This is the best easy pork chop marinade recipe! It’s great for pork chops on the grill, but you can make them on the stove in a grill pan, too. Simple ingredients, pantry staples, and only 5 minutes of prep time!
I love a good summer backyard BBQ, and pork chops are one of my favorite cuts to use. I pretty much always marinate them to add more flavor, so I thought I’d share my favorite recipe.
The great thing about marinades is that they are so quick and easy to pull together, but can make such a huge difference to the flavor and texture of your grilled meat!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Pork: I recommend using bone-in chops because they stay juicier on the grill, but if you only have boneless you can use those, too. Just make sure you don’t overcook them.
- Sweetener: A little bit of sugar helps balance the flavor of the marinade, but feel free to leave it out if you prefer.
- Parsley: You can use 1 teaspoon dried parsley in place of the fresh.
- Garlic: You can use ¼ teaspoon dried garlic powder in place of the fresh.
Step by step photos
Recipe tips
- You can double the recipe, just make sure to use a large enough freezer bag to hold all the chops and all the marinade.
- If you want to go plastic-free, you may use a glass or stainless steel container with a lid. Or even a ceramic baking dish works, if you can cover it well. Make sure the marinade entirely covers the pork chops. You may need to make more marinade to cover them. Then put on the lid and place in the fridge as directed in the recipe.
- Adding the fresh sprigs of herbs to the bag isn’t crucial, so if you don’t keep fresh herbs on hand don’t worry about them. They do add some extra flavor we really enjoy, but the marinade works well without them, too.
Pork chop marinade FAQs
I recommend to go for at least 1 hour, ideally 6-8 hours. You can leave pork in marinade in the fridge for around 3 days in a clean, covered container or freezer bag. Source: USDA Knowledge Article
Pork chops are a lean cut, so they are easy to overcook. Overcooking them can lead to dry, tough meat. It’s also important to rest the pork chops for around 5 minutes before slicing into them after cooking. That way, the juices can redistribute, which contributes to a more tender chop.
According to new USDA guidelines, it’s ok if pork is a little bit pink in the middle. To make sure meat is safe to eat, I always recommend using a food thermometer at the thickest part of the chops. The internal temperature should reach at least 145°F with a rest time of 3 minutes after cooking. Source: Safe Minimum Cooking Temperature Charts
More marinades
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Pork Chop Marinade
Recipe details
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey OR maple OR brown sugar OR low carb sweetener
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the meat
- 4 bone-in pork chops
Instructions
- Combine ingredients for marinade in a measuring jug. Whisk well.
- Place pork chops in freezer bag and pour marinade on top. Close bag well, then slightly massage marinade into pork chops.
- Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, and up to 24 hours.
- Remove the pork chops from the bag, discarding marinade and bag. Cook the pork chops on the grill or in a grill pan on the stove.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Pork: I recommend using bone-in chops because they stay juicier on the grill, but if you only have boneless you can use those, too. Just make sure you don’t overcook them.
- Sweetener: A little bit of sugar helps balance the flavor of the marinade, but feel free to leave it out if you prefer.
- Parsley: You can use 1 teaspoon dried parsley in place of the fresh.
- Garlic: You can use ¼ teaspoon dried garlic powder in place of the fresh.
Recipe tips
- You can double the recipe, just make sure to use a large enough freezer bag to hold all the chops and all the marinade.
- If you want to go plastic-free, you may use a glass or stainless steel container with a lid. Or even a ceramic baking dish works, if you can cover it well. Make sure the marinade entirely covers the pork chops. You may need to make more marinade to cover them. Then put on the lid and place in the fridge as directed in the recipe.
- Adding the fresh sprigs of herbs to the bag isn’t crucial, so if you don’t keep fresh herbs on hand don’t worry about them. They do add some extra flavor we really enjoy, but the marinade works well without them, too.
Motty Franks says
I love this marinade! Thank you for sharing! For added flavor… Right before grilling I heavily added: salt/pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder and maple garlic seasoning! It added lots of great flavor! I threw some hickory wood on the charcoal for a smoked flavor! Best pork chops I’ve ever made!!
Nora says
Thanks for sharing your spice suggestions! Love it, and glad you enjoyed the recipe.
angie says
This was so good. Porkchops were flavorful and very tender. Will be using this recipe again
Nora says
I’m so glad, Angie!
Leann says
Made this tonight and WOW it was so good. I didn’t change anything about this recipe, I always make new recipes the way they were intended the first time and this one doesn’t need anything changed at all. My husband is not a fan of pork, but he devoured these chops. Anything that can get my husband to eat pork chops is a huge plus in my book, I will be making these again.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Leann! Thanks for your great review, I appreciate it.
Eve says
Easy and delicious. Halved quantities for 2 chops & this worked well. Used dark maple sugar for the sweetener (and as promised just added flavour depth without being in any way syrupy) and added summer savoury. Marinated 5 hours. Chops were succulent & had great flavour – I will definitely make again!. Thanks!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Eve!
Don McTizic says
Delicious, delicious, delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe
Nora says
I’m so glad, Don!
Tina says
Made grilled pork chops tonight. They were delicious. I used honey mustard instead and used 3 cloves of garlic
Nora says
That sounds delicious, Tina!
Sandra says
I also used lemon juice from real lemons! I forgot to add that part! 😉
Sandra says
This marinade was delicious & a hit with the whole family! It made the chops (bone in) super tender. I used organic honey & 1/2 tsp. of sugar along with the rest of the ingredients for 8 chops (x2), but I made 5 chops instead of 8. It was the perfect amount! I let them sit in the fridge for 20 hours! Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Sandra!
Tracy lichacz says
Iam making this tonight for supper and going to bake them in the oven .
Nora says
I hope the chops turned out well for you, Tracy!
Mary Meyer says
The marinade did it for me. Turned plain old pork chops into a delicious meal. Thank you so much. I will be trying this on chicken too!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Mary!
Lauren says
Absolutely delicious, even my seven year old son loved it! Will definitely make this again. I also used fresh squeezed orange juice and a little orange zest instead of lemon juice. It was perfection ☺️ the fiance also loved it
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Nora says
That sounds so good with the orange, Lauren!
Deanna says
Best ever is absolutely correct. I have done this recipe many times and the pork chop come out tender and juicy every time. This is now the only recipe we use when making pork chops.
I use cast iron, brown them first to nice and brown on medium heat and then I reduce the heat and cook about three minutes on each side on medium/low and I let them rest while i finish rice and veg.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Deanna!
Nancy says
When you cook these on the stove, what is the cooking time? Could they be cooked in the oven..cooking time the usual?
Nora says
Nancy, the cooking time will depend on your specific pork chop you’re using (bone-in or boneless, how thick they are, which cut you’re using…). I do cook neck chops in the oven and they come out amazing (I brown them in a cast iron skillet first, then cook in the oven for around 15 minutes right in the skillet).
Ally says
The best little marinade for chops I’ve ever used. Thanks for sharing.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Ally!
Linda says
It was really good. I didn’t have the lemon juice so I substituted for orange juice. The pork chops turned out really tender and juicy
Nora says
I’m so glad, Linda! And the orange juice sounds like such a great substitute.
Lyne says
Wow, just had our pork, my 22 years old son said that might be the best pork shops he ever had. It was delicious and so easy! Thank you.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Lyne!