Baked Pork Chops and Gravy

My baked pork chops and gravy dinner recipe is a hearty, budget-friendly, easy meal for two or a family of four. Grab your pork chops, soup, cream cheese, milk, and seasonings, throw them into the oven, and bake for a little over an hour.

The pork chop dinner is one of the easiest meals you’ll ever create. This will quickly become one of your favorite oven-baked dinners. Plus, I’ll show you how to tell if the pork chops are done.

DISCLAIMER: This post is sponsored by the Iowa Pork Producers Association. As always, the opinions are honest and are all my own. 

In about an hour and fifteen minutes, you’ll have crave-worthy smothered pork chops. The creamy gravy is so rich in flavor, and the juicy pork chops are a wonderful dish.

And if you’re nervous about cooking pork, don’t be. I used to be a little nervous about cooking pork, and I would overcook them, making them taste dry and awful. You’ll know when dinner hits the right temperature if you’ve got an inexpensive thermometer.

I’ll also show you how to check whether the baked pork chops are done without a thermometer.

Ingredients

• Bone-in pork chops (2-inches thick)
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Milk
• Cream cheese (softened)
• Can of cream of celery soup

Full printable recipe with measurements and instructions listed at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.

How to Cook Pork Chops

Grab a medium-sized bowl and add the cream cheese. I usually leave my cream cheese on the counter for about an hour to soften it up. It just helps it mix more easily.

If you forget, don’t worry about it. You can still mix it cold.

Next, pour the entire can of condensed cream of celery soup into the bowl.

Sprinkle the salt and pepper on top.

Finally, add the milk to the bowl.

Mix everything together in the bowl.

Grease a 13″ x 9″ casserole dish and place the pork chops in the dish. The pork chops I got for this dish were about 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the pork chops.

Bake the pork chops, uncovered, for half an hour at 350 degrees and then flip each one and bake another 45 minutes. The gravy will help keep them moist and tender.

How do I know the cut of pork is done cooking? 

About halfway through cooking the pork chops, I checked the temperature to see if they reached a safe internal temperature. When I pulled the pork chops out of the oven, they were at 152 degrees. Pork chops are safe to eat at 145 degrees, so I know this piece is safe to eat.

TIP: If you use a thermometer, place it in the thickest part of the meat, and do not allow the thermometer to touch the bone, or you’ll get an incorrect reading.

What If I Don’t Have A Thermometer?

As you can see in the picture, the pork chops are safe to eat because of their light pink hue. You can check out Pork.org’s cooking temperature graph here, and there’s a great picture on the site with the safe pink hues ranging from medium-rare to well-done. Different cuts can have a different temperature range, so keep the graph handy.

I could have taken them out of the oven at this point. But they tend to be more tender when baked longer at a lower temperature. So, I flipped them and cooked them for another 45 minutes.

In this particular recipe for baked pork chops, I wanted the gravy to thicken some more, and cooking longer does the trick.

TIP: Pork.org states that pork chops are safe and ready to eat at 145 degrees and will have some pink in them. If you like them well done, that is more around 160 degrees.

TIP: If you like your pork chops medium-rare, remove them from the heat at 145 degrees and let them sit for three minutes before eating.

Remove the baked pork chops and gravy from the oven and let them rest for three minutes. Scoop them onto a plate and pour some gravy over the top of the golden brown chops.

These are the best pork chops, and they have so much flavor. It doesn’t get any easier than this recipe. And that brown gravy is perfect on mashed potatoes, rice, or veggies, too.

Sides to Eat with the Oven-Baked Pork Chops and Gravy

• Cheesy diced baked potatoes – potatoes are always a great side dish to pork recipes.
• Pepper Jack jalapeño poppers from Outgrilling are a great side for any pork dish.
• Funeral potatoes – the whole family loves these and craves them on a regular basis.
• Jiffy cornbread with creamed corn – this is another popular dish that is easy to make and goes great with fried pork chops, baked pork chops, or anything in between.

Storing the Pork Chops

If you have leftovers, you can store the pork chops in an airtight container in the refrigerator.