19 Pork Chop Recipes for Easy Dinners

Juicy weeknight recipes to pan-fry, bake, grill, smother, and sauce

By
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud

Devan Grimsrud is a Berlin-based writer, editor, and recipe developer originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. After working in television production with James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern, she relocated to Berlin and became the managing editor at Kitchen Stories, an international digital cooking platform with millions of active users. 

Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Published June 24, 2025
Devan Grimsrud
Brined Pork Chops with Gremolata
Elise Bauer

We all know chicken is the most popular choice when it comes to weeknight proteins, for many great reasons. Chicken will please pretty much everyone at the table, it serves as a blank canvas for so many preparations and flavors, and it comes in a variety of cuts to suit time constraints and preferences. But did you know that pork chops can do the exact same things? It's true! Pork chops are an underrated choice for your weeknight dinner, but thanks to these recipes, you can give them some time to shine.

Whether you choose thicker bone-in pork chops, boneless center-cut ones, or thin cutlets, you have so many options, from pan-seared to baked and grilled, and breaded to sauced and brined. Don't forget to save your favorites!

  • Mom's Perfect Pork Chops

    A plate with a pork chop and salad, ready to serve

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    "My mother likes to use a cast iron pan to cook pork chops. A cast iron pan may be slower to heat initially, but it holds its heat well. Once the chops get a good sear on both sides, mom turns off the heat and lets the pork chops continue to cook gently in the residual heat."—Elise Bauer, Founder

  • Sesame-Crusted Pork Cutlets with Crispy Shallots

    Sesame-Crusted Pork Cutlets with Crispy Shallots

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    "If you can find thin cutlets in the market, snap them up. They cook so quickly that you can easily make this whole meal in about a half an hour."—Sally Vargas, Recipe Developer

  • Easy Smothered Pork Chops

    A skillet with smothered pork chops inside, ready to serve

    Simply Recipes / Marta Rivera

    "For this recipe, a bone-in pork chop is preferred over boneless because bones are surrounded by a small amount of fat which helps retain moisture in the meat. The bone also acts as a heat conductor to maintain an even temperature when cooking the chops."—Marta Rivera, Recipe Developer

  • Brined Pork Chops With Gremolata

    Brined Pork Chops with Gremolata

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "My friend Kathi Riley recently shared with me a favorite pork brine, which she learned cooking with Chef Judy Rodgers at San Francisco's Zuni Cafe, and before then at Chez Panisse. The secret to this brine is its 2 to 1 ratio of sugar to salt. Yes, twice as much sugar as salt. It works! This brine produced the best pork chop I've ever eaten."—Elise

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  • Andrea Nguyen's Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops

    lemongrass pork chops on a large plate

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

    "As you will see in Andrea's recipe, thin pork chops are easy and quick to make. Because they're so thin, the pork absorbs the marinate fast, and they cook in just five to seven minutes."—Alyse Whitney, Simply Recipes Contributor

  • Vermont Maple Syrup Pork Chops

    Vermont Maple Syrup Pork Chops

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "This is a great, simple dish of pork chops, seared and then finished in the oven with a maple syrup-vinegar-Worcestershire sauce gravy, which gives the pork a bit of a sweet and sour flavor."—Elise

  • Glazed Pork Chops

    glazed pork chops in a wide skillet at a table setting with a stack of bowls, a table napkin, and a small bowl of sliced scallions

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Lindsey Lower

    "The secret to moist pork chops is not overcooking them. Cook pork chops to an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C) and let them rest for a few minutes before serving. Dry brining also helps enhance both the moisture and flavor of the meat."—Laurel Randolph, Associate Editorial Director

  • Easy Grilled Pork Chops

    Grilled Pork Chops with Squash and Peppers

    Marta A Rivera Diaz / Simply Recipes

    "The brine I recommend for these pork chops is quite simple to prepare, and it works wonders. It guarantees the meat remains juicy until you sink your teeth into it."—Marta Rivera, Recipe Developer

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  • Pork Chops With Braised Cabbage

    Pork Chops Braised Cabbage

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "We used large, bone-in pork chops for this recipe, but any style pork chop—thick or thin, bone-in or boneless—will work."—Elise

  • Grilled Pork Chops With Cherry Salsa

    Grilled Pork Chops with Cherry Salsa

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "If your cherries are juicy, the salsa will be juicy too. If you want the salsa less juicy, put the finished salsa into a fine-meshed strainer and strain off some of the excess juice."—Elise

  • Grilled Pork Chops with Adobo Paste

    Grilled Pork Chops with Adobo Paste

    Susy Villasuso / Simply Recipes

    "Adobo is a savory paste prepared with a mixture of Mexican dried chilies, spices, garlic, and vinegar—the ingredients and quantities can vary depending on the cook. The paste is not considered spicy, but this depends on the type of chiles used. All the ingredients from the adobo are blended into a thick paste that can be used to rub over meat before cooking."—Susy Villasuso, Recipe Developer

  • Pork Stir Fry With Green Onion

    A bowl of rice with pork stir fry on top.

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "Marinate thin strips of pork (chops) first in a mixture of soy sauce, a little sugar, and cornstarch. The cornstarch marinade is a useful trick to help keep the pork from drying out when it gets cooked on that high heat. The sugar is just enough to create some caramelization for added flavor."—Elise

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  • Pork Chops With Ginger Pear Sauce

    Pork Chops with Ginger Pear Sauce

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "Pro-tip on the pork chops: Score the fat on the edges of the pork chops. This will keep the chops from buckling up while they cook."—Elise

  • Pork Chops With Pomegranate Glaze

    Pork Chops with Pomegranate Glaze

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    "Thick, bone-in pork chops have a lot of flavor and won't dry out as much during cooking as boneless chops. Once they are seared and cooked, transfer them to a plate and keep them warm with a loose covering of foil while you make the sauce."—Sally Vargas, Recipe Developer

  • Pork Schnitzel

    A plate of pork schnitzel on a white plate served with lemons and dill.

    Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel

    "Schnitzel, for the uninitiated, is German for cutlet which is usually made with veal and thinly pounded, breaded and fried. As for this schnitzel recipe, it is made with thinly pounded pork cutlets. Those of you looking for a quick, mid-week dinner may be happy with this one."—Elise

  • Sweet and Sour Pork Chops

    A plate of sweet sour pork chops ready to serve

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "The original recipe calls for black currant jelly. I find red currant jelly works fine, or any red berry jelly for that matter. You just want a nice fruit jelly to balance the vinegar and mustard for the sauce, which is essentially a sweet-sour sauce."—Elise

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  • Skillet Pork Chops with Cabbage

    A plate of pork chop with cabbage

    Simply Recipes / Sheryl Julian

    "It’s hard to get really excited by cabbage—it seems so ordinary! But when I was in southern Germany recently, I enjoyed some truly outstanding cabbage with pork. This recipe is inspired by that dish so I can enjoy those flavors right at home."—Sheryl Julian, Recipe Developer

  • Pork Chops with Dijon Sauce

    Pork Chops Dijon Mustard Sauce

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "If using bone-in chops, score the fat that surrounds the chops (make vertical cuts through the fat, without cutting into the meat), so that the chops don't warp in shape as they cook."—Elise

  • Pork Chops with Cherry Pan Sauce

    A plate with green beans and a pork chop with cherry sauce, ready to serve and eat

    Simply Recipes / Aaron Hutcherson

    "My favorite pork chops to cook with are bone-in, center-cut chops. Center-cut chops are how I usually see them labeled in the grocery store, but sometimes they are labeled ribs or loin chops."—Aaron Hutcherson, Recipe Developer

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