These easy oven pork chops are just the thing for when you’re wondering what to do with those pork chops! Thick pork chops or pork steaks, oven cooked slowly with a generous BBQ sauce, for a delicious pork dinner.

St. Louis style BBQ pork chops in baking pan

I have a zillion recipes for cooking chicken. Pork chops, not so much. They are always a challenge for me, yet I always have a package or five in my freezer. I suspect I’m not alone, so I thought I’d share one of my “go to”, easy oven pork chop recipes. It’s not the prettiest dish, for sure, but it’s definitely tasty!

These St. Louis Style BBQ Pork Chops are both easy and delicious. And saucy. And crowd-pleasing. And made with basic pantry items. And mostly just cooks off in the oven, so the hands-on time is minimal. All good things!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Pork Chops or Pork Steaks – This recipe calls for bone-in, thick pork chops with some fat marbling. This will ensure that your pork chops are nice and moist. While you don’t need a super-thick pork chop, it’s best not to start with the super-thin ones, as they are a little skimpy for this dish and more likely to overcook.

Crushed Tomatoes – use a large can of crushed tomatoes or if you only have whole canned tomatoes, you can puree and measure out after pureeing.

Grainy Mustard – this is the mustard with the whole mustard seeds in it. If you don’t have grainy mustard, substitute Dijon mustard.

Recipe Tips

You can adjust the amount of chilli powder you add to taste and/or who you’re serving.

The cooking time will vary depending on how thick your pork chops are and whether they are bone-in or not.
If your sauce is still a little thin after broiling, simply flip your pork chops over, stir the sauce around a bit and broil again.

St. Louis Style BBQ Pork Chops - easy oven pork chops, with a delicious bbq sauce

What to Serve with St. Louis Pork Chops

Serve this saucy pork chop dish with mashed potatoes and a green veg, for an easy and delicious meal!

St. Louis style BBQ pork chops in baking pan

Get the Recipe: St. Louis Style BBQ Pork Chops

Pork chops baked with a generous amount of tomato BBQ sauce, for an easy and delicious pork chop dinner!
4.91 stars from 10 ratings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 1-2 teaspoons chili powder, to taste
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes, or if you only have whole canned tomatoes, you can puree and measure out instead
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard, or Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste (less if using fine salt)
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 6 thick bone-in pork chops, about 3 lb., 3/4-1 inch thick with some fat cap and marbling of fat
  • 2 Tablespoons cooking oil

Instructions
 

  • Heat oven to 350 F.  
  • In a large saucepan, heat bacon over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, garlic and onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, as needed, then remove from heat and set aside. 
  • Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add meat and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
  • Transfer pork to a 9 × 13-inch baking dish and pour sauce on top of pork, to cover pork chops. Bake, uncovered, about 30-40 minutes, or until pork is cooked through (140F when tested with thermometer). *NOTE: Baking time will be totally dependent on the thickness of the chops you start with. Thicker pork will take longer. Thinner will take less. 
  • Remove from oven and heat the broiler in your oven, with a rack at about 6-8 inches away from the heat source. Return baking dish to oven under the broiler for a 3-5 minutes to caramelize the sauce on the chops slightly.

Notes

Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!
Cuisine: American
Course: Main Course
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 426kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 99mg, Sodium: 1378mg, Potassium: 861mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 22g, Vitamin A: 305IU, Vitamin C: 8.8mg, Calcium: 63mg, Iron: 2.3mg
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