This easy and delicious Oven Baked Boneless Pork Chops recipe from a Registered Dietitian is made with a simple jerk lime marinade and bakes in the oven for just 12 minutes. Dinner never tasted so good!
"I don't need another easy and delicious dinner idea," said no one ever 😉 While it helps to make some foods on repeat, it's also nice to change things up!
This simple recipe is a delicious way to introduce your family to new flavors. The combination of jerk seasoning and lime is what makes this one of my favorite pork recipes ever!
If you've had my lemon pepper chicken, you know I don't mess around with a good marinade. 😍 Serve it with simple side dishes like green beans or salad, and rice or potatoes and dinner is set!
Now let me introduce you to my easy and delicious 'go to' boneless pork chops recipe that I've been making for years! You just need 4 ingredients, including fresh lime and jerk seasoning. Yum-O!
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🤩Why You'll Absolutely Love This Recipe
If you're wondering why I suggest baking boneless pork chops in the oven, it's because it's easier and less messy than cooking them on the stovetop! I just know you'll love this delicious recipe that takes minimal effort. 😍
- Quick and Easy You just make the simple marinade, marinade, then bake for 12 minutes, max. Just be sure to use thin pork chops because they cook mush faster than thick chops. And, unlike other recipes, there is no need to do a quick sear on a cast iron skillet first. Who has time for that anyway? 😉
- Simple Ingredients Just 4-Ingredients: Boneless pork chops (thin chops), fresh lime, jerk seasoning, and olive oil. That's it!
- Kid-Tested, Parent-Approved This is one recipe that all of my kids enjoy, even the ones that don't like spice. My husband and two of my kids like to add A-1 sauce to them, while my oldest and I prefer the pork chops as is.
💁♀️Dietitian Tips
I admit that I often make one pot meals because it's easier and I can get everything in one dish. Still, if there is a food that a child doesn't like in a one pot dish, they likely won't eat any of it. So frustrating, I know.
Serving meat separate from other foods on the plate and/or serving sauces with meat might be the key to getting your kids to eat more protein at meals.
Also, trimming off the visible fat from meat is an easy way to reduce the amount of saturated fat in a meal.
🥩Ingredient Notes
- Thin Cut Boneless Pork Chops I buy them pre-cut, but you can definitely buy a pork loin and cut them into pork chops yourself.
- Jerk Seasoning Also known as Carribean Jerk seasoning. For some reason, it's getting harder to find jerk seasoning at my local grocery store, so I recently bought it online. If you are particular about your seasoning, be sure to use your favorite. Please note that Jerk seasoning is not the same as Cajun seasoning.
- Lime This recipe calls for the zest and juice of one lime. Zest the lime before slicing it in half to get the juice out. Use a microplane or the microplane side of a box grater to get the zest.
- Olive oil I use extra virgin olive oil. Avocado oil will work just as well.
👩🍳How to Cook Boneless Pork Chops
Here is a summary of the instructions on how to make oven-baked pork chops. For a complete list of ingredients and instructions, scroll down to the recipe card.
- Zest and juice one lime. Be sure to zest the lime before juicing it.
- In a small bowl combine the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, and jerk seasoning. Stir.
- Trim off the fat that you see around the edges of each pork chop. Then, coat all sides of the boneless pork chops in the marinade. Marinade for 30 minutes.
- Lay the pork chops on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at for about 10-12 minutes, or until the internal temperature on a meat thermometer reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. See 'helpful tips' section below.
📱Meal Prep Tip
When making these pork chops for dinner, start with marinating the pork chops. Then, while the pork chops are marinating, preheat the oven and start cooking everything else so that it will all finish around the same time.
Also, keep in mind that a lot of veggies can cook (or roast) in the oven at the same temperature as the pork chops, but the amount of time may vary.
For instance, roasted broccoli and asparagus takes about 12 minutes in the oven, so you can put those in at the same time as pork chops. However, roasted root vegetables will take longer.
Another idea is to utilize your air fryer to make a veggie like sweet potato chunks and your stovetop to make mashed potatoes while the pork chops marinade and bake in the oven.
🥔What to Serve with Thin Pork Chops
When you serve meat separately from other foods, there are just so many options of what you can serve it with!
- Rice White or brown
- Quinoa or Farro
- Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Mini Potatoes
- Brussel Sprouts
- Garlicky Green Beans
- Broccoli Parmesan
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Air Fried chunks of sweet potatoes
- Applesauce
💡Helpful Tips
- Cook time will vary depending on how thick the pork chops are. When baking at 400 degrees, pork chops that are only ½ inch thick, will cook in 7-8 minutes, while pork chops that are ¾ inch thick will take a couple of minutes longer, closer to 12 minutes total.
- Using an instant-read thermometer is the best way to ensure the internal temperature of the pork chops reach 145 degrees F.
- For best results, make sure the pork chops are the same thickness, so they cook in the same amount of time.
- For juicy, tender pork chops (that aren't chewy), be sure not to overcook them.
- Some people like to add brown sugar, garlic powder, or onion powder to boneless pork chop recipes, but I've found that it's not necessary with this recipe. In fact, you don't even need to sprinkle on salt and black pepper.
- You can either use a sharp knife or kitchen scissors to trim off visible fat from around the edges of the pork chops.
- You can either marinade the pork chops in a sealed plastic food-safe bag or in a shallow baking dish.
- To make cleanup even easier, line the baking sheet with aluminum foil coated with cooking spray. Then place the marinated pork chops on the foil before baking.
❓Questions You May Have
I don't see why not. A good rule of thumb would be to cook them at the same temperature but for less time or reduce the temperature of your air fryer by 25 degrees and cook for the same amount of time.
Whether making oven baked or air fryer, be sure to cook them until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yes! I used to make these on the stove top before I realized how much easier it was to bake them in the oven. For thin boneless pork chops, cook them on a skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes on each side, until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
Yes. However, bone-in pork chops take longer to bake in the oven. So, you'll want to keep an eye on the internal temperature.
Let the leftover pork chops come to room temperature. Then place them in an airtight container with a lid and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
No. Just put them in the oven and let them bake.
More Easy Recipes
Did you make these jerk lime oven baked pork chops and love them? Please let me know by leaving a 5-star rating or commenting below!
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📖 Recipe
Oven Baked Boneless Pork Chops
Equipment
- 1 Box Grater or Microplane to zest the lime
- 1 Kitchen shears or a sharp knife to trim off visible fat.
Ingredients
- 4 Thin-Cut Boneless Pork Chops
- 1 Lime Juice and Zest
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoon Caribbean Jerk seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Zest the lime. Then, juice the lime.1 Lime
- Make the marinade by mixing the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, and jerk seasoning together in a small bowl.1 Lime, 1 tablespoon Olive oil, 2 tablespoon Caribbean Jerk seasoning
- Trim off the visible fat from each pork chop.4 Thin-Cut Boneless Pork Chops
- Rub both sides of each pork chop with the marinade. Let it set to rest and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 145℉ is reached.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- As for how long to cook thin pork chops: The exact amount of time the pork chops will take to bake will depend on how thick they are. When baking at 400 degrees, pork chops that are only ½ inch thick, will cook in 7-8 minutes, while pork chops that are ¾ inch thick will take closer to 12 minutes.
- Make sure the pork chops are the same thickness, so they cook in the same amount of time.
- For juicy pork chops (that aren't chewy), be sure not to overcook them.
- Some people like to add brown sugar, garlic powder, or onion powder to boneless pork chop recipes, but I've found that it's not necessary with this recipe.
- Either use a sharp knife or kitchen scissors to trim off visible fat from around the edges of the pork chops.
- Marinade the pork chops in a sealed plastic food-safe bag or in a shallow baking dish.
- If you enjoy A-1 sauce, consider serving it on the side with these thin pork chops.
- *Nutrition Facts are estimated using a database that this owner is not responsible for maintaining. Exact nutrient information will depend on the actual size and thickness of the pork chops, whether or not the visible fat is removed, and how much marinade remains on the pork chops.
Marilyn Bower-Pegues says
the marinate was horrible but I might have used the wrong jerk it had curry in it! plus they sure didn't turn out like the picture the marinate was Jerk Jamaican
Kristi Ruth RD says
I'm so sorry you used the wrong seasoning, Marilyn. I've never heard of Jerk seasoning with curry and definitely would not recommend adding curry to this recipe. As for the appearance, as you'll see in the process photos in the recipe post, I spoon every ounce of the marinade onto the pork chops before baking them because the Jerk seasoning and lime zest give it an incredible color and flavor. Additionally, if you could remove the star rating from your comment (since you used a different seasoning than the recipe called for), I would appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
Jackie DesPortes says
The rating is due to the fact that my pork chops did not look like picture of yours. The marinade taste was great and my husband thought they were very good. They were not tough at all. Did you bake them in the middle of your oven? Also do you think I could increase the temperature ? Your cooked marinade became a more embedded part of your chop while mine was still sort of sitting there. Any suggestions? I will try it again after you answer my questions. Thank you very much.
Jackie
Kristi Ruth RD says
Hi Jackie! I'm so glad you enjoyed the flavor! Great questions. Yes, I bake them in the middle of my oven. I place the pork chops in a shallow baking dish, pour the marinade directly on the thin pork chops, spread it around using the back side of a spoon or fork and then flip them over to make sure both sides are coated before putting them in the oven. Making sure as much of the jerk seasoning and lime zest stay on the pork chops as they bake and increasing the amount of marinade if you use more pork than what the recipe calls for (the marinade in this recipe makes just enough) are what makes them look like the pork chops in the pictures. If you increase the temperature, they will cook faster which means it's easier to overcook them (pork chops get chewy when overcooked). I hope this helps!