Simple homemade sauces (or glazes) are your secret weapon in the kitchen. They’re the easiest way to turn a boring piece of meat into something really mouthwatering and amazing. Case in point: Honey Mustard Pork Chops. This particularly awesome sauce is a mix of honey, Dijon mustard, a little mayo for creaminess, and a few spices. Smear that awesome sauce on a some pan seared pork chops, pop them in the oven to heat through, and then finish them off with a few minutes under the broiler. The end result is creamy, caramelized, honey mustard madness. Madness in a good way, of course.
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Baking Time May Vary
Pork chops are delicate flowers. If you over bake them, they get tough and dry, so you really have to pay them some attention. This is where cooking intuition comes in handy. I’ve provided a general estimated bake time in the recipe below, but the total time needed to get the internal temperature of the pork chops up to 145ºF will vary depending on several factors. The thickness of your pork chops will greatly determine how long they need to bake, as will the amount of time they spent in the skillet while searing. The longer they’re in the skillet, the less time they’ll need in the oven. So keep these things in mind as you cook your chops and I wish you all the most juicy and tender pork chop success!
Can I Use Boneless Pork Chops?
Yes, you can achieve something similar with boneless pork chops and a slightly altered technique. The recipe below is written for bone-in pork chops, which take longer to cook than boneless chops. If using boneless chops you can shorten the bake time considerably. Keep your meat thermometer handy so you can test their temperature and prevent overcooking. If you’re using thin boneless pork chops, you may not even need to bake them after searing. Simply slather the seared chops with the sauce right in the skillet and let the sauce reduce a little bit to more of a glaze consistency. Either way, make sure they reach an internal temperature of 145ºF.
What to Serve with Honey Mustard Pork Chops
I served my Honey Mustard Pork Chops with some Roasted Brussels Sprouts and roasted sweet potatoes. Because they cooked at different temperatures from the pork chops, I cooked the vegetables first, then lowered the oven’s temperature before adding the pork chops. Make sure the oven is all the way down to the correct temperature before baking the pork chops, so you don’t accidentally over cook them! :) Or you could pair it with something super simple and a little lighter, like Simple Sautéed Vegetables, Roasted Carrots, or Lemon Garlic Roasted Asparagus, and some Seasoned Rice.
Honey Mustard Pork Chops
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise ($0.53)
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.18)
- 2 Tbsp honey ($0.24)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp Freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.02)
- 4 bone-in pork chops, one-inch thick (about 2.5 lbs.) ($5.02)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare the honey mustard sauce by stirring together the mayonnaise, Dijon, honey, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Use a paper towel to dry off the surface of the pork chops, then season each side with a pinch of salt and freshly cracked pepper. Heat one tablespoon of cooking oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is very hot add two pork chops at a time and cook until golden brown on each side (3 minutes each side). Place the browned pork chops in a casserole dish (it's okay if they overlap slihtly).
- Smear the honey mustard sauce over both sides of the pork chops in the casserole dish. Bake for about 30 minutes for 1-inch thick chops, about 20 minutes for ¾-inch thick chops, or until the internal temperature reaches 145ºF. To achieve more browning, switch the oven to broil and broil the chops for 3-5 minutes or until the surface is golden brown and bubbly. Serve hot.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Baked Honey Mustard Pork Chops – Step by Step Photos
Start by mixing up the honey mustard sauce. Stir together 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 2 Tbsp honey, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 15 cranks of a pepper mill).
Then you have a really delicious honey mustard sauce that you will have to restrain yourself from licking off the spoon. Set it aside and try to forget about it for a minute.
You’ll want four thick-cut bone-in pork chops for this recipe. Try to get pork chops that are 3/4 to 1-inch thick. The pork chops I used today are about ¾-inch thick. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Use a paper towel to dry off the surface of the chops (this helps them sear better), then season each side with a pinch of salt and some freshly cracked pepper.
Heat one Tbsp cooking oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Make sure the skillet and oil are very hot, then add two chops at a time and cook until golden brown on each side (about 3 minutes per side). If it’s taking longer than about 3 minutes to get a nice brown color, make sure you reduce the baking time to compensate because the pork chops will already be more cooked when they go into the oven.
After browning the chops, place them into a casserole dish (it’s okay if they overlap just a little). Smear the honey mustard sauce over both sides of the pork chops. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 145ºF (about 20 min for ¾-inch thick, or closer to 30 for 1-inch thick chops).
Finish them off with just a few minutes under the broiler for maximum browning action (I did not move the oven rack, I simply switched the setting from bake to broil and kept an eye on them).
So yummy! I garnished with a little parsley for color, but it’s not needed to flavor the honey mustard pork chops.
I think my bone in chops were about 1/2-3/4” and I could have done only 15 min in the oven. I paired with butter green beans and the cinnamon roasted sweet potato in the photos (it’s from one of the meal prep recipes).
Everyone asked for seconds :) Paired well with the autumn medley roasted vegetables.
When you pair this with roasted brussels sprouts, how do you get them to be ready at the same time without one of them getting cold? Do you have two ovens? Thanks! :)
I just did the Brussels sprouts while I was prepping the pork chops, then when they were done I reduced the heat in the oven for the pork chops. You can pop the Brussels sprouts back in the oven with the pork chops for the last 5 minutes to warm them back up again. :)
Absolutely loved these. I don’t like mayo, so I subbed in sour cream instead, but they were great regardless. I would just maybe add a little more sauce next time because it was so good I wanted more. :)
These were SO good. Thank you!
This Recipe is So Good and Easy to Make.
Can I use chicken thighs instead of pork chops?
Yes, I bet this would work great with chicken thighs. :)
I was going to ask the same! Would cooking time n temp remain the same for chicken thighs?
It would probably be different since they are a difference size, and it depends on whether they are bone in or boneless, but unfortunately I’d need to test it before offering time and temp suggestions.
These look fabulous and easy to make!
Just as a head up., your recipe states 165 degrees instead of 145.
Thanks for catching that, Betsy!
Hey there- was just wondering where you would pick up pork at $2/lb. At my Giant Eagle, the cheapest cuts seemed to be a minimum of $5/lb.
These were from Kroger and they were on sale. :) I always hit up the sales and if I can’t use the meat that week I’ll freeze it for later so I always have “sale” priced meat.
Love this! I make it all the time. Like how its sweetened lightly with honey, so not too bad for us. Thanks so much. 😊
I love this recipe and I’ve made it multiple times. I am wondering if it can be adapted for a slow cooker. I have thick bone in chops that need to be cooked ASAP and I am going to be gone all day tomorrow. Any ideas? 🙏
Hmm, I’m not sure how that might turn out! One thing to keep in mind is that a slow cooker is a wet cooking environment and an oven is a dry cooking environment, so that can affect the way flavors change (caramelizing sugars, etc. don’t happen in wet environments). And I think slow cookers usually need a little more liquid in there to heat evenly.
SOOO DELICIOUS!! I used 1″ thick center cut boneless pork chops. Browning took 3 minutes per side and they only needed to cook for 8 minutes in the oven to reach 145 degrees F. Broiled for 3 minutes under broiler set to high. I poured off and whisked the sauce leftover in the pan and served over the pork chops. Seriously, delicious. So good, so happy right now. I’m not even a huge fan of honey mustard and I loved these. They are going in my regular rotation. Don’t leave the sauce in the pan – the chops were okay by themselves, but are restaurant quality when you serve them with the sauce.
These were delicious!! Definitely a keeper. Thank you for the recipe!
If I sear the chops in a stainless steel pan that is oven proof can I just add the sauce in the pan with chops instead of transferring them?
Yes you can do that. Enjoy!