Pork chops are a great and easy way of incorporating pork into your diet. If you’re into a keto diet or just trying to bump up your protein intake then pork chops are one of the best protein delivery methods out there.
One of the best things about pork chops is that they are nearly as versatile as chicken. Pork chops are super tender when they’re cooked correctly, and you can smother them in gravy, slow cook them in a Crock-Pot, bake them with potatoes, or simply pan sear them until they’re crispy.
We’re bringing you 10 of our favorite and easiest to make pork chop recipes. We’ve got pork chops with cream to pork chops with more pork so you should definitely find a recipe that works for you.
So if you like baked pork chops, grilled pork chops, or ovenbaked pork chops, we have a pork choprecipe for you.
Quite often you’ll find pork chops either on discount or simply just not many options available in the grocery store. This isn’t because they come from a low quality cut of meat, it’s actually because of people’s tendency to overcook them and make them dry.
They can be quite challenging to make especially just using your eyes but to get around this we recommend buying a meat thermometer.
Chops become dry when you remove all of the moisture from the meat. Pigs have a high content of fat throughout their body but they lack intermuscular fat which makes the lean meat much drier.
The lack of intermuscular fat isn’t necessarily a bad thing as most people find pork fat to taste gamey and to have a strong pungent aroma which can be off putting. If this is exactly what you’d want then pork belly might be the better cut for you.
To avoid a huge fat cap and still retain some of the moisture in the meat we recommend cooking your chops to a maximum of 145 °F.
This is the FDA recommended minimum cooking temp but if you cook your chops to this temperature and then leave them to rest for a small amount of time that brings the internal temperature to around 150 °F.
There are plenty of recipes out there for the dishes we’re going to go through below because there are so many iterations. We simply recommend that you cook your chops to 145 °F maximum and you’ll avoid the dry spongy we’ve all come to fear.
We’ll rank the dishes from easiest to hardest as they all taste amazing and we simply couldn’t pick a favorite. Also none are too difficult to make but some of these are as simple as turning the stove on and leaving the chops to cook.
This simple recipe really makes it easy to enjoy pork chops. You don’t need a chef’s set of equipment or ability to make this delicious dish. The glaze adds a shiny sweet coating to the pork chops that make it so moreish.
If you want you can add a bit of ground ginger to add an oriental taste.
You already know the joys of owning an instant pot and this can be one of them. Despite what you may think, you’ll only need to cook these for 20 minutes maximum.
This is what we call a one pan dish, and it’s exactly what you might think it is. Despite the fact that these pork chops require a few more ingredients you’ll be able to cook them all in one pan without even having to clean it in between components.
These are great to make after a busy workday and only take 30 minutes to make including total prep time.
This creamy, gluten free and keto friendly recipe doesn’t use any wheat flour or cornflour to thicken the sauce and only has 7 grams of carbs total. As we recommend before searing any meat for a creamy sauce a good dredge is almost always necessary.
Instead of the standard wheat flour we use almond flour for a more substantial bite without sacrificing your keto diet. The sauce is also thickened with either Xanthan gum or some high quality parmesan cheese for a massive umami boost.
This is our first R rated pork chop and makes perfect use of the beautiful relationship between pork and white wine. This is the perfect recipe for you to use your favorite skillet and show off that great seasoning.
With all these great french flavors and liquids you could completely mess up the ratios of the ingredients and it would still turn out great.
These are some of our favorite tasting chops and have that great sticky sauce that comes with east asian sauces but doesn’t have the heat or complex flavors of those chops.
The mouthwatering honey balsamic sauce is smoothened by dijon mustard and flavored with fresh rosemary and thyme. You can also garnish with sesame seeds and spring onions for a more rounded flavor.
The more glazed pork chops we can get on the list the better. We chose to go for bone-in chops for this one so feel free to blast them on a higher heat for a little bit longer if you want that crispy sear, the bone will help keep moisture and actually seep flavor into the meat.
These chops cook super quick and require a few more ingredients. In recipes like this we always recommend prepping your ingredients beforehand and making sure you have all your components ready to be thrown into the pan.
What’s even better is that this is a brilliant keto-friendly dish. This is another one where you can use the large skillet and get it all done with minimal mess and minimum dishes left to clean up after dinner.
This recipe is almost a complete culmination of all of the best parts of all of our dishes. The sugars and alcohol in the whiskey add a sweet and bitter note to the pork chops that make your mouth water. A
dding mushrooms to this dish just bumps up the umami factor and makes everything that much better. You might think that the alcohol and cream couldn’t possibly work together but you’d be happy to find out that once you cook the alcohol content out of the whiskey it can actually be emulsified with the fat from the pork to make a supremely rich sauce that coats the inside of your mouth.
Ten Most Delicious Pork Chop
With all the options we’ve got available for you here there’s just no way you won’t find your favorite pork dish amongst the mix. With all ability levels and pantry levels accounted for you’ll have no excuse to not make one of these dishes for dinner tonight.
Boneless Pork Chops in Creamy Irish Whiskey Sauce – As long as you cook out the alcohol from the whiskey and slowly stream in the beef broth and heavy cream, you’ll have a beautifully emulsified, creamy sauce. Flavor this mixture with Worcestershire sauce and whichever hardy seasonings you have and you’ll make the best tasting chop dish you’ve ever had.
Bacon and Mushrooms Smothered Pork Chops – With this one you just need to follow the fundamentals of pork chop cooking but we’re adding in some bacon for an extra flavor kick. As long as you can keep the bacon bits small enough this recipe will always taste good.
Pork Chops in Brown Sugar and Wine Glaze – As we said above, it is imperative that you use bone-in chops for this one. We used a dry wine and brown sugar so you don’t want any more bitterness in the mix, bone in increases the fat content and therefore is more moist and flavorful.
Honey Balsamic Pork Chops – Most home cooks wouldn’t know this but Dijon mustard is an excellent thickening agent and adds a ton of flavor to chops. The sharpness of a good Dijon mustard really complements the fattiness of a good pork chop.
Pork Chops in Creamy Herb and Wine Sauce – The best thing about this dish is that you can multiply the number of sauce ingredients you use to increase the amount of sauce. More sauce makes this dish perfect for eating with fresh baguettes, mashed potatoes and even large noodle pasta.
Gluten Free Creamy Low Carb Pork Chops – Again using a dry white wine here is going to boost the flavor hugely, a sweeter, crisp white could change the composition of the dish and make it less punchy. Using fresh herbs for this dish makes it exponentially more flavorful and boujee.
Pork Chops with Garlic Mushroom Sauce – The creamy garlic mushroom sauce is made through infusing the mushrooms with the garlic during an initial sear and then introducing the chops into the mix later on to imbue them with the lovely flavor profile you’ve built up.
Instant Pot Pork Chops in Wine – If you’re worried that the sauce won’t be substantial enough or thick enough then you can add a thickening agent like a cooked down roux, after the pressure cooker has finished its release cycle.
Pan Fried Pork Chops in Lime Glaze – As with cooking any thicker cut of meat, the resting portion of the cooking process is just as important with any glaze. Most beginner chefs will keep cooking their sauces and glazes down until they’ve overcooked the other components of the dish just to thicken them up. If you leave a liquidy glaze to cool and rest it will automatically thicken slightly so always under do it. If it coats the back of a spoon, it’s done.
Easy Pan Seared Pork Chops – By far the easiest and quickest way to cook pork chops this method uses minimal ingredients and requires next to no clean up afterward. The only mistake you can make with this dish is under seasoning. depending on the cut of your pork chops make sure to salt liberally and season generously.
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
