Nashville hot honey glazed pork chops are an explosion of delicious sweet, spicy, and smoky flavors. This recipe features perfectly pan-seared juicy pork chops coated in a lightly buttery glaze of honey, brown sugar, cayenne, and smoked paprika.
Sounds amazing, right?
Plus this recipe is pretty basic, making it nearly effortless to throw together. But it makes you look like you’re a pork chop pan searing, hot honey making fiend.
If you’ve ever visited Nashville then you are probably familiar with their insanely delicious (and insanely hot) Nashville hot sauce. More often than not this regional hot sauce is served alongside their world famous Nashville hot chicken. Both are definitely worth a try if you find yourself in Music City (and so is a trip to Nudie’s–it’s not what it sounds like, just trust us).
We haven’t had much time to fry up a batch of hot chicken, so we thought we’d try out the hot sauce as a glaze and pair it with pork instead of chicken, just to switch up our highly chicken dependent dinner routine and make this recipe as quick and simple as possible.
And this beauty of a pork chop was born.
DOB: June 1, 2023. Weight: about 6 oz. Name: Nashville Hot Honey Glazed Pork Chops. Welcome to the world little fella.
What is Nashville Hot Sauce?
Nashville hot sauce is a unique regional hot sauce that features honey, brown sugar, cayenne, and paprika. It is extremely popular in Nashville and is most often served with Nashville hot chicken–the combination is mind-blowingly delicious.
Ingredients
- Pork chops (boneless) – we used thin, boneless pork chops (about 1-1ยผ inch thickness). Cooking time will vary if you use thicker pork chops, so adjust accordingly.
- Cayenne pepper – the amount is all up to you. True gritty Nashville hot sauce can include several tablespoons of cayenne. We’re babies when it comes to spiciness, so about all we could handle was 1 teaspoon.
- Honey – the costar of any Nashville hot sauce recipe.
- Brown sugar – a surprising staple in any good Nashville hot sauce. Brown sugar lends a subtle molassesy flavor to the sauce.
- Smoked paprika – we recommend smoked over regular paprika, as the smokiness adds more depth to this sauce.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic adds the perfect amount of sharpness to balance out the sweetness and spiciness of the hot sauce. You can also use 1 tsp granulated garlic if you don’t have fresh garlic on hand.
- Butter – we used plant-based butter to keep the fat content down. You can use real butter, but we recommend unsalted so that you can season to taste.
- Low sodium chicken broth – for added flavor and juiciness.
- Salt and pepper – simple seasonings with a lot of flavor.
How to Make Hot Honey Glazed Pork Chops
Trim the pork chops and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the pork chops in a single layer and brown on one side for about 4 minutes. Turn the pork chops over and brown on the other side for about 1 minute. Reduce the heat slightly and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer the pork chops to a plate and tent with foil to finish cooking. The internal temperature of the pork should be 145ยฐF when measured with a meat thermometer. You can also cut the thickest pork chop in half and ensure it is no longer pink inside.
Reduce the heat to medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Whisk in the broth, brown sugar, honey, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Cook until the sauce is reduced by half.
Add the pork chops to the pan to warm. Spoon hot honey over the pork chops. Serve and enjoy!
Sides for Hot Honey Glazed Pork Chops
These pork chops are so versatile that they pair with just about anything:
- Brown rice – try miso or cilantro lime for some extra flavor.
- Ancient grains – barley, quinoa, and farro are our favorites.
- Israeli couscous – If you haven’t tried this buttery pasta, you must!
- Veggies – zucchini, summer squash, asparagus, sweet corn–you name it–can be grilled! Not into grilled? Try them oven roasted, mashed, or as noodles, fries, tots, or in a salsa, like zucchini fries, Parmesan zucchini tots, roasted broccoli, or corn salsa.
- Potatoes – our personal favorites are roasted garlic potatoes and brown sugar sweet potatoes, but sweet potato fries, tots, hassleback, mashed, scalloped–basically any potato–will do!
- Side salad – nothing beats a good old side salad!
- Pasta salad – a summertime favorite side. We love pairing these pork chops with peach, Greek, or avocado pasta salad.
- Potato salad – creamy, mustardy, summery side.
Other Cooking Methods for Pork Chops
Looking for other methods to cook your Nashville hot honey glazed pork chops? Check out our suggestions below.
Please note that we prefer to pan sear these pork chops and we have NOT tested these methods for this particular recipe. This information is based on other recipes that we have tried and has been approximated for 1-1ยผ inch thick pork chops.
Regardless of the cooking method, please ensure that the pork chop reaches an internal temperature of 145F before serving.
Baked Pork Chops
Bake the pork chops for 14 to 16 minutes (about 7 min per 1/2 inch of thickness) in an oven preheated to 400F. Rest for 5 minutes. Make the sauce in a frying pan over the stove, as written in the recipe. (reference post – juicy baked pork chops).
Air Fryer Pork Chops
Cook the pork chops in an air fryer at 400F for 10 to 12 minutes, turning the pork chop over about halfway through (as outlined in my smoky air fryer pork chops recipe). Make the sauce in a frying pan over the stove, as written in the recipe.
Grilled Pork Chops
Grilling pork chops will vary depending on the type of grill you’re using. We have a Traeger, so our recommendation is based on that.
Preheat the grill to 375F with the lid closed for 15 minutes. Insert the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the pork chop. Grill the pork chops on one side until the internal temperature reaches 110F (about 8 to 12 minutes).
Turn the pork chops over and cook until the temperature reaches 145F (another 8 to 12 minutes). Make the sauce in a frying pan over the stove, as written in the recipe. (reference post – Traeger weeknight pork chops, time adjusted for thin cut boneless pork chops).
Crock Pot or Instant Pot Pork Chops
Crock pot and Instant pot recipes require a considerable more amount of liquid than what our recipe calls for to prevent drying out, therefore we don’t feel that this recipe would be a good fit for the crock pot or Instant pot.
How to Store and Reheat
- Storing – refrigerate leftover pork chops in an airtight container for up to one week. Please note that butter will resolidify when chilled, so the sauce may have a layer of solidified butter at the top. This is normal and it will melt when it is reheated.
- Reheat – if you don’t know this about us, we LOVE reheating leftovers on the stove. It is so superior to reheating in the microwave! Warm these pork chops, covered, over medium-low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until warmed throughout. We even add about a tablespoon of chicken broth to help the hot honey sauce become more fluid (it tends to congeal in the refrigerator due to the cold temperature). The result is much juicier reheated pork chops!
Let us know what you think about this recipe for Nashville hot honey glazed pork chops by dropping a comment and/or rating on the recipe card below! Also, please consider sharing on social media/Pinterest if you enjoyed this recipe. We greatly appreciate it! ๐

Nashville Hot Honey Glazed Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 5 boneless pork chops, trimmed, about 1-1ยผ inch thickness (about 1.25 lb)
- salt and pepper
Nashville Hot Honey Sauce
- 3 Tbsp butter (vegan, reduced fat, or unsalted)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp low sodium chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1-3 tsp ground cayenne pepper (or up to 2 Tbsp for extra spicy!)
Instructions
- Trim the pork chops and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the pork chops in a single layer and brown on one side for about 4 minutes. Turn the pork chops over and brown on the other side for about 1 minute. Reduce the heat slightly and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer the pork chops to a plate and tent with foil to finish cooking. The internal temperature of the pork should be 145ยฐF when measured with a meat thermometer. You can also cut the thickest pork chop in half and ensure it is no longer pink inside.
- Reduce the heat to medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Whisk in the broth, brown sugar, honey, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Cook until the sauce is reduced by half.
- Add the pork chops to the pan to warm. Spoon hot honey over the pork chops. Serve and enjoy!
Leave a Reply