This oven baked 4-ingredient pork chops and rice is straight out of my aunt’s playbook. She used to feed a family of seven with this one pan, and no one ever left the table hungry. The rice bakes right underneath the pork chops, soaking up all those savory juices and coming out perfectly fluffy with caramelized edges. It’s the kind of no-fuss, Midwest comfort food that you can throw together after work, slide into the oven, and walk away from while you wrangle homework, laundry, or just take a breath.
This dish is meant to be a full meal in one pan, but I like to round it out with something fresh and crunchy. A simple green salad with a tangy vinaigrette or some steamed green beans or broccoli balance the richness of the pork and rice. If you want to stretch it even further for a crowd, add a basket of dinner rolls and some apple slices or a quick fruit salad on the side. Leftovers reheat well, so it’s also perfect for packing into lunches with a handful of baby carrots or a simple slaw.
Oven Baked 4-Ingredient Pork Chops and RiceServings: 6-8
Ingredients
2 cups long-grain white rice, uncooked
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
6–8 bone-in pork chops (about 1/2–3/4 inch thick)
1 (1 oz) packet onion soup mix
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish (a Pyrex-style dish works perfectly).
Pour the uncooked long-grain white rice evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer with your hand or a spoon.
Slowly pour the chicken broth over the rice, making sure all of the rice is submerged and fairly level. Give the pan a gentle shimmy to help the liquid distribute evenly.
Sprinkle about half of the onion soup mix evenly over the surface of the broth and rice. This is what will season the rice and give it that savory, almost caramelized flavor around the edges.
Pat the bone-in pork chops dry with paper towels, then arrange them in a single layer on top of the rice and broth. It’s fine if they overlap just slightly, but try to keep most of each chop exposed so it can brown.
Sprinkle the remaining onion soup mix evenly over the tops of the pork chops, coating them as well as you can. Any extra seasoning that falls into the liquid will just make the rice more flavorful.
Cover the baking dish tightly with foil, making sure to crimp the edges so steam doesn’t escape. This trapped steam is what helps the rice cook up fluffy and tender while it absorbs the pork juices.
Bake, covered, in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. During this time, the rice will absorb most of the broth and the pork chops will cook through.
After 45 minutes, carefully remove the foil (watch out for steam). Return the uncovered dish to the oven and bake for another 20–30 minutes, or until the pork chops are golden brown on top and the rice is tender and fluffy with lightly caramelized edges. If your chops are on the thicker side, check that they reach an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C).
Once done, remove the dish from the oven and let it rest for about 5–10 minutes. This short rest helps the rice finish steaming and keeps it fluffy instead of sticky. Serve the pork chops over generous scoops of the savory baked rice, making sure everyone gets some of those browned bits from the edges of the pan.
Variations & Tips
To make this even more weeknight-friendly, you can assemble the dish in the morning, cover it, and store it in the fridge, then slide it straight into the oven when you get home (add about 5–10 extra minutes to the covered bake time if it goes in cold). If you prefer less salt, use a reduced-sodium onion soup mix or only use half the packet and season lightly with your own blend of garlic powder and paprika. For extra richness, swap 1 cup of the chicken broth for 1 cup of water and add a small knob of butter to the rice before baking. You can also stretch the meal by using 2 1/2 cups rice and 5 cups broth, keeping the rest the same, if your dish is deep enough. For a little color and veg without adding much work, scatter a cup of frozen peas or mixed vegetables over the rice before laying the pork chops on top (this technically adds another ingredient, but it’s an easy way to sneak in veggies). If you like a deeper crust on the chops, broil the pan for 2–3 minutes at the very end, watching closely so the edges brown but don’t burn.
