My Easy Baked Pork Chops are so tender and juicy, and the brown sugar spice rub gives this boneless pork chops a ton of flavor!
I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve never really been a fan of boneless pork chops. They always seem like a good idea, but they come out of the oven dry and tough. But you know what I figured out? It wasn’t the pork’s fault! It was mine. I finally figured out that I was cooking the poor pork chops to death, and it was slow and painful.
Here are a few tips I’ve learned about keeping this type of meat super tender and juicy without drying it out:
- Oil and season. Rub the pork chops with a little bit of olive oil before adding the seasoning. This will not only help the seasoning stick to the pork, but it adds a little flavor and keep the pork moist.
- Don’t overcook it. People tend to think that pork takes a long time to cook, but with boneless pork chops this rule just doesn’t apply. A good rule of thumb for making baked pork chops is 7-8 minutes per half inch of meat in a 400 degree oven. Pork roasts and bone-in pork is a different story and will take much longer.
- Let it rest. This is true for any meat that you’re cooking, from chicken to steaks to pork. I cannot stress this enough! When meat cooks, and of the juices inside rush to the center. Resting allows those juices to redistribute throughout the meat resulting in a tender and juicy pork chop.
- Resist the urge to cut. Do not cut these baked pork chops before serving. Keep them in tact and slicing before serving lets all of those juices out and the meat becomes dry very quickly.
How to Bake Pork Chops
I like to use a nice, thick boneless pork chop for this recipe – about 1-inch thick is perfect.
Start by rinsing the pork and patting it dry. Place the pork chops in a large baking dish and rub with a little bit of olive oil.
For the brown sugar spice blend, I took notes from my easy baked chicken breast recipe and basically just added some brown sugar. Pork stands up well to a sweet flavor profile (and I just kinda prefer it).
Bake the pork chops in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, (aff) it will come in handy here. You want the pork to register about 145 degrees.
Now, it’s tempting to cut into the baked pork chops to see if they’re done – resist!! Cutting right away will let all of those juices out, negating all of your hard work. Cover the chops with foil and let them rest.
Here are some more delicious pork recipes to try:
- Lemon Herb Pork Tenderloin
- Slow Cooker Garlic & Brown Sugar Teriyaki Pork
- Easy Oven Braised French Onion Pork Chops
- Pan Roasted Pork Loin
Easy Baked Pork Chops Recipe:
Easy Baked Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 4 boneless pork loin chops about 1-inch thick
- 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a large, 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and brown sugar.
- Lay pork chops in the prepared baking dish, side by side but not touching. Coat both sides of each chop with the olive oil.
- Sprinkle half of the seasoning blend over the tops of the pork chops and rub into the meat with your hands. Repeat on the flip side of the meat.
- Slide the dish into the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until pork registers 145 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
- Tent with foil and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Hi! I’m Kristin, the creative mind behind Yellow Bliss Road where you will be inspired by tons of easy to follow recipes, lots of free printables, and a little sprinkling of life thrown in for good measure.
Really easy and yet delicious! Thank you
Thank you Margo! and thank you for your feedback.
Can you cook this recipe in a Dutch Oven?
If you are baking it in the oven, yes.
This was one of the first recipes I found when searching for baked pork chops and it turned out excellent! We all loved it!
So glad you enjoyed it Chris!
Thank you, Kristin! I made these for Christmas dinner and they are, apparently, foolproof. And delicious. Thank you for the additional advice on pork choppery, in general. I served these with baked potatoes and a variety of toppings, so the whole meal didn’t involve a lot of last minute prep.
I’ve never really liked pork chops bc they’re always so dry and I didn’t have olive oil today, so I used vegetable oil, but followed the rest to the letter!! It was absolutely amazing!!! My kids love pork chops but loved these more and I can’t thank you enough for helping me to finally enjoy pork chops!!!
Thank you Melissa! I love that you were able to make it work for you!
I had issues with the getting mine to brown like the photo. I doubled the seasoning recipe, because I doubled the meat, and they still came out white. How are you getting yours to come out with this golden brown color?
They browned like that just in the oven. I may have broiled them for a minute or two, I’ll add that option to the notes.
Hi . I tried these. Very good recipe. Thank you Kristen. Before your recipe, I would just pound the boneless pork chops and bread them and bake. Rather bland. This is much better!??
Thank you Gregory and thanks for stopping by!
Unfortunately, I followed the recipe exacrly but my porkchops were tough to cut and tough to eat. The taste was great – as far as the spices were concerned. But I will not make this again. Back to searching for tender, tasty porkchop recipe.
Depending on the thickness, pork chops can be difficult to get just right and very easy to overcook. I’d urge you to try again, and just reduce the cooking time.
I made these tonight, and I too had trouble getting mine to brown. The rub was delicious, and the pork chops were juicy. I did not find them to be exceptionally tender though. They were more tender though then when I usually cook them to death. I expected to be able to cut into them with a fork. A knife was needed too. I checked the temperature after 15 minutes, and they were not yet up to 145 degrees…so I cooked for an additional 5 minutes. Next time I may try using the convection setting on my oven. Maybe that would brown things up. Your’s look crispy.
I used the broil setting on mine to brown them during the last 5 minutes, as mentioned in the notes. Pork chops don’t typically come out fork tender, but tender enough to cut easily I hope! 🙂
Tried your recipe tonight. Nice and tender. Thank you. Did not have brown sugar nor the other spices except salt/pepper. Still very tasty.
Glad you still gave it a try – it’s a simple method, and so juicy and tender!
Do you have nutritional information for this recipe?
No, I’m not able to provide nutritional information for each recipe. However you can find good information at myfitnesspal.com
I made these using the same ingredients, but didn’t measure them, just added the amounts that looked good. I baked them for 15 minutes at 400 degrees but I could tell without cutting into them they weren’t ready, so I put them back in for another 5 and they were perfect.
I resisted cutting into them and I let them rest for a full 10 minutes, they were wonderfully juicy and tender! The flavor was a nice sweet with a little spice, will definitely be doing this again, thanks for the recipe!
Hi Sandy,
I love that you were able to make it work for you!
I never leave comments but want to thank you. I improvised with what I had but followed important stuff & my husband who has no teeth could eat them & loved them. Helps our budget & gives me another option that is a whole lot healthier than hamburger helper. Thanks again! Made my day lol
Really enjoy your recipes. Thank you.
Thank you!
Just made these tonight and they were delicious and very easy!! Thanks for sharing your recipe
Can you cut them in half before you oil and season them?
You could cut them so they are thinner, but it would really reduce the cooking time so you’d want to take that into account.
Loved, loved, loved this recipe. Absolutely delicious! My husband loved it, too.
Are the chops in the oven for long enough to brown them or should they be browned in a frying pan first (especially the fat round the edge)?
They do brown a bit in the oven, but you could brown them first if you like. You’ll want to be careful to adjust the baking time and not overcook them though.
Thank you for telling me how to cook boneless pork chops as I had no idea and would have killed them by cutting and not letting them rest. The ones I bought have a bbq rub on them but your brown sugar one sounds much better so I’m going to wash this one off and try yours. Wish me luck??!! ?
Excellent recipe for easy basic pork chop cooking. As we avoid sugar, I only used olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic for the rub and sprinkle with tarragon. I also baked them in casserole dish with a lid to keep the juice from the meat in the dish.