One Canned Soup Is All You Need For Unforgettable Oven-Baked Pork Chops

Baked pork chops are always a good idea, especially when you have insider tips for the juiciest pork chops. Baked pork chops can be made juicier by brining or making use of a marinade, for example, but nothing quite beats the addition of a soup, which provides both moisture and flavor. Reach for a can of cream of mushroom soup if you want tasty results with your baked pork chops.

Pork chops are a relatively lean cut of meat with low levels of fat, which means they're prone to drying out and winding up rubbery and tough to chew. Thinner chops and boneless ones are even more likely to end up dry if you're not careful. Whipping out a can of cream of mushroom soup is a remedy that coats the pork chops in a thick sauce. Banishing tough, overcooked pork chops using this pantry staple is as simple as pouring the soup on the pork chops and covering them to bake in the oven. This dish also takes almost no time to prep, requiring as little as 10 minutes to get it oven ready.

For the best flavor, you need to get the technical details right, including buying the best meat and selecting the best oven temperature for your pork chops. You should also brown the pork chops before placing them in the oven. This step unlocks even more savory flavor, which complements your pork chops. This meal can also be made on the stovetop. Cooking the pork in a pan with melted butter or oil takes less time, but requires a little more attention — you need to flip the chops to ensure the texture remains juicy.

Pairing your cream of mushroom soup with sour cream and ranch seasoning deepens the complexity of flavors. Sour cream adds acidity and fat (which loads in the creaminess to support fork-tender chops) and ranch seasoning adds a blend of tastes, especially herbaceous aromatics and some necessary saltiness. Both beef or chicken broth can be used in case the cream of mushroom soup comes out a little too thick for your liking. The broth also provides added moisture to prevent your pork becoming too dry.

You can also add more mushrooms to the top of the dish to boost the mushroom taste; we recommend slicing up some button mushrooms, or sauteing the mushrooms with garlic first. Your mushroom-lathered pork meal can be enjoyed with mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and rice.