender and juicy with a perfect golden sear. Serving them with a simple honey garlic herb butter takes them over the top!
Complete the meal with some cream cheese mashed potatoes and an arugula salad with Italian dressing. And if you love pork chops, also try our baked pork chops!
Table of contents
You'll love these pan-fried pork chops
Get ready to make pan-fried pork chops your new best friend. These chops are JUICY, tender, and have an amazing crisp crust. Armed with only pork chops and a few kitchen-staple ingredients, you can make these mouthwatering, perfectly seared pork chops in minutes.
While we love to make these when we need a quick and easy dinner, we'll also make them when we have more time on our hands. The golden crust, juicy meat, and sweet herb butter make this simple recipe feel like a special occasion.
Ingredients you'll need to make pan-fried pork chops
Boneless pork chops – For the best results, buy thick-cut pork chops that are at least 1Ā½ inches thick.
Italian seasoning – Try making your own homemade Italian seasoning – it's made with six pantry-staple spices. Store-bought works great, too!
Salt and pepper – we use sea salt and fresh ground black pepper in our recipes. Table salt has a much stronger flavor, so we avoid using that in most cases. If it's all that you have on hand, only use half the amount.
How to make pan-fried pork chops
Cooking beautifully golden pork chops on your stovetop is surprisingly easy. You'll get amazing results with this simple recipe.
- Start by drying the chops with paper towels – this is to help create that beautiful crust. Then, season them well with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Drizzle some oil over one side of the pork chops and spread the oil around so it's well-coated. We oil the chops rather than the pan as it's easier to get a golden crust this way.
- Now add the chops oiled side down to a hot pan (a cast iron skillet works best!) and sear them for 4-5 minutes. Once they're well-browned, flip them over for another few minutes then take them out of the pan to rest.
- While your beautiful, seared pork chops are resting, mix the herb butter ingredients together. When it's time for dinner, dollop some of the butter on each pork chop.
The full recipe is in the recipe card below.
That honey garlic herb butter
These easy pan-fried pork chops, with their beautiful golden crust, are delicious straight out of the pan. But if you really want to rock your world, take five minutes and mix some salted butter with garlic, honey, and a little minced parsley.
The flavor is savory and lightly sweet and marries well with the pork chops.
Frequently asked questions: Pan-Fried Pork Chops
Boneless pork chops cook very quickly in a pan. Pork chops that are 1 Ā½ inches thick and seared in a pan over medium-high heat will take between 7-9 minutes to cook. The pork chops should be 140 degrees Fahrenheit when you take them out of the pan. Let them rest for 10 minutes and the temperature will rise to 145 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the safe cooking temperature for pork
Yes! They will simply take a few extra minutes to cook.
We like to use boneless pork chops that are at least 1 Ā½ inches thick. While you can use thinner pork chops, it will be hard to get a nice sear without overcooking them.
Leftover pork chops will last for 3-4 days in a covered container in your fridge.
The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the pork chops. Chops that are 1 Ā½ inches thick will take 8-10 minutes to cook. Bone-in pork chops will take a few extra minutes. You'll know they are done when they are golden brown and have reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Easy sides to complete the meal
Serve these quick and easy pan-fried pork chops with a few deliciously simple sides. They go well with lemon butter orzo, mashed potatoes, or roast potatoes. Then make a big green salad or choose one of these veggie sides:
- Sauteed Bok Choy
- Garlic Butter Asparagus
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Best Roasted Broccoli
- Quick Garlic Carrots
Storing leftovers
If you have any of this pan-fried pork chops recipe left over, you can store it in your fridge in a covered container for up to 4 days. Our favorite way to eat it is to slice it thin and serve it over a salad for lunch the next day.
You can reheat it. The best way to reheat pork is to slice it thin and warm it on the stove with any of its juices and a splash of water. Or you can use a microwave.
Pan Fried Pork Chops
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 4 thick-cut boneless pork chops
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil
Garlic Honey Herb Butter
- 4 tablespoon salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane or very finely minced
Instructions
- Heat a medium-sized cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Dry the pork chops with paper towels then season them on both sides with Italian seasoning, sea salt, and pepper.4 thick-cut boneless pork chops, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons sea salt, 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- Drizzle half of the oil over one side of the pork chops and use your fingers to spread it around.
- Add the pork chops to the hot pan oiled side down. Sear the chops for 4-5 minutes, or until a golden crust forms. Rub the remaining oil over the top side of the pork chops then flip them over. Sear them for another 3-4 minutes then remove them from the pan and let them rest for 10 minutes.
- While they're resting, mix the softened butter with honey, garlic, and parsley. When you're ready to eat, add a dab of butter on top of each pork chop before serving.4 tablespoon salted butter, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon minced parsley, 2 cloves garlic
Notes
We absolutely adore pork chops for dinner. If you love them too, make sure to check out all of our pork chop recipes!
“Oh My!”, That was the response from all 4 kids and husband! They were a little apprehensive about trying the butter on the chops and they loved it saying the meal was restaurant worthy. I paired it with mashed potatoes and premixed a small amount of Italian dressing with a very simple romaine salad because that’s what I had on hand. Perfect fast meal! Thank you! This is a keeper!