How Long to Cook Pork Chops

Everyone knows that undercooked pork is similar to undercooked chicken, it’s something that just shouldn’t be done. There are safety concerns as well as taste and texture issues. Yet, overcooked pork can leave a meat that is dry, tough and difficult to chew. All that being said, how long does one cook pork chops? The standard answer is to cook pork until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F… but, how long is that?

The time answer depends upon the thickness of the pork and whether or not there is a bone in the chop. Below is a table of approximate cooking times for each side of a pork chop, taking into account these variables.

How Long to Cook Pork Chops

How Long to Bake Pork Chops

Properly cooked pork chops should reach a minimum internal temperature of 145°F and then be allowed to rest for 5 minutes before cutting. Cooked less than this, they can be dangerous to consume because of the threat of salmonella. Since a meat thermometer is not always handy, although it really should be, some time estimates are good to know. It’s also good to know that a little pink color in pork meat is OK, whereas red is definitely not OK when dealing with pork.

This table is how long to fry pork chops in a pan on medium-high heat. Grilling times are similar to frying times and can use this same chart. For oven cooking times there is no flipping required so the larger number should be doubled for a time estimate. See the paragraph beneath the table for further explanation of how long to bake pork chops.

For oven cooking times, the numbers should be doubled since flipping is not required for oven baked chops. Since oven cooking is more of an indirect heat than pan frying or grilling, chops with large bones may need up to 5 more total minutes. The numbers given above are for a hot oven, about 400°F. In a hot oven, a one inch bone-in chop will take about 15 minutes to cook. Oven recipes will vary and may include a coating or a searing, so should be followed for exact cooking times depending on the other ingredients and steps involved.

Here’s another option with oven cooking. We often tend to overcook pork to insure that it is safe to consume and, because of this, we always tended to overcook pork. Sometimes, overcooking got out of hand and we ended up with something closer to pork jerky. Thick chops are basically ruined because if you try to eat them they will kill your jaw. But, a little known fact is that if breakfast pork chops (the really thin ones) are cooked for a long time, they can be quite delicious.

The chop on the left was cooked properly according to the above chart. It was moist, tender and delicious. The one on the right was over-baked. There will be argument from gourmet chefs here, but we find very overcooked pork chops also delicious. So delicious, that they are good hot one night for dinner and then cold from the refrigerator the next day. We’re talking here about cooking breakfast chops about an hour in a 350°F oven. Shown above is an overcooked breakfast chop (with a bite taken from it) next to a properly cooked pork chop. These overcooked ones will be basically void of any fat, except possibly a nice crispy border, which is slightly more like a pork rind. No jelly-like fats for sure on these gems. We enjoy them both ways!