These Honey Garlic Pork Chops couldn’t be any more delicious if they tried. Quick and easy to make with minimal ingredients!
Quick dinners don’t come more delicious than this. Perfectly fried pork chops bathed in a sticky honey garlic glaze? UGH, grab a fork and follow me…
How to prepare Pork Chops
Bone in
For this recipe you’ll want bone in pork chops. Bone in pork chops are great because they tend to end up more tender than boneless pork chops. Having the bone in also ensures the chops cook more evenly, as the bone heats up it then cooks the meat attached to it.
Room temp
It’s important to get the pork out the fridge at least 15mins before needed, just to bring them to room temp. Frying meat straight from the fridge, especially pork, will cause it to seize up and become chewy. And you and me both know, there’s literally nothing worse than chewy pork chops ☹️
Pat Dry
It’s important to remove as much moisture as you can from the outside of the pork chops. Excess moisture will prevent the meat from browning properly. Simply use paper towels to pat them dry.
From there, it’s just a case of liberally seasoning them with salt and pepper, then drizzle with oil. No other seasoning needed – promise 😉
Pan Fried Pork Chops
Whilst you could bake the chops, pan frying will offer a far better texture and flavour. You get the direct heat of the pan which caramelizes the pork so beautifully. It also gives you opportunity to baste the chops, which we’ll get to in just a sec.
Whilst the honey garlic sauce is beyond delicious, it’s not going to mask poorly cooked pork chops, so here’s a few tips on getting soft and juicy chops.
How to get juicy Pan Fried Pork Chops
- High heat – Bring your pan to a scorching hot heat to get a nice sear on the outside. Whilst you can fry them at a low/medium temp, you’ll miss out on a huge amount of flavour and they won’t be as moist.
- Butter – Once you flip the chops, baste them in herbs, garlic and butter to keep them nice and juicy.
- Let them rest! – After you’ve seared both sides on high heat and seared the fat, let them rest for at least 5 mins. This will not only give the chops time to continue cooking through the centre, but will allow them to soak back any juices trying to escape.
Okay, pork chops are good to go. Let’s talk sauce!
Honey Garlic Sauce
There’s something about the combination of honey and garlic which makes me weak at the knees. There’s just a few other ingredients that really complete this sauce:
Honey Garlic Sauce Ingredients
- Honey – Ensure it’s runny honey or it’ll clump up in the pan.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic, 2 cloves to infuse the butter then another 2 to make the sauce.
- Butter – this will be leftover from basting the pork chops AND infused with rosemary/thyme (& extra garlic).
- Soy Sauce – will give gorgeous depth to the sauce.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – balances out the sweetness of the honey and adds a hint of apple, which coincidentally pairs perfectly with pork.
Once you’ve removed the pork from the pan, add the garlic straight in and get started with the sauce. It doesn’t take long for the sauce to thicken at all, so just be vigilant.
Can you use chicken instead?
Yup, chicken goes perfectly with honey garlic sauce. Check out my Honey Garlic Chicken!
What to serve with Honey Garlic Pork Chops?
Potatoes: Mustard Mash | Roasted Baby Potatoes | Goose Fat Roast Potatoes | Oven Baked Chips.
Veg: Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower | Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots | Garlic Green Beans.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these honey garlic pork chops shall we?!
How to make Honey Garlic Pork Chops (Full Recipe and Video)
Honey Garlic Pork Chops
Equipment
- Large Frying Pan & Tongs
- Spoon (for basting)
- Chopping Board
- Paper Towels
- Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 2x 9oz/250g bone-in Pork Chops, brought close to room temp (see notes)
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 4 large cloves of Garlic (2 lightly crushed with skins on, 2 minced)
- 1/4 cup / 80g Honey
- 1.5 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Light/All Purpose Soy Sauce
- 1 sprig of Rosemary
- 1 sprig of Thyme
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
- Olive Oil, as needed
Instructions
- If the strip of fat on the pork is fairly thick then consider making diagonal slits all the way down. This will prevent the chops from curling up in the pan. Pat the chops dry with paper towels and generously sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Rub the seasoning into the meat.
- Place a cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottom pan over high heat. Once smoking hot, drizzle in a dash of oil and place in the pork chops. Leave to fry for 3-5mins, or until deep golden/lightly charred (you should start to see blood/moisture just starting to rise to the top side). Flip and continue frying for another 2mins until they begin to pick up colour on the other side.
- Drop butter, thyme, rosemary and 2 garlic cloves into the pan. Baste the chops for another 1-2mins. Place the garlic & herbs on one of the chops, then place the other chop on top so the strips of fat align. Flip and sear the fat to render down the fat for 1-2mins (should be deep golden/caramelized). Remove chops from the pan & rest to one side. Important to rest so the pork retains its juices.
- Turn the heat down to a low-medium and remove any large bits of char. When the pan has cooled down add the garlic. Fry until it just begins to take on colour then pour in the honey, soy sauce and vinegar.
- Stir and simmer until the sauce thickens (should coat the back of a spoon), then add the chops and baste in the sauce. Serve up and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Pork Chop Recipes
- Pork Chops and Peach Salsa
- Garlic Pork Chops
- Pork Chops with Blue Cheese and Apple
- Pork Schnitzels
- French Onion Pork Chops
- Creamy Lemon Thyme Pork Chops
- Brown Sugar Pork Chops
What can I use instead of rosemary?
You can just leave it out 🙂 C.
Absolutely lovely recipe. Fast, easy and delicious! I didnt have apple cider vinegar on hand so used Rice Wine vinegar and turned out wonderfully. Thank you! Looking forward to trying other recipes from your blog
So great to hear this went down well! Thanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂 C.
This is AMAZING!!! I mean, lick the plate wonderful. And it came together so easily!!! Made it with mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus and sautéed mushrooms. Will be making it again soon for sure!!!
That’s so great to hear, Jennifer! Thanks so much for the review 🙂 C.
This was fantastic! Had a lot of sauce left when done so I strained it and served it on the side. Peeps loved it on the pork and roasted potatoes! Thanks for the thorough instructions!
So happy to hear this went down well, Barbara 🙂
I’m drooling looking at the photos! This sounds so tasty, and the honey garlic glaze sounds out of this world good.
It’s so so yummy (if I do say so myself )
Pork chops are such a tasty meal, delicious when served with veggies. The honey glazing sounds amazing and a perfect finish.
Thanks Helen 🙂
Pork – oh my I have not had too much luck with frying pork chops! They often end up so dry and somewhat lacking flavor! By reading the instructions I feel this might be my new goto! ! The pan sauce looks mouthwatering !!!
You should totally give it a go! 🙂
Honey garlic is such a classic flavour, especially for pork. I know my family would love these for dinner any night of the week. I can’t wait to get outside and start grilling. These would be fantastic.
Yes! So fantastic on the grill!
Wow this looks so flavourful! My husband loves honey garlic wings so I bet he’d love this. Thanks for sharing.
Oh yum! I Never thought of honey garlic wing but I’m definitely trying that now!