Breaded Pork Chops

8 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 13 minutes

Breaded Pork Chops are wonderfully tender with a crunchy cracker coating on the outside. Ready for a delicious dinner in under 15 minutes!

This easy Dinner Recipe takes our Traditional Pork Chop Recipe and adds a delicious crispy crust for an even more comforting meal.

Breaded Pork Chops sliced on serving plate with chopped fresh parsley garnish

Pan-Fried Pork Chops have the same amazing texture as you’d get with deep-fried meat. Instead of the batter coating, we’ve used a simple cracker crumb mixture. They are made on the stovetop with easy cooking instructions, and the crumb coating gives the dish a crisp texture that goes perfectly with the amazing flavor from the lightly seasoned, juicy pork.

This wonderful dinner is easy to make in just a few minutes. It’s great to serve for any weeknight when you want a delicious home cooked meal, but don’t want to be spending all night in the kitchen. Most of the recipe ingredients are things you will already have in your pantry, like eggs, milk, and paprika. Just add pork chops to your grocery list and it should be super easy to throw this recipe together. Just dredge the meat in cracker crumbs and a little paprika, then cook them in the skillet and enjoy.

After the cooking, serve the Breaded Pork Chops with your favorite side dish recipes to round out the dinner. They’d taste great with green vegetables like Roasted Green Beans or Broccoli. Then finish the amazing meal off with some filling and comforting dishes like Mashed Potatoes, or Soft Dinner Rolls.

Breaded Pork Chops Collage of prep steps

How to Make Breaded Pork Chops

  • Prep time: Prep the recipe ingredients before the cooking begins. Season the meat with salt & pepper on each side. Then put the saltine crackers in a sealed ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to break them into cracker crumbs. You can also make the crumbs using a food processor if you want them finer.
  • Crumb coating: Whisk the cracker crumbs with the paprika in a shallow dish. Add the eggs and milk to a separate bowl, and whisk until the egg mixture is well combined. Drench each of the boneless pork chops in the egg ingredients. Wait a couple of seconds for any excess egg wash to drip off of the meat. Then dredge the egg-coated pork chop in the seasoned crumbs. Let the pork chops sit for 2-3 minutes.
  • Cook time: Set your stove top to medium heat, and place a large skillet on top. Spray the skillet with vegetable cooking spray, then melt butter over the bottom. Transfer pork chops to the skillet to cook on each side for 4-5 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to do this step in batches. Just move the pork to your serving tray as they finish cooking. To make sure you don’t have undercooked pork, stick a meat thermometer in the boneless center to check that the internal temperature has reached at least 145 degrees.

More Delicious Pork Recipes

Frequently Asked Questions

Why use olive oil and butter to pan fry?

Olive oil and butter are often used in combination when pan frying dishes such as these breaded pork chops. This not only adds delicious buttery flavor along with the taste from the olive oil, but they work together to give you the best final texture and to keep the food from burning. Olive oil has a higher smoke point than butter, but if you use only olive oil the dish may come out too oily. If you use only butter, the butter will likely burn in the pan before your dish is ready. By combining them, you get the best of both worlds with a lighter fried result and no burning.

How can I tell when Pork Chops are done?

The best way to test meat for doneness is to use a meat thermometer. For pork, you want to make sure it’s cooked to 145 degrees. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, make a small cut into one of the chops and make sure the meat looks white throughout and juices run clear.

Can I bake Breaded Pork Chops in the oven?

If you’d like to skip the oil and butter, just spray a light coating of oil on both sides of the breaded pork chops and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature is 145 degrees. Flip halfway through the baking time to let both sides get crispy.

Why should I use boneless pork chops instead of bone-in?

The advantage of using boneless pork chops is that the cooking time will be more even throughout the chop, and you will have a juicier end result. Bone-in pork chops can have a lot of flavor when prepared well, but when pan frying you’re more likely to dry out the loin side of your chop before the meat next to the bone is a safe temperature.

Breaded Pork Chops Collage of cooking steps

Key Ingredients for Breaded Pork Chops

  • Pork: Look for pink boneless loin chops with a small amount of fat on the edge and a bit of marbling throughout. Choosing chops that are about 1 inch thick will ensure you still have a juicy tender inside.
  • Saltines: Classic saltine crackers make a wonderful breadcrumb for frying. They are already seasoned and provide a crunchy, light coating that crisps and browns nicely. You can place them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin, or use a food processor to quickly turn the crackers into fine breadcrumbs
  • Paprika: Paprika is made with ground dried chili peppers, and it ranges from mild and sweet to smokey and spicy. Whichever kind you choose, it will add a lovely color and a hint of peppery flavor to the saltine coating mixture.

Air Fryer Breaded Pork Chops

Make these Breaded Pork Chops even healthier by cooking them in the air fryer. Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees and spray the basket and both sides of the prepared pork chops with baking spray. Cook for 12 -15 minutes on each side, flipping halfway through, until the internal temperature reaches 145.

Breaded Pork Chops sliced on serving plate with chopped fresh parsley garnish

Variations on Breaded Pork Chops

  • Parmesan-crusted pork chops: Another way to add some extra flavor to the recipe is by adding some delicious parmesan cheese to the coating. Whisk together the paprika with ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs. If you don’t have Italian-style or panko breadcrumbs handy, you can add the grated parmesan to the cracker mixture, and whisk in a little Italian seasoning.
  • Breadcrumbs: We’ve used cracker crumbs in this recipe, but a breadcrumb mixture would work just as well. You can use regular panko breadcrumbs, seasoned breadcrumbs, or make fresh breadcrumbs yourself. To make your own breadcrumb mixture, raise the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Then break your choice of bread into cubes, and lay them in a single layer over a baking sheet. Put the sheet in the oven for 10 minutes. Then stir the bread crumbs, and put the sheet back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Let the bread crumb mixture cool before using it in the pork chops recipe.
  • Cornflake: Another coating option for the crispy pork chops is replacing the crackers with cornflake crumbs.
  • Seasonings: A simple way to add some extra flavor to the recipe is by mixing spices into the crumb mixture. Try adding ground pepper, garlic powder salt, a pinch of cayenne pepper, cajun seasoning, or Italian seasoning.

Side Dishes to Serve with Breaded Pork Chops

How to Store Breaded Pork Chops

  • Serve: Don’t leave crispy Breaded Pork Chops at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
  • Store: If you have leftovers, you can cover them in tin foil or transfer them to an airtight container to store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
  • Freeze: You can also seal and freeze the pork chops for up to 6 months. Before serving, let the meat defrost in the fridge overnight. Then you can reheat them on the stovetop, or place them in a single layer on a baking sheet or large oven-proof skillet to heat in a preheated oven. To make the coating crispy again, spray the crumbs with cooking spray before heating.
Breaded Pork Chops on serving plate with chopped fresh parsley garnish

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Breaded Pork Chops

Breaded Pork Chops are wonderfully tender with a crunchy cracker coating on the outside. Ready for a delicious dinner in under 15 minutes!
Yield 8 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 13 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 4 pork loin chops , boneless (1 inch thick)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups saltine crackers , crushed finely
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

  • Season pork chops with salt and pepper.
  • In a low bowl whisk together milk and egg until well combined.
  • Add saltine crumbs to a second bowl with paprika.
  • Dredge pork chops in the egg wash then press into the crumb mixture.
  • Let pork chops sit for 2-3 minutes then add vegetable oil and butter to a large heavy skillet on medium-high heat.
  • Cook pork chops for 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through (minimum temperature of 145 degrees).

Nutrition

Calories: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 517mg | Potassium: 312mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 211IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg
Breaded Pork Chops

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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