Cooking pork chops on the stove will easily result in chops that are perfectly browned yet juicy inside. The key is to keep your eyes on them and make sure you take them off the heat at just the right moment so they don’t overcook and stay nice and tender.

This simple recipe ensures you the most tender and delicious pork chop, whether you choose boneless pork chops or bone-in pork chops. Pan-frying pork chops with the bone-in generally keeps them a bit more moist and tender, as the bone and the extra fat help protect the meat from drying out

Serve the pork chops plain alongside Herb Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Broccoli for a simple dinner. Or, shake up your pork chops dinners by finding the perfect sauce to serve with your perfect pork chops. Try topping the chops with Pineapple Mint Jalapeño Salsa, Cranberry Sauce, or Barbecue Sauce. The possibilities are endless — here’s your chance to get creative for an easy dinner!

Pan Fried Pork Chops: Everything you need to know to cook perfect, juicy, tender (NOT tough!), flavorful pork chops on the stove.

Ingredients

• Pork chops – Get good quality, thick pork chops.
• Vegetable or canola oil – Vegetable oil is a good cooking oil for pork chops because it has a higher smoke point, which means the oil can get very hot without burning or smoking.
• Unsalted butter – Provides flavor and richness.
• Thyme or rosemary – Offers a delicious earthy and herbaceous flavor.
• Garlic – For depth and a subtly sweet aromatic flavor.

Variations

While this recipe’s herby butter is delicious, you can also try cooking the pork chops with a flavorful sauce such as Creamy Mustard, Soy-Ginger, Honey Garlic, or Bourbon Brown Sugar.

How to Cook Pork Chops on the Stove

1. Prepare the pork: Brine the pork chops, if desired. Brine or no brine, pat them completely dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

2. Brown the pork chops: In a heavy skillet (I like a cast iron skillet) or frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high. Once the pan is very hot, add the pork chops and allow to cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, flipping every 2 minutes or so.

3. Add the flavoring: To the pan, add the butter, herb sprigs, and garlic. Use a spoon to spoon the melted butter over the chops. Flip the chops a couple of times and baste away.

4. Let rest and serve: Remove from the pan and let rest for about 5 minutes. Slice the pork chops and drizzle the pan sauce over the sliced pork.

How to Cook Pork Chops So They Don’t Dry Out

Cooking the pork chops over medium heat and turning them several times during the 8- or so-minute cooking process prevents them from toughening up on the outside and allows them to cook more evenly.

When you are cooking fattier meat, like a marbled steak in a pan, you usually want to let the food sear without moving it around too much so it gets a nice golden brown, caramelized crust. With pork chops, however, you should use a different technique and flip them regularly. You should still see some appealing browning on the exterior, but you won’t overcook the outside before the middle is done.

With beef steaks, you often want the outside to be more cooked than the inside, but that’s not the case with pork. The goal is to have the pork chops just barely cooked through while the outside remains tender.

How Long to Cook Boneless Pork Chops

While the internal temperature should be your ultimate guide, you can use the cooking times below as a guide for how long to cook boneless pork chops. You will need to add another minute or two per side for bone-in pork chops, as the bone will slow down the cooking process.

Thickness	Time Over Medium Heat
1/2 inch	2 minutes per side
5/8 inch	2 minutes 30 seconds per side
3/4 inch	3 minutes per side
7/8 inch	4 minutes per side
1 inch	5 minutes per side
1 1/8 inches	6 minutes 30 seconds per side
1 1/4 inches	7 minutes 30 seconds per side

Cooking Thick vs. Thin Pork Chops

Pork chops come in all different shapes and sizes, so be sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly. If you’re looking for a thicker cut, check out the “Iowa” pork chop (aka Porterhouse chop). The Iowa pork chop is a massive bone-in cut about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick! Blade-cut pork chops are also quite thick.

For this thick bone-in cut, you will want to cook it about 8 minutes per side, if not a bit longer. You can also start the pork chops in the pan and then transfer the pan to a preheated 350-degree oven for the last few minutes of cooking to prevent the outside from getting too browned.

Internal Temp of Pork Chops

The safe temperature for pork chops is 145 degrees F. You don’t want the temperature to get higher than that, or the meat can become tough. However, because of carry-over cooking, you actually want to take the chops out of the pan at 135 degrees and allow them to finish cooking off the heat. Use a meat thermometer to measure the temperature.

If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you are looking to take the meat from the pan when the center of the chops is still just barely pink. As they sit, they will continue to cook, so taking them off the heat just before they are finished cooking will allow the temperature to rise to the optimal level.

This resting period not only allows them to cook through properly but also allows the juices in the pork chops to be reabsorbed by the meat, so they stay juicier. Cutting them too early will cause the juices to run out onto the cutting board instead of staying in the pork chops where they belong.

Tips for Cooking Perfect Pork Chops

• Don’t let the heat get too high or too low — pork chops will toughen if cooked too quickly or too long.
• Keep flipping them every couple of minutes to prevent the exterior from getting tough.
• Buy your meat from a quality source.
• Make sure your pork chops are at least 1 inch thick; if they are thinner, reduce the cooking time proportionately. If they are thicker, add a bit of cooking time accordingly.

Variations

• You can dust the pork chops will all-purpose flour to encourage exterior browning.
• Make a simple pan sauce after searing the pork chops; you can use red or white wine to make the sauce.

Storage and Leftovers

Leftover pork chops can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat them in a low 300-degree oven just until warmed through.

What to Serve With Pork Chops

Honey Mustard Green Beans

Easy Creamed Spinach

Herby Brown Rice

More Pork Chop Recipes

• Grilled Pork Chops with Peaches
• 30-Minute Honey Garlic Pork Chops
• Air Fryer Breaded Pork Chops

More Pan-Fried Chop Recipes

• Easy Spanish Pork Chops Recipe
• One-Skillet Creamy Mustard Pork Chops
• Pork Chop Marsala
• Pork Chops with Applesauce Recipe
• Pork Chops with Apples