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Juicy garlic butter Pork Chops Recipe with golden seared edges is ready in just 15 minutes! Enjoy this crazy delicious and tender pork chop recipe with all your favorite side dish recipes for a fast and flavorful easy dinner the whole family will love.
I am a big fan of cooking pork chops for dinner. Over the years, I have cooked them hundreds of times and countless different ways, but I always come back to this recipe. Using simple, everyday ingredients, it’s ready in just 15 minutes. Simply sear a few thick-cut pork chops in a hot skillet and coat them with a flavorful mix of melted butter, garlic, and fresh thyme. So easy! Plus, they taste absolutely fantastic with all your favorite sides, from buttery mashed potatoes to cheesy potatoes au gratin. Keep scrolling to learn how you can make them, too!
Table of Contents
The Secret to Making Juicy Pork Chops
When it comes to juicy, flavorful pork chops, thick-cut bone-in chops is always the answer. The bone helps the meat cook more evenly and adds extra flavor, making it harder to accidentally dry them out. Boneless chops are convenient and lean, but they cook faster and can become tough if even slightly overcooked.
Here’s a quick guide to the most common cuts:
- Rib Chops (best choice for this recipe): Tender, mild, and usually bone-in with a bit of fat for extra flavor. Great for quick cooking (like this recipe).
- Loin (Center-Cut) Chops: Very lean with both loin and tenderloin sections (like a mini T-bone). Mild flavor, but can overcook easily since each side cooks at a different rate.
- Shoulder (Blade) Chops: Rich and flavorful with more fat and connective tissue. Best when braised low and slow, not pan-seared.
- Boneless Chops: Convenient but lean and prone to dryness. Keep a close eye on the temperature if using these.
Bottom line: For the juiciest results, choose thick-cut, bone-in rib chops. Check out my Complete Guide to Pork Chops to learn more.
⭐️ 5-Star Reader Reviews⭐️
Review from Josh, “WOW!!!!! These are FANTASTIC. So easy to make and the recipe is intuitive to follow and the pork chops are DELICIOUS! Thank you so much.
Review from Tony, “Made this tonight. It was quick and simple and so delicious! Pork chops were moist and tender. This pork chops recipe is definitely going into my cook book. Will be making again!”
Ingredients
To make this recipe, you’ll need the following simple ingredients:
- Pork chops – I cooked four thick-cut rib chops. You can technically use any cut that you prefer, however, I recommend becoming familiar with their differences and adjusting the recipe as needed to avoid overcooking.
- Olive oil – While the sauce is primarily made from butter, a tablespoon or so of olive oil helps prevent the butter from burning.
- Butter – Butter is just as important as the pork in this recipe. I love to use salted butter, but feel free to use unsalted and add additional salt to taste at the end of cooking.
- Garlic – Because what is better than fresh garlic cooking in butter? nothing.
- Fresh Thyme – I love thyme. It’s one of my favorite fresh herbs to use- especially when making sauces. If you’re not a fan, feel free to substitute for something different, like fresh sage or parsley.
- Salt and Pepper – The seasoning in this recipe is basically salt and pepper. Don’t be afraid to use them (especially that black pepper. So good!)
How to Cook Pork Chops
Follow these steps for perfect pork chops every time!
- Season the Pork: Pat the pork chops dry, then season generously with salt and black pepper. Optional: add garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, or Italian seasoning.
- Bring to Room Temp (Optional but Recommended): If you have a little extra time, let your chops rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking. This helps them cook more evenly.
- Sear the Pork: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the pork chops and 2 tablespoons butter plus 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side (6 to 8 minutes total), or until golden brown and 140°F (or just under) as measured by a digital meat thermometer.
- Make the Garlic Butter Sauce: Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, minced garlic, and chopped thyme to the skillet. Spoon the melted garlic butter over the pork chops, flip, and baste again for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serve: Transfer immediately to a plate and serve with your favorite sides. Add a little extra butter to the pan if you want even more rich garlic butter sauce.
Pro Tips
- Choose thicker chops: Aim for 1 to 1.5-inch thick pork chops (double-cut if possible). Thicker chops are far more forgiving and won’t dry out as easily as thin, lean cuts.
- Bone-in vs. boneless: Bone-in chops = more flavor and moisture. Boneless chops cook faster, so monitor closely (again: thermometer!).
- Take the chill off: Let your chops rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before searing. This helps them cook more evenly.
- Add garlic at the end: Minced garlic burns fast. Stir it into the pan near the end of cooking so it stays sweet and flavorful.
- Use a meat thermometer: Pork is perfectly cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Remove from the heat around 140 to 145 degrees F and let it rest; carryover cooking will raise the temp a bit and keep the meat juicy.
What to Serve with Pork Chops
This easy pork chop recipe is simple, flavorful, and most importantly, versatile. It will pair well with just about anything that loves a little extra garlic butter sauce. My favorite sides are roasted garlic mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, or chewy wild rice, and any of the following veggie recipes:
- Roasted Zucchini
- Roasted Root Vegetables
- Cheesy Zucchini Casserole
- Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
- Fried Potatoes and Onions
- Roasted Butternut Squash
- Cooked Beets
And if you love extra sauce with your pork chops, you can make a quick honey mustard pan sauce. Combine 1-2 teaspoons of dijon mustard, 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar or honey, and enough chicken broth to thin. Add it to the warm garlic butter sauce right after the pork chops are removed from the skillet and cook just until warmed through.
More Favorite Pork Chop Recipes
If you make this garlic butter pork chop recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment and a star rating below, your feedback helps other readers discover (and enjoy) this recipe too. Thank you so much! 💛
Garlic Butter Pork Chop Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops
- coarse salt, to season
- freshly ground black pepper, to season
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoon butter, divided
- 2 springs fresh thyme, (plus 1 tbsp fresh chopped thyme, stems removed)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Season – Generously season both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper.
- Cook – Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, and the chops, 2 tablespoons butter, and 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme to the skillet. Cook the pork chops for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until the outside is golden and the internal temperature reads 145°F (or a little below) with a digital meat thermometer.
- Add the remaining butter, garlic, and thyme – Add the remaining butter, minced garlic, and chopped thyme to the skillet. Use a spoon to drizzle the garlic butter sauce over the pork chops before flipping the pork chops over and spooning the garlic butter over the pork chops on the other side. Repeat for 1-2 minutes.
- Serve – Immediately remove pork chops from the skillet and serve with all your favorite sides. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Pick a thicker cut – It’s easy to overcook and dry out a lean cut of pork. Thicker pork chops are more forgiving to accidental errors in cooking, so try to purchase double-cut pork chops (approximately 1 1/2 inches thick).
- Use a digital meat thermometer to avoid overcooking. It is recommended to cook to a temperature between 145-160 degrees F allowing them to rest for a few minutes before serving. Keep in mind that meat will continue to cook even after it’s been removed from heat, so I typically remove my pork as soon as it reaches 145 degrees, tent with foil for about 5 minutes, and serve.
- Wait to add the minced garlic until the pork is nearly cooked. Why? The last thing any of us want is burnt garlic.
- Bone-in pork chops are great (and have more flavor), but boneless is ok, too. Just remember that boneless pork chops are super lean, so keep that digital meat thermometer handy and be sure to pick thicker cut chops.
- Allow them to rest at room temperature before cooking. Not for too long, of course, but a little bit of time to take the chill off will help your pork cook evenly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Awesome
THanks 🙂
This was an amazing dinner. Because I didn’t have fresh thyme, I sauteed dried thyme and jarred minced garlic in melted butter in a separate small saute pan. After initial browning of pork chop in olive oil and butter in a grill pan, I added the sauteed garlic and thyme on top of each pork and continued cooking until done. It was delicious and quick.
Thanks for the amazing feedback and rating, Misty 😀
My husband was raving about how delicious it was. He couldn’t believe how juicy it was too. I grow fresh thyme so it all worked out! I will save this recipe for sure and make it again. Thank you for a great recipe that is so easy to make!
I am glad to hear that you and your husband found this delicious – thanks JaMiya 😀
Took me 3 business days to read this b/c of the ads and pop-ups but it came out great.
Unless you’re donating directly to this creator maybe stow this kind of thing. You’re here reading a free recipe and complaining about their only way to monetize their content?? Booooo
This was absolutely delicious! I worried about not using fresh thyme but it still came out beautifully! This was a big hit with the family and will definitely go on our rotation of family dishes.
I appreciate your delicious feedback 🙂
I made this for my family tonight and they loved it! I used thin bone in pork chops and made the mustard honey sauce. It was delicious!
Thanks Arla 🙂
AWESOME!!!
Thanks for the awesome rating, Charles 🙂
Delicious and tender. I’ll be making this recipe again.
Thanks Diane 🙂
I love porterhouse chops, and I always try to brine them before cooking. Today, they wouldn’t have thawed in time if I hadn’t.
I appreciate your feedback and tip, Kim 🙂
Delicious! Picked thin bone-in (Mr. agrees with you and he was a pig farmer as young man)also needed 1-pan to plate prep today (time and space ) and the sauce was amazing! Used Kerry Gold herb butter, and although I’m usually insistent on fresh herbs, I had powdered rosemary, onion, thyme and Badia, so used them. Meat thermometer came in handy. It lets you know they are safe to eat but still juicy. They browned nicely. I added canned mushrooms and they caramelized nicely. Mr. loved the meal and clean-up was quick. Served with prepared mash potatoes and green beans. Wonderful meal. This will make you want to be like a kitty and lick the plate!
I appreciate your delicious feedback and rating, Holly 🙂