Pan seared pork chops with an incredible marinade are perfect for a quick weeknight meal. Family friendly food, delicious over salad or something else!
Pan Seared Pork Chops
Pan seared anything is delicious, and these pan cooked pork chops are no exception! The marinade makes them incredibly flavorful + adds a little sweetness so they get nice and caramelized in the pan.
The marinade also turns into a light pan sauce that is perfect over salad greens, rice or grits. Or anything else you can think of! Oh, and did I mention it only takes 20 minutes to throw together? Um yeah. It’s a winner!
And I also have a confession. This marinade is really a salad dressing! It’s one of my easy homemade salad dressing recipes and it makes this dish incredible.
I love making this for lunch and serving it over mixed salad greens. It’s a perfect light meal.
My family prefers it over something a bit more substantial, like rice or grits, but anyway you eat it is going to be amazing.
Ingredients for Pan Seared Boneless Pork Chops
For the Marinade
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- salt and pepper
For the Chops
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 6-8 thin cut pork chops
- 3 tablespoons butter, cold
- *(optional) 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
What kind of pork chops do you use for Pan Cooked Pork Chops?
I always prefer the thin pork chops, I find they hold marinade flavor better and cook up more evenly without becoming dry. If you do use thicker chops, you’ll want to adjust to lower cooking temperature and a longer cooking time.
How to Make Sauce for Pan Seared Pork Chops
The pork chop sauce comes together so easily, all you do is deglaze the pan with the leftover marinade, bring it to a simmer while scraping the pan, and then add a couple of tablespoons of butter off the heat.
Adding butter to a sauce off the heat just before serving is called “mounting” the sauce.
This technique just ensures that the butter remains emulsified and you also get a beautiful glossy sauce! Plus….butter. I never miss a chance to cook with it 🙂 .
Besides how amazing these pan cooked pork chops tastes, the best thing about it is how quick it is to make. 20 minutes tops, for real! You are never to busy for a meal like this.
And really, you could probably make it faster. Making the marinade takes the longest amount of time!
Speaking of the marinade, you can make it up well in advance and keep it in the fridge. It’s a great way to meal prep. I even add it to a bag of pork chops and toss them in the freezer.
Then the night before I need them I’ll put them in the fridge – it makes dinner that much quicker!
How to Marinate Pork Chops for Frying
How long should you marinate pork chops?
Pork chops should be marinated for at least 6 hours, up to overnight.
How to Pan Sear Pork Chops
Yes, you should put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan before placing the pork chops in the pan.
The exact time will depend on the thickness of your pork chops. For medium sized pork chops, this will be about 4 minutes per side.
Pork chops will dry out when they are overcooked. Using a meat thermometer is your best option for not over cooking pork chops. Perfectly cooked chops will have an internal temperature of 160ºF.
Pork chops are tough when they are overcooked or cooked too quickly. Following the directions in this recipe will help you get perfectly cooked pork chops.
How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat Pan Cooked Pork Chops
Cooked pork chops can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. They can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. Reheating pork chops is best done in the microwave, 1 minute at a time until heated through.
What to Serve with Cast Iron Pork Chops
- Farm Style Bread
- Cornbread Muffins
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Oven Roasted Cauliflower
- Moroccan Couscous
- Spinach and Apple Winter Salad
Looking for more great pork chop recipes??
- Easy Pork Chop Marinade
- Pork Chop Grilling Marinade
- Balsamic Pork Chops and Veggies
- Bacon Apple Pork Chops
- Mexican Pork Chop Marinade
- Asian Pork Chop Marinade
More delicious recipes to try
Pan Seared Pork Chops
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the Chops
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 6-8 pork chops thin cut
- 3 tablespoons butter cold
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped, optional
Instructions
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a mason jar and shake until combined.
- Place pork chops and marinade in zipper top bag and let marinate 6-24 hours.
- Heat a large skillet on medium heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until the oil is shimmering.
- Let the excess marinade drip off of the pork chops into the bag. Transfer half of the pork chops to the pan.
- Cook until dark and seared, about 3-4 minutes.
- Flip, and repeat until the chops are cooked through, the temperature should register about 160 degrees F.
- Remove from pan and tent with foil.
- Repeat steps 3-7 with the remaining pork chops.
- After all the chops are cooked, turn heat to low and pour remaining marinade in the pan.
- Bring to a simmer and scrape the bottom of the pan. It should reduce very quickly, if too much of the liquid evaporates out, add a few tablespoons of chicken stock to keep it liquid.
- Once the marinade is reduced, turn off the heat and add the cold butter, gently stirring as you add it.
- Add chops back into the sauce, basting lightly.
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.
Sabrina says
I had marinaded the pork chops for about 24 hours and I came home to find that the marinade turned to the mustardy yellow in comparison to the balsamic color it had the night before. Is that ok?
Alli says
Hi Sabrina, I think maybe it turned that color because the oil solidified in the fridge? Does that sound like what happened? If not, I’m not sure what would cause it to turn yellow.
Sammi Windley says
I usually don’t like pork chops, but these are actually something I like eating!