Our Easy oven baked pork chop recipe features both meat and veggies, all cooked in the same oven. It’s a real time-saver.
Is Oven Baked Pork Chops Healthy?
With roasted veggies on the same tray, our healthy oven baked pork chops recipe is both protein-packed and nutrient-rich.
1. The Pork Chops
Similar to other types of meat, pork contains all of the necessary amino acids. It’s considered one of the most complete sources of protein.
In addition to proteins, pork is a rich source of vitamin Bs, selenium, zinc, and iron. They serve a variety of functions in our body, promoting the strengthening of our immune system.
2. The Veggies
Broccoli is loaded with vitamin C, an antioxidant that can prevent oxidative stress in the body. Research shows that oxidative damage is often linked to cancer development.
Carrots, on the other hand, are a reliable source of dietary beta carotene (vitamin A). It also has antioxidant properties and is a crucial element for your eyes to function.
Calories
Our baked pork chops recipe provides around 500 calories per serving. Almost 40% of the calories are from protein and 22% of it is from good fats.
1. Protein
Each serving of our baked pork chop recipe contains 48.3 grams of protein.
Although the recipe card says this constitutes 97% of your daily protein intake, this number is only for reference. It is based on a 2000-calorie diet, which does not apply for all of us since we’re all different size, activity, and goal wise.
The optimal protein intake depends on your body goal/situation, according to the Institute of Medicine. Each person should consume 0.54 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound.
For example, if someone weighs 150 pounds, they should consume 84-126 grams of protein per day, for optimal health. In other words, they could have 2-3 servings of this dish to meet the daily recommended intake of protein.
From the formula, you can calculate the amount of protein you should consume per day which is more accurate than following recipe cards.
2. Low Fat Pork Chops
Fat in pork chops should be visible and can be trimmed off. If you prefer low-fat pork chops, simply ask the butcher to remove it or trim the excess fat at home.
Each serving of our recipe has 200 grams of bone-in, lean pieces— with less than 4% of total fat per chop.
How to Season
Many people season their pork chops with a dry rub with a typical set of spices, herbs, salt, and pepper. It’s the easiest, quickest way to season a large chunk of meat.
We, however, prefer our pork chops a little saucy. We made our sauce, spread it onto each piece of meat, let it sit, then popped them in the oven.
Although the sauce is really dry, as the meat cooks in the oven, it will gradually soak into the chop.
How Long to Bake
It depends on the temperature and thickness of your pork chop.
We got our pork chop straight from the butcher, so it was at room-temp when we baked it. It’s highly recommended that you use fresh meat, indicated by a deep reddish-pink hue, not gray-ish.
In case you already have frozen meat in your freezer, simply give the meat more time to bake. We’ve found it takes about 30 minutes more.
Keep an eye on the potatoes and carrots, because they only take 30 minutes to cook.
Tips for Baking the Perfect Chops
There are a few things you can do to take your easy oven baked pork chop to the next level.
1. Using a Meat Thermometer
This tool is really helpful, especially since some ovens don’t cook at the exact temperature they display. It also comes in handy when you’re baking cold meat.
Stick a meat thermometer in one of the chops, and place them in the oven. When you see the internal temperature of the meat reach 145°F, they’re ready.
2. Meat Resting
Always allow your meat to rest after baking, no matter if it’s poultry or red meat.
Under the tension of heat, the meat contracts, allowing the juice to come out. Some of the juice will come out of the meat, while some of it stays inside the meat.
By letting the meat rest, the juice inside redistributes evenly through the meat. As you cut into it, the juice will end up in your mouth instead of running all over the place.
As for how long, it depends on the thickness of the cuts. Thick ones take about 15 minutes, while smaller ones take only 5-10 minutes.
3. Searing
Some oven baked pork chops recipes do ask you to sear your meat before finishing them in the oven. This creates a crust that not only gives a better mouthfeel but also allows the meat to retain more juice.
However, the method only applies to dry-seasoned pork chops, which is different from our take. We’ll try them in the future and tell you how it turns out!
If you’re also looking for ideas to cook other pork chops, Air Fryer perfecting version is a good recipe
How Long Does It Last?
Cooked pork chops last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator, and of course, for food safety, you shouldn’t store them for more than 2 hours at room temperature.
You can freeze the pork chops raw or cooked to store them for 4-6 months. Cooked meat is best used within 2-3 months. It can last longer, but the quality of the meat won’t be the same.
What to Serve with
For additional calories to meet the 750-calorie-meal goal, here are our recommendations:
1. Cream of Mushroom Soup
The firm meat and savory, zingy sauce already complement one another, but it’d be even better when paired with a creamy soup.
Seeing as canned mushroom soup contains a lot of fat and sodium, we make our own. Check out our tuna noodle casserole recipe for instructions on how to make it.
2. Rice
If you love rice like us, you can have baked pork chops with rice (like we did). Rice is a healthy source of carbs, and some types of rice even add fiber and lots of vitamins!
3. Greek Salad
Of course, a salad is an easy, versatile addition to have for roasts. It’s tangy, crisp, palate-cleansing, and adds a moderate amount of calories, nutrients, and fiber.
Easy Oven Baked Pork Chops Recipe
These easy oven baked pork chops recipe should make a healthy dinner for you. A healthy dinner for 4 people, cooked on a single tray, and filled with meat and vegetables. Simple, quick, and delicious.
- cook TIME 45 mins
- prep TIME 30 mins
- total TIME 1 hr 15 mins
- COURSE Main Course
- CUISINE Global
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 506 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 28 oz center loin (bone-in, lean only pork chop)
- 12 oz baby potato (halved)
- 8 oz carrot (cut into chunks)
- 8 oz broccoli (cut into chunks)
- 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter (room temp)
- 1/2 cup homemade tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp ground pepper (divided into halves)
- 1 tsp paprika
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the sauce by mixing 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 tbsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tbsp garlic, 1/2 cup tomato sauce in a small bowl.
In a baking dish, marinate 28 oz pork (both sides) with the sauce for 15 minutes.
Spread 8 oz carrot, 12 oz potato, and 8 oz broccoli onto a baking sheet. Drizzle in 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle on 1/2 tsp pepper. Toss to coat evenly and wait until the pork is ready.
Take out the broccoli and leave it aside. Move the veg around to make space for the baking dish, and put the baking dish (with the pork chop inside) onto the tray. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven to spread 1 1/2 tbsp room-temp butter onto the pork, add broccoli onto the tray. Then put the tray back into the oven and broil for 15 minutes at 400 °F .
Plate and serve. Drizzle the sauce onto each pork chop.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
Nutrition Reviewer
- Mabel Yeoman
Great work Luna! As always.
- Henshaw MThe oven-baked pork chops is easy to follow and results in tender and flavorful pork chops that are perfect for a family dinner.