Baked Stuffed Pork Chops
These 5 ingredient, baked stuffed pork chops are topped with fresh garlic and sage and stuffed with flavorful stuffing. They’re easy enough for a great weeknight meal, but they’re fancy enough to impress guests. And, they’re a great to use up your leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving. Makes 6 pork chops.
Why I love these baked stuffed pork chops
These baked stuffed pork chops are inspired by Gilmore Girls – as part of my Friday Night Dinner series where I make recipes inspired by the show. If you’re a fan, you may recall that Sookie wanted to serve her baked stuffed pork chops to unsuspecting vegetarians at the inn. Of course, that idea is a little cruel, but the idea of baked stuffed pork chops is great – especially since pork chops themselves can be kind of blah.
I’ll be using up my Thanksgiving leftovers with these baked stuffed pork chops. Of course, if you don’t have leftover homemade stuffing, you can make this with a quick stovetop stuffing instead. I also think the recipe would be really great with some cornbread stuffing.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make baked stuffed pork chops
To stuff this stuffed pork chops recipe, you want to start out with a decently thick cut. I recommend at least 1-inch in thickness, but you could make it work with a little more or a little less.
Working on a cutting board, turn the chop so that the fatty side is down. then slice lengthwise into the opposite side, slowly cutting into the center and working your way down.
Cut until you’re almost to the fatty side, but you want to save enough space so that they don’t tear open while they’re baking. You also want to leave the two shorter sides completely intact.
The place as much stuffing in the pocket as you can while the chop is still able to stay closed on its own. I can usually get about 1/2 cup into each.
How long does it take to cook stuffed pork chops in the oven?
Since these pork chops are stuffed, I bake them a tiny bit longer than I would another plain, boneless pork chop. They just need that extra time to make sure they are a food safe temperature (145˚F for pork), but each oven will vary, so take the temperature of your chops when you’ve had them in for the minimum suggested time (20 – 25 minutes).
You really don’t want them to be overcooked.
What should the internal temperature of stuffed pork chops be?
Pork chops should be baked until their internal temperature reaches 145˚F, but I recommend taking them out of the oven at 135˚F. They will continue cooking when they’re removed from the oven and should reach an internal 145˚F as they sit.
Tips for making baked stuffed pork chops
- Use your meat thermometer. Make sure you take the chops out when the reach 145˚F.
- Don’t over stuff your pork chops. If you put too much in they’ll break when baking. See photo above for reference.
- If you’re using leftover stuffing, it’s ok to moisten it with a bit of water or broth before stuffing your chops.
More recipes to try:
If you’re looking for some new ways to cook pork chops, try my pork piccata or apple butter pork chops. My kids also really love my pork chops with gravy and these easy pineapple pork chops.
Making these stuffed pork chops in the oven makes clean up so much easier. That’s why I love to make baked Italian meatballs and baked chicken legs. We also love using our oven to make big batches of things like baked hamburgers and baked chicken fajitas – both are great options for a party or for meal prep.
More 5 ingredient recipes: slow cooker beef tacos / 6 ingredient fish cakes / beer brined chicken drumsticks / pecan crusted salmon
Ingredients
- 6 1- inch thick (boneless pork chops)
- 3 cups prepared stuffing mix or leftover stuffing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves (or other fresh herb)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Cut a pocket into side of each pork chop (leaving fat side intact).
- Stuff pork chops, dividing stuffing equally between pork chops. Place stuffed chops on a cookie sheet or in a large baking dish.
- In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Rub mixture on top of each pork chop.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until pork chops have reached at least 145˚F.
Nutrition
Make sure you check out Miss Patty’s Founder’s Day Punch on Ashleigh’s blog. It’s strong enough for Patty, so it’s strong enough for me.
Yummy!
I made this using store bought & stuffed pork chops. Served it over cream of mushroom soup mix with green beans & fresh mushrooms.
I did the rub too & added marjoram & minced garlic. I baked it for 25min and broiled it @ 525 for 5 min to give it a crispy look.
Delicious and simple!
Could I use bone-in chops? I get fabulous 1″ thick pastured chops from my farmer, but they have a bone. I realize I wouldn’t have as big of a pocket to stuff but curious if anyone has tried with bone-in pork chops.
Yes of course. They usually take a bit longer to cook, so just make sure you’re cooking to a safe temperature and you’ll be fine!
Turned out great. I browned the pork chops before baking them. Took less than an hour to make. I used brown gravy and fresh mushrooms in the gravy. Good meal. Thanks.
Hi do you cook your pork chop in the gravy or just put some after
I made this with herbs de Provence since I didn’t have any sage. Wonderful!
Great recipe my family loved it
Love this recipe, this is my second time using it and I added more apple both times. I love the garlic rub. I did use the Stove Top Pork the first time and the Savory Herb the second time. I served the dish with steamed brussel sprouts and it was delicious.
Do you make the stuffing first or use it right out of box?
You should cook it first. This is a great recipe for leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving as well.
My mother, God rest her soul!!, was the best cook ever!!! And we always had a hot, healthy meal at supper and sat down to eat together!!! Mom used to make her stuffed pork chops almost exactly like this recipe! Kudos!! Great recipe! Thank You, a loving memory of my mother
Can you cook and freeze these?
Made im memory of my Nanny(maternal-Grandmother)
No one blessed me as much as she did! Taking on the role of Surrogate Mother. Haven’t made these in decades!’ I’m 73
Made w/store bought stuffed chops. No sage, bummer! So I made my own seaoning:crushed garlic, olive oil, season salt, white & black pepper, a dash good paprika & a dash of cayenne!
Baking as I type
Taking suggestion from lovely lady in above coments(tyvm dear!) & broiling @525o for 5mins. Steamed brocolli & made a wegde salad w/carrots, onions, celery & my favorite Pepperoncini
Musselan’s(the best)Applesauce w/cinnamon for dessert bc I was told, growing-up, always w/pork! Great recipe!
⭐️💛⭐️💛⭐️
Must eat lots of veggies/salad/fruit bc Cardiologist has me on a strict🩷 diet! Stay young & beautiful Ladies & take care of yourselves! I’m paying now, for putting myself last on the list of Whom to care for :(,,,
Hubby passed too soon, 12+yrs ago 💔
Now I struggled to keep up w/Six Grands!
So please take care so you can enjoy your last Season of life!
No matter if you have Grands or not!
Showers of blessings!
🚿✨️
btw I’m drinking a dark beer w/dinner
Shhh! Don’t tell
Oven alarm just now. Perfect timing! 😘
👍👍👍👍
Enjoy!!!
Would pesto work on top ?
I’ve made these stuff pork chops for years. I’ve done them with bone in & boneless chops. In fact I have some boneless stuff chops in the oven as I’m typing. We all know how small boneless chops can be. I don’t cut the slit in them. I took leftover Thanksgiving stuffing put it on a chop that’s season with pink salt, black pepper and paprika then take a tablespoon of that left over stuffing but it on the chop , then top it off with another small chop with the same seasonings. Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes or until both chops are at right cooking temperature . My family won’t eat them any other way now serve with a bake potato and side salad 😋😋😋
Why does the recipe say cook time 45 min, but in the body of the recipe it says cook for 20-25 min.? I’ve never cooked thick pork chops for under 45 min before. Is this a typo somewhere?
Oh thank you for catching that mix up. The total time is 45 minutes (not the cook time). It should only be 20-25 minutes in the oven.
Thanks for this easy, direct recipe. We enjoyed our chops as directed to enjoy along with mashed potatoes, roasted veggies–carrot, yellow squash, 1/2 red onion, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1 large clove diced garlic, 1/2 c broccoli tossed with 2 T mixed Italian herbs & avocado oil–and sweet/sour red cabbage–made with apple slices, 1 clove, 2 T each sautéed red onion, celery, and basalmic fig vinegar, & a squeeze of half a lemon. Delicious! Thanks so much!
It still says 45 minutes cook time in the recipe and 20-25 in the directions. Just a heads up.
Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve updated the cook times!
We enjoyed the recipe using store-bought stuffed chops however found the cook-time off by a considerable amount. I did 3 chops in a 350 degree oven but it took 45 minutes to reach internal temperature of 145 degrees using an in-oven thermometer.
These chops were very good. I hadn’t made stuffed pork chops for a long time and my husband was delighted to have them again and specifically thanked me for making them. This recipe provided a good guideline for making them. Pork is especially tasty seasoned with salt, pepper and some Bell’s Poultry seasoning. I did them that way, putting them under the broiler to brown. It took longer than I would have expected and I might brown them briefly before baking next time. Thank you for this inspiration.