This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These creamy garlic pork chops are smothered in a garlic cream sauce with whole garlic cloves! This recipe is quick and easy to make in about 30 minutes.
You may also like my Creamy Garlic Pork Tenderloin or Creamy Pork Tenderloin Medallions.
Why you’ll love it
If you’re fan of my popular Creamy Garlic Chicken recipe and also like pork, you may want to try this recipe. I tweaked the sauce a bit to make it work with pork chops. Garlicky goodness. These pork chops are just so good and really simple to make.
Yes, there’s a whole head of garlic in here as well as garlic powder. The garlic cloves mellow out. You can eat them and they’re not overly garlicky… they taste kinda like roasted garlic. I like building layers of garlic flavor! It’s the perfect weeknight meal.
What you’ll need
- Pork chops – I use 0.75-1″ boneless pork chops seasoned generously with salt & pepper to bring out the flavor
- Olive oil and butter – for pan frying and the base of the sauce
- Garlic and garlic powder – there’s absolutely a whole head of garlic in here and garlic powder
- Flour – to thicken the sauce
- Chicken broth – more savory depth of flavor
- Lemon juice – a pop of acidity to balance everything
- Heavy cream – to make the sauce luxurious
Pro tip
I recommend taking the pork chops out of the fridge at least 15-30 minutes prior to starting the recipe. They will cook better this way!
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Pork chops can easily dry out (especially boneless ones), so I highly recommend getting an instant read meat thermometer so you can check the temperature and not overcook them. Pork is safe to eat at 145F (and don’t forget the temperature continues to climb for a few minutes after you finish cooking it). It’s ok if pork is a bit pink in the middle.
- You can use either boneless or bone-in pork chops. For larger bone-in chops, you may need to sear them in two batches. If your skillet goes dry, I’d add up to 1 tablespoon extra olive oil for the second batch.
- Measure out the butter easily with this butter dish that has measurement marks right on it.
How to make creamy garlic pork chops
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Season the pork with salt & pepper. Heat up the oil and some of the butter in a skillet, then sear the chops on both sides until golden. Transfer to a plate. Add the remaining butter and the garlic cloves, and cook until the garlic is lightly browned.
Push the garlic to one side of the skillet, then stir in the flour to make a roux. Pour in the broth and lemon juice, and cook until thickened. Add the cream and garlic powder, and stir until it’s dissolved in.
Return the pork to the skillet, and cook through until the sauce reduces more and the pork is cooked to 145F. Season with extra salt & pepper if needed, and top with fresh parsley if using.
Substitutions and variations
- I don’t recommend subbing the cream for a lower fat alternative as it may curdle and the sauce won’t be as thick.
- You could throw in a handful of spinach at the end before adding the pork back to the pan if you want some greens.
- Looking to make this with chicken? Try my Creamy Garlic Chicken instead.
What to serve with garlic pork chops
- These creamy pork chops are delicious with Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Potatoes, Stick of Butter Rice, or even pasta like my Quick Garlic Butter Noodles.
- For veggie options, try my Easy Roasted Cauliflower or Easy Roasted Green Beans.
- Craving a salad? Make my 10 Minute Easy Caesar Salad Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- Store any leftover pork chops in the fridge in a covered container for 3-4 days.
- Reheat over a low heat slowly until warmed through so the chops don’t dry out.
- I don’t recommend freezing this one.
More delicious pork chop recipes
Questions about this creamy garlic pork chop recipe? Made it? Talk to me in the comments below! Tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram if you make this.
Creamy Garlic Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops see notes
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 whole head garlic cloves peeled
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
- Fresh parsley chopped (optional, to taste)
Instructions
- Take the pork chops out of the fridge 15-30 minutes prior to starting the recipe if possible. Season the pork generously with salt & pepper on both sides.
- In a deep skillet, add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Let the pan heat up for a few minutes, and once it's hot, cook the pork chops for 3-5 minutes/side or until golden (3 minutes for thinner chops and 5 minutes for pork chops up to 1" thick). Once the pork chops are done searing, transfer them to a plate.
- Add the remaining butter and the garlic cloves to the skillet. Turn the heat down to medium (or medium-low if using cast iron). Cook it, stirring fairly often, for about 3 minutes or until the garlic has somewhat browned on the outside.
- Push the garlic to one side of the pan and sprinkle the flour in (avoiding the garlic). Let it cook for around 30 seconds, and give it a stir so it's incorporated with the butter (we're making a quick roux).
- Add in the chicken broth and lemon juice. Stir and let it cook for about a minute or until the sauce is noticeably thickened.
- Add in the garlic powder and cream. Stir or whisk it until the garlic powder has dissolved.
- Add the pork back in and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened up a bit (let the sauce bubble a bit but not furiously boil) and the pork chops are fully cooked through (145F minimum). Keep in mind the pork's temperature will continue to rise once you stop cooking it, so if it's close, I'd take it off the heat and let it rest for a few minutes before serving. Season the sauce with extra salt & pepper as needed and parsley if you wish.
Notes
- It’s very easy to overcook pork and turn it into shoe leather. I highly recommend using an instant read thermometer to take the guesswork out. Pork that’s 145F and pink inside is safe to eat.
- You can use boneless pork chops like I did or bone-in. I recommend pork chops that are 0.75-1″ thick. Anything much thicker or thinner is likely to end up under or overcooked with this particular recipe since it’s finished in the cream sauce.
- This recipe is also in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
So good!
Thank you!!
This was a huge hit! Thank you for an easy, delicious recipe!
You’re very welcome!!
This was delicious and so easy to put together! I can’t wait to try this again on chicken 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it! 😀 The chicken version is linked within the post if you didn’t see it.
Perfect (not overly) garlic flavor between the garlic powder and sautéed fresh garlic. I used the thin pork chops and served over rice. My husband (who is not particularly fond of pork chops) loved this dish! Finished recipe was just right – not too heavy. Only change I made was adding a little more chicken broth to thin the sauce slightly to the consistency I preferred. Really was 30 min start to finish – easy! Thank you for sharing this! FYI – for Jess: Though I didn’t do it on this one, I have used fat free half and half in my cream sauces which works fine (if that helps).
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
This looks amazing! We love so many of your recipes!
I was wondering if sour cream could be substituted for the heavy whipping cream?
My husband doesn’t do well with heavy whipping cream. Some if your recipes I can omit it (chicken picatta, for example) and they still work out great! But I’m thinking a cream of some sort is critical to this particular recipe annd I really want yo try this recipe!
Any substitution suggestions?
Hi Jess!! I am not sure sour cream will work in this one. I suppose if you went that route it would give it more of a Stroganoff-like flavor, but I’d worry that you’d curdle it since it’s added to a very hot pan and cooked for several minutes. You could maybe add it in right towards the end after ensuring the pork chops are cooked. There’s quite a few comments on this post, so you may want to read through them and see if there’s any good ideas. Let me know how it goes!
If you add a little of the juice from the pan to your sour cream it helps take the chill off and you can add it in using a whisk. It shouldn’t curdle if you don’t add it when it’s cold straight out of the fridge.
That’s definitely a great tip, Lori!
This was SO good! I didn’t use salt and pepper to season the pork chops, but the Holy Voodoo seasoning by Meat Church. Lemme tell you, my picky kids scarfed it down. The whole garlic cloves in the sauce were bomb!
Love that!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
My husband is not a pork lover, but he really, really liked this.
So it’s a winner in my book!!!
That’s great!!
Just a recipe, explanation and comments would do, not all the deluge of ridiculous ads that make this like stumbling across a TV sales show.
Those “ridiculous” ads pay the salaries of the people who bring these free recipes to you, Philip.
Mr. Phillip, you will find on most recipes on Pinterest a jump to the recipe button that will bypass all the ads and go straight to the recipe. I hope that information helps you to navigate past all the ads.
This isn’t Pinterest. It’s a food blog. A small business. You’re welcome to jump to the recipe if you wish (that’s why I put the button there), but I do recommend reading through blog posts as there’s useful information. Many skip over it and then end up asking redundant questions in the comments section and/or complaining that they messed up a recipe.
My family loved this dish, super easy to make and the garlic flavor was spot on. Vibrant but not over the top. Good job! Cubed the pork chops and served over fettucini as a change from the usual alfredo.
So glad it’s a new family favorite, Chris!
Very tasty. Served with rice/quinoa. Next time will double the sauce/gravy.
Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it!