4-Ingredient Oven Baked Pork Chops

These 4-Ingredient Oven-Baked Pork Chops are easy, delicious, and juicy pieces of pork that everyone loves. Plus, these pork chops bake very well with vegetables for a quick and easy dinner.

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Pork chops are on many people’s menus every week. How many mums always serve baked pork chops or broiled pork chops with my mushroom sauce recipe for a Sunday lunch? Here is my simple way to bake pork chops and serve your family a high-protein, comforting dinner in no time.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s my simple 4-ingredient pork rub recipe. It’s not a marinade. It’s a simple pork rub that flavors the meat and keeps it juicy and tender while baking.

Pork chops come from the pig’s loin that goes from the hip to the shoulder. Therefore there are four major sections along the way, resulting in four different pork chop cuts. Feel free to use any bone-in pork chops or boneless pork chops for this recipe, but be aware that some cuts won’t get as juicy.

• Blade Chops – Also called shoulder chops, this part contains the bone. It adds flavor to the meat when it cooks. It is better to tenderize this meat before baking or grilling by beating it with a tenderizer. It is the best choice for high-temperature cooking as it adds fat and stays juicy at high temperatures, so great for oven-baked pork.
• Rib Chops – Perfect for roasting tender pork chops. This part is leaner and requires less cooking time to stay moist and tender. You don’t need to tenderize the meat.
• Loin Chops – Best for grilling or broiling. This cut contains both loin and tenderloin. The two parts cook at different speeds, so it’s tricky to cook.
• Sirloin Chops – This cut has intense pork flavors and is cheaper than other cuts. This is an excellent part to use for slow cookers or stews. It requires slow cooking to stay moist. You can also use it for oven baking, but it can be tougher and less moist.

All you need to rub the chops are:

• Italian Seasoning – It’s a mix of dried herbs.
• Olive Oil – You don’t need much oil to bake pork chops, especially if they are on the bone. The bone releases fat in the pan, so a small amount of oil will be enough to bake the pork and keep it moist and juicy.
• Brown Sugar – or honey or sugar-free brown erythritol if you are after a sugar-free pork recipe.
• Paprika – Regular or smoked.

You can add to this pork rub some of the optional ingredients below:

• 2 teaspoons of soy sauce or tamari sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Black pepper

How To Make Baked Pork Chops

There are many rub recipes you can use to season the pork chop before baking. Pork chops are lean and bland in flavor, so you must dry rub the meat with some flavorsome ingredients to turn them into a tasty meal.

1. In a bowl, stir the three pork seasoning ingredients. Then, rub both sides of the chops with the seasoning.
2. Select a baking dish that fits the four chops without overlapping them, but you don’t want a dish too wide.
3. You need one that creates a nice level of meat juice when released during baking to keep the chops moist and juicy.
4. Bake the chops according to the timing below.

Finding The Best Baking Time For Pork Chop Recipes

The baking time for pork chops is a bit tricky depending on:

• Type of cut
• Thickness of the cut

As a result, you can follow two rules to adapt the baking time in this recipe and create the perfect juicy chops every time.

• Rule 1: Internal Temperature – Pork is cooked when its internal temperature reaches 145°F (63°C). Insert a meat thermometer on the thickest part of the meat to check, and remove it from the heat when it reaches that point.
• Rule 2: Meat Thickness – Pork chops cook for 8 minutes at 400°F (200°C) per 1/2-inch thickness or they require 12 minutes per 1/2 inches at 350°F (180°C).

The baking time for common thickness is:

Thickness	At 400°F (200°C)	At 350°F (180°C)
1/2 inch	8 minutes	12 minutes
1 inch	16 minutes	24 minutes
1.5 inches	24 minutes	36 minutes
2 inches	32 minutes	48 minutes
2.5 inches	40 minutes	60 minutes

For any baking time over 25 minutes, I recommend adding foil on top of the meat after 20 minutes.

This is optional, but I like to switch the oven to broil mode and broil for 2 to 3 minutes on the highest rack of the oven. This part is only to grill the meat outer layers and give a lovely glaze.

Serving Pork Chops

Pork chops go well with most roasted vegetables, casserole, or salad. You can try some of side dish below:

• Air Fryer Green Beans
• Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Mashed Cauliflower
• Broccoli Gratin
• Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts
• Steamed Cauliflower
• Roasted Cauliflower

I also like to add fresh rosemary, peppercorn, and sea salt on top of the chops.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the common answers to your most popular questions about baked pork chops.

More Easy Meat Dinner Recipes

Below are some easy dinner for you to try.