Honey Mustard Pork Chops

These thick-cut pork chops get seared until deeply golden, then finished in a sweet and tangy honey mustard pan sauce. It all happens in one skillet in about 30 minutes, and the sauce builds right from the browned bits left behind after searing.

The Keys to Nailing This Recipe

This is a two-stage recipe: sear the chops, then finish them gently in the sauce. A few things make the difference between juicy chops with a glossy sauce and dry chops with a bitter one.

✦ Use thick-cut chops. At 1¼ to 1½ inches thick, they brown deeply while staying undercooked inside, so they can finish gently in the sauce without drying out.

✦ Pull them before 145°F. Thick chops keep cooking after they leave the pan. Take them out at 135 to 140°F and let a 5-minute rest carry them up to a safe 145°F.

✦ Deglaze off the heat. The skillet is screaming hot after searing. Pull it off the burner before adding broth so the fond loosens instead of scorching into something bitter.

How to Make Honey Mustard Pork Chops

Here’s how it comes together. The whole thing moves fast once you start searing, so I like to have the sauce whisked and ready before the chops ever hit the pan.

1. Prep and season the chops

Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels. A dry surface browns instead of steams, and that browning is where a lot of the flavor lives. 

If your chops have a thick strip of fat running around the edge, make 2 or 3 shallow cuts through it, stopping when you reach the meat. That keeps them from curling up and lifting off the pan as the fat contracts.

Mix the salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper, then season both sides. Don’t go light here. I bumped up the salt and garlic during testing because a big bite of thick pork needs to taste seasoned on its own, not just carried by the sauce. 

If you have time, let the seasoned chops sit for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking.

2. Whisk the honey mustard sauce

In a bowl, whisk together the chicken broth (¾ cup), honey, Dijon, and apple cider vinegar until smooth, then set it aside. Getting this ready now matters more than it sounds. The skillet is going to be very hot right after searing, and you want the sauce ready to pour the moment you’ve deglazed.

Equal parts honey and Dijon is what gives this its real honey mustard identity, sweet and tangy with neither one taking over. The splash of apple cider vinegar brightens the whole thing and keeps the honey from tasting flat.

✦ No cream and no cornstarch here: This is a true pan sauce, and the tablespoon of butter at the end is all the richness it needs.

3. Sear the chops

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chops and sear about 3 to 4 minutes per side, until they’re deeply golden brown. 

Resist the urge to move them around. They’ll stick at first, especially in stainless steel, but once a real crust forms they release on their own.

The chops won’t be cooked through at this point, and that’s the plan. Move them to a plate. They’ll finish in the sauce.

✦ Let the crust do the work. If a chop feels glued down when you try to flip it, it isn’t ready. Give it another minute and it will release.

4. Deglaze and build the sauce

Take the skillet off the burner right away. Pour in the remaining broth (¼ cup) and scrape up all those browned bits stuck to the bottom. That’s the fond, and it’s packed with flavor. 

The pan holds plenty of heat to loosen everything without staying on the burner, and there’s no need to cook the broth away. Whatever’s left just becomes part of the sauce.

Set the skillet back over medium heat, pour in your honey mustard mixture, and stir it together with the deglazing liquid. Bring it up to a gentle simmer.

✦ Dark fond is flavor, not failure. Scrape it all up. Only toss bits that are genuinely blackened and charred, since those can turn bitter.

5. Finish the chops in the sauce

Return the chops and any juices from the plate to the skillet. Spoon a little sauce over the tops, drop the heat to medium-low, and cover. 

Let them cook 6 to 10 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 135 to 140°F. Start checking around the 6-minute mark. Chops this thick usually land around 8 to 9 minutes.

Pull them at 135 to 140°F, not 145. Move the chops to a clean plate and let them rest 5 minutes. They’ll climb to a safe 145°F on their own.

✦ Carryover cooking is real with thick chops: They can rise 10 degrees or more after leaving the pan, so pulling them a few degrees early is the whole difference between juicy and dry.

6. Reduce the sauce and finish with butter

While the chops rest, turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the sauce to a steady simmer. Let it go uncovered for about 5 minutes, stirring here and there, until it reduces and starts to thicken. 

One thing to expect: this won’t look like bottled honey mustard. It’s a pan sauce built on seared-pork fond, so it lands somewhere in the golden-brown range. That color is flavor. By the time the sauce is ready, your chops have finished resting. Spoon it generously over the top and serve.

What to Serve With These Pork Chops

These are hearty enough to anchor a plate, and that honey mustard sauce is made for spooning over something starchy. I usually reach for mashed or roasted potatoes to catch the sauce, plus a green vegetable to balance out the sweetness. 

Here’s what I go to most:

• Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Rosemary and Garlic Potatoes
• Sautéed Green Beans
• Air Fryer Asparagus
• Air Fryer Honey Maple Roasted Carrots
• Iron Skillet Cornbread

The carrots are a nice touch if you want to lean into the sweeter side, and a wedge of cornbread never hurts for soaking up the extra sauce.

Storage, Freezing, and Make-Ahead

To store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.

To reheat: Warm gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of broth or water to loosen the sauce, or microwave in short bursts. Low and slow is the way to keep the pork from drying out.

To freeze: The cooked chops and sauce freeze well for up to 2 to 3 months. Cool them completely, then freeze in an airtight container. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Make-ahead: You can whisk the honey mustard sauce together up to a day ahead and keep it in the fridge, and the seasoning blend can be mixed ahead too. I’d hold off on searing the chops until you’re ready to eat.

More Pork Chop Recipes to Try

• Smothered Pork Chops
• Air Fryer Pork Chops
• Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy
• Oven Baked Bone-In Pork Chops
• Instant Pot Boneless Pork Chops