Instant Pot Boneless Pork Chops
The easiest Instant Pot Boneless Pork Chops Recipe – 1/2 inch thick boneless pork steak, simple seasoning and effortless cooking in the pressure cooker. Juicy, tender and delicious meal, that you can pair with a salad, potatoes or rice. A family favorite.
If you look at the rest of the recipes on my blog, you may notice that I cook pork chops quite often for my family.
I like to bake them in the oven, grill or pan fry them.
Why am I sharing a pork chop recipe made in the instant pot? Because pressure cooking ensures tender, yet juicy final result, no mess and no constant checking of the internal temperature of the meat.
Sure, it takes time for the electric pressure cooker (I use Instant Pot) to build pressure and this has been one of the main reasons why I haven’t been using mine a lot.
But lately, especially during the winter, I started using my Instant Pot more. Of course, you can cook some soups a lot faster on the stove top, yes, you can grill or oven bake pork chops, but pressure cooking them and not overcooking, ensures that you prepare tender pork chops, that everyone will love!
Want to prepare an Instant Pot meal? Add in some veggies like potatoes, onions and carrots together with the pork chops and cook them together.
Instant Pot pork chops
What type of pork chops to use?
In this recipe I used boneless 1/2-inch thick pork chops. Thicker, up to 1 – 1 1/2-inch thick pork chops can be used. I don’t recommend using thinner chops, because they will dry out quickly.
If you can get pork shoulder chops, this will be even better, since their meat is marbled and they tend to taste better and juicier.
Bone-in pork chops can be used in the recipe. The recipe works best with shoulder or rib pork chops.
Tenderizing the pork chops?
Yes, you can tenderize the chops using a mallet or needle meat tenderizer. I did not tenderize these pork chops.
Seasoning
The seasoning is simple! Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin and some oregano (thyme or summer savory are great seasonings for pork). Any seasoning of your choice can be used. I cooked mine in vegetable stock in the IP, but you can use just water.
Browning pork chops before pressure cooking
When cooking most kinds of meat, I usually brown them in the Instant Pot, before I pressure cook them. For 1-inch pork chops, no matter if they are boneless or bone in, I brown them for 1-2 minutes per side, to lock the meat juices in.
How long to cook boneless pork chops in the Instant Pot for?
For 1/2 to 1-inch thick pork chops it takes 0 minutes to cook in the instant pot, plus between 8-16 minutes of natural release.
Zero minutes, really? Yes! It takes time for the electric pressure cooker to build pressure and start the cooking process. While it is building this pressure , the food inside it is being cooked (not under full pressure). It usually takes 10-15 minutes to reach high pressure.
Since we aim to prepare juicy, perfectly cooked boneless pork steaks, we want to get them out when they are just done. The safe temperature for pork chops is 145 F, but I usually cook mine to 150-155 F and they are just fine. Keep in mind that the meat will be covered in liquid, so this will prevent drying out to a certain point.
Brown chops in the Instant Pot on “Sautee” for 1 minute per side”. Cook these boneless 1-inch thick pork chops in the Instant Pot for 0 minutes on Manual High Pressure with 8 minutes of natural release time.
Overcooking pork chops in the Instant Pot
With pork chops, no matter what cooking method you decide to use, you can often easily overcook them. The leaner the meat, the more difficult to cook it is.
With 1/2 to 1-inch pork chops, 4-5 oz each, cooking 4 chops at a time, I tested cooking them for 5 and 10 minutes. 5 minutes on high pressure, with 5 minutes of natural release made the chops a little too soft and tender.
10 minutes was just too much. They were too dry, then I did 3 minutes on Manual High with 5 minutes of natural release and the chops were ok.
But when I tried cooking them for zero minutes and did natural release for 10-15 minutes, the chops were perfect. You can try experimenting to adjust the texture and juiciness to your taste.
If you decide to add potatoes, onions and carrots, make sure they are cut into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces.
How to Instant Pot pork chops:
- Tenderize the meat (optional). You can cover the chops with plastic wrap and pound them a few times, using a mallet or use a needle tenderizer to make some holes in the meat.
- Season. Season the pork chops with salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and cumin.
- Brown the pork chops. Set the Instant pot to “sautee” and let it get hot for 7-8 minutes. Add the oil. Add the pork chops (work in batches) and brown them for 1-2 minutes per side.
- Add water, chicken or vegetable stock, close the lid, set the valve to “sealing” and select “Manual” for 0 (zero) minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot reaches the pressure, it will start releasing it, let it naturally release it for 10-15 minutes (I do 10), then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Open the Instant Pot and take the chops out.
More pork chop recipes
Side dishes for pork chops
Instant pot boneless pork chops
Ingredients
- 4 6-oz boneless pork chops or pork shoulder chops
- 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp brown sugar - totally optional
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock — enough to cover the pork chops with liquid in the Instant Pot
Instructions
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Tenderize the pork chops (optional).
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In a small bowl combine all ingredients to season the pork chops, stir to combine, then generously season the meat on both sides.
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Set the Instant pot to "sautee" and let it get hot for 7-8 minutes. Add the oil. Add the pork chops (work in batches) and brown them for 1-2 minutes per side.
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Add water, chicken or vegetable stock, close the lid, set the valve to "sealing" and select "Manual" for 0 (zero) minutes.
-
Once the Instant Pot reaches the pressure, it will start releasing it, let it naturally release it for 10-15 minutes (I do 10), then quick release the remaining pressure.
-
Open the Instant Pot and take the chops out.
I want some now !
These were fabulous! I did not use any spices except salt and pepper, used chicken stock and these were by far the best way to cook pork chops in the insta pot. They were so juicey and tender,
we used a fork. Thank you, Mira!
Set the instant pot on zero minutes? Is that correct?
Yes, they cook while the Instant Pot is building up pressure
I followed the recipe exactly, and these were marginal at best.
No taste whatsoever, but more importantly overcooked and dry.
Sorry, but this was not good.L
No matter how hard I try, my boneless pork chops are always dry and tough. Until I used this recipe! It will now be the only recipe I use to make boneless pork chops. Sauté, 0 minutes, NR,- voila! Nothing could be easier. Plus, I thickened the liquid and it made a yummy gravy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.