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Boneless Thin-Cut Pork Chops Recipe
Boneless thin pork chops are also commonly known as pork cutlets. Cutlets are simply thinly sliced pieces of meat. In the case of thin-cut pork chops they typically come from the center loin. You can buy them pre-sliced or slice a center loin with a sharp carving knife.
One of our favorite methods to cook thin-cut chops on the stove top is to give them a quick sear, make a pan sauce and then simmer them in it until just cooked through. It is fast and easy and the pan sauce can be varied every time. For this post we made a creamy honey mustard sauce.
Ingredients for Thin Pork Chops
Pork loin thin-cut chops. About half an inch thick, preferably center cut boneless pork chops. They are usually small, so budget two per person.
Flour, salt & pepper. To season and coat the pork cutlets before you sear. As a gluten free alternative to all purpose flour use chickpea flour. Add onion powder or garlic powder if you'd like.
Butter & olive oil. Butter for flavor and nice color and olive oil so that the butter doesn't burn.
Heavy cream, Dijon mustard & honey. The pan sauce is a combination of these three ingredients and literally explodes with flavor. You can use a different mustard such as your favorite whole grain one, but Dijon is the classic flavor for this type of sauce.
Thyme or dill. For garnish, both herbs go really well with honey mustard.
How to Cook Thin Pork Chops without Drying Them Out
The loin is one of the leanest cuts from the pig and is incredibly easy to overcook.
This carries over to thin-cut pork loin chops - they can become dry and tough if you do not handle them correctly. Like other pork cutlet recipes this easy recipe can benefit from the following options to ensure tender and juicy meat.
- If you have time you can always brine the chops (very briefly due to how thin they are) in a basic brine.
- You can tenderize them with a meat mallet as you would pork cutlets for a schnitzel
- You can coat them with flour, sear them quickly and finish cooking them in moist heat (i.e. in liquid, partially or fully covered as we do in this recipe)
Workflow - Honey Mustard Thin Pork Chops
- Optional prep. Before you begin, you may tenderize the pork cutlets with a meat tenderizer. You may also want to trim any excess fat. Pat dry to remove excess moisture.
- Coat. Dredge the cutlets in a flour mixture with kosher salt and black pepper and shake off excess. Set aside.
- Sear. Place a heavy bottomed pan such as cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter. Sear the cutlets on each side until they just begin to turn golden. Remove from pan.
- Make the pan sauce & simmer. Lower the heat to medium, add cream, mustard and honey, whisk to combine and bring to simmer. Slide back the think pork chops into the sauce, as well as their juices released onto the plate, then partially cover with a lid and simmer for a few minutes to cook the meat through.
Serving Tips for Thin Pork Chops
Serve the tender pork chops right away - during the last few minutes of simmering in the pan they absorb some of the creamy honey mustard sauce and are both juicy and tender.
We like to simply place the skillet in the middle of the table, family style. There should be plenty of sauce for everyone to smother over their serving. As most compatible side dish options consider:
- mashed potatoes or Champ
- potato salad (mayo-less works best) or roasted Yukon gold potatoes
- steamed white rice
- boiled potatoes with butter
- peas, green beans (haricot vert) or asparagus
- white asparagus
- all manner of green salads
NOTE: This is not a reheat-friendly dish. Pork loin is so lean that if you were to reheat the cutlets they will become tough. It is better to cook only as many as you need for dinner and enjoy them while still warm, tender and moist. If you must reheat do so on the stove over medium-low heat in a non-stick pan.
Similar Pork Cutlet Recipes You Might Enjoy
Pork Schnitzel (Breaded Pan Fried Thin Pork Chops)
Chicken Cutlets in Creamy Shallots & Pilsner Sauce (can be made with thin-cut pork chops)
Boneless Pork Ribeye Chops
Porter Onion Gravy (you can use is as an alternative pan sauce)
Recipe
Thin Pork Chops (with Honey Mustard Pan Sauce)
Ingredients
- 6-8 boneless thin pork loin chops aka pork cutlets
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour*
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 3-4 sprigs thyme or dill for garnish
Instructions
- Optional prep work: Trim any excess fat from the sides of the pork cutlets. Use a meat mallet to tenderize them a bit as you would a schnitzel (cover with plastic wrap).
- Mix the flour, salt and pepper on a plate. Dredge the cutlets in the mixture and shake off excess. Set aside.
- Heat a heavy bottomed pan such as cast iron skillet over medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Sear 3 or 4 thin pork chops at a time, for just over 1 minute per side until they just begin to turn golden. Remove from pan. Repeat with the rest of the olive oil, butter and chops.
- Lower the heat to medium and to the same pan add the cream, mustard and honey. Whisk until combined and bring to simmer. Add the seared pork chops to the sauce and cover the skillet partially with a suitable lid or simply a round baking sheet that fits. Simmer for 5-6 minutes to cook the pork chops through. Garnish with fresh thyme or dill and serve.
Jayka
Really enjoyed this... I incorporated some brussel sprouts in with the sauce and fresh garlic to add to my own tasting. I really enjoyed this and so did the husband. It definitely got saved to my recipe book ☺️
mary ellen orchard
Absolutely loved this recipe!! I can picture the sauce over rice (had it with mashed potatoes). Now if only someone could come up with a method to make the pork really tender! I will make this again.
Theresa Jabour
R honey mustard is what's up for dinner tonight, wish me luck, lol
Lori Howe
Thanks bunches! My husband bought super thin boneless pork loin chops and I was clueless until I saw this recipe. Only had to shorten time due to how thin these were & sub 1/2 & 1/2 .. made a really tasty dinner. Thanks again!!
Milena Perrine
Thank you so much for the kind comment and so glad it worked out!
laura
I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE this recipe. My total go to for pork chops!! I've made this several times and this last time my husband suggested sauté some mushrooms to add. I'll give that a shot, but far by none this is Great as is. LOVE IT
Milena Perrine
Thank you, Laura!!!
R
Very tasty!!
Darrel
Followed the recipe to a T. Yummy stuff!
Anna
This is such a quick and versatile recipe. I had made it before as written with the honey mustard cream sauce for the pork chops. This time because I didn't have honey on hand and so I used garlic basil pesto and just a touch of mustard and the flavors were great, the pork chops tender like before.
REBECCA
Very good I thought it would be Tangier then it is but very good. Making for second time tonight can't wait because it's delicious! Definitely recommend this cutlets for sure
Milena Perrine
This is great to hear, Rebecca! Thank you so much for sharing.
Bob Harper
I don’t have any heavy cream,
Can I use milk.
Milena Perrine
Bob, if you use milk you should make sure it is whole milk and perhaps thicken the sauce by working in just less than a tablespoon of flour in the melted butter once you have removed the thin chops and before you start adding the sauce ingredients. Simply dust the flour over the butter and stir a couple of times and then add the milk and proceed to make the sauce and complete the recipe.
Erika Reyes
So good!!! I just made this recipe but had my own tweaks. I didn’t have heavy cream so I made a roux and used evaporated milk. I added the Dijon and honey as mentioned in the recipe but seasoned it with salt/pepper (to taste), paprika, a dash of cayenne, dried parsley. **Chef’s kiss**
Vivian Barajas
Can the heavy cream be replaced with buttermilk?
Milena Perrine
You could replace it with half and half but also add a bit of slurry to thicken the sauce. The buttermilk will not behave like heavy cream and the flavor prfoile would be entirely different.
Avery
BEST pork chop recipe, i’m never going back to the way I used to cook them. Absolutely delicious and simple to make!!!! Give it a try.
Milena Perrine
Thank you, Avery!
Sid
Loved it, easy to make for a student
Milena Perrine
Thank you, Sid!
Michaella
Best pork chops ever! I usually buy thin breakfast chops and they're never exceptional. Tonight my husband said these were the best pork chops I've ever made! They were incredibly tender even though they were thin even my 18-month-old ate them! So quick and easy!
Milena Perrine
Thank you for the awesome feedback!
Tabitha
Wow, these were great. My three kids loved them too! And so fast and easy that it was perfect for weeknight cooking!
Joe Zlomek
This was an easy recipe to follow, and yielded terrific results. Thanks for offering it.
Rachael Davis
These were great, thank you… when I reached for the honey I only had a tablespoon so I used a tablespoon of honey bbq sauce as well. Really wasn’t sure how they’d turn out but it tasted amazing
Kim
I never buy pork chops because I'm not a fan, but ended up buying some because of inflation and them being the cheapest meat at the time. Well these were PHENOMENAL!!! Tender, flavorful, absolutely a hit. I'm so happy I found this recipe.. I didn't have dijon mustard so used normal yellow mustard.
Colleen Dube
My family did not like my pork chops no matter how they were cooked. This recipe is easy and very delicious. One question what if you don't have Dijon mustard what can you use instead? Thank you for this recipe
Lilly Guffey
We Used half dijon mustard and half Horseradish mustard. That really kicked it up a notch!
Milena Perrine
Sounds delicious!
Teri D
I would use any kind of mustard— yellow, a spicy brown, grainy, or a combination of whatever you have on hand.
Donna
They say to use mellow yellow mustard 2 substitute Dijon mustard
Chastity Porter
Just wanted to say wow, I even have very picky kids and every one of my kids absolutely loved this recipe! The whole family loved this recipe, and I don't even think I perfected it. Thank you!
Craft Beering
Thank you so much for taking the time to share, Chastity! So glad you enjoyed, it easy to make this recipe with chicken cutlets too:)
Sandy
Made your recipe for " Creamy Honey Mustard pork Cutlets.
It was a hit. Saved it to make again.
Craig
Delicious! So quick and easy.
Did I say delicious?
CraftBeering
You did! So delicious:)
Matt
Growing up my mother, bless her, nearly put me off pork chops by constantly overcooking them until they were hard and chewy. It wasn't until I was in Austria that I had some properly cooked pork chops and loved them. Love the flavours of the honey mustard.
Leanne
Pork loin chops are my fave to use in recipes, and when I can find some that are thin cut, I'm all the happier. I usually prepare them with minimal seasoning in the oven, but this honey mustard version is calling my name! Hope you guys are doing well and staying safe!
CraftBeering
Thank you, Leanne! You can totally cross-cut them to make them thin or carve them from a whole center pork loin. Just need a sharp carving knife.
Jennifer
Love that sauce!
CraftBeering
Thank you, Jennifer!