Grilled Pork Chops with Lemon, Garlic, and Sage

Grilled Pork Chops with Lemon, Garlic, and Sage are a tasty option for outdoor grilling, and this is a great recipe for thick boneless pork chops. 

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It’s been quite a Labor Day Weekend for me, but thankfully this terrible wildfire near my house is now 100% contained and I am back home and feeling grateful that I’m safe and my home is completely undamaged. And I’m feeling an abundance of gratitude for all the firefighters, police, forest service personnel and other responders who worked so hard to save the homes in my area. Thoughts of Labor Day Weekend will never be quite the same in my neighborhood, that’s for sure!

But even if my future Labor Days have fire memories, Labor Day is always going to mean grilling, right? This recipe for Grilled Pork Chops with Lemon, Garlic, and Sage is a perfect way to use those thick lean boneless pork chops which tend to be dry if you cook them without marinating. (All you Costco shoppers know the ones I mean.) It’s also a recipe for people who really like sage, so if you’re not much of a sage fan, I recommend using less, or check the Grilling category for a different recipe for grilled pork chops.

This is a grilled pork chop recipe that had been hanging out in the archives with a photo that was truthfully, pretty gruesome. So I made pork chops recently and took some new photos to see if I could entice you to make pork chops on the grill! And I hope everyone who likes pork with sage will try this recipe, with an all-day marinating time that really infuses the pork chops with flavor!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• 3 T fresh squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• olive oil
• Dried Sage (affiliate link) (or use 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage, use less sage if you’re not crazy about sage)
• Garlic Powder (affiliate link)
• Onion Powder (affiliate link)
• fresh ground pepper to taste

How to make this recipe

(This is just a summary of the steps; scroll down for complete recipe including nutritional information.)

1. I was just cooking two pork chops for new photos, but the recipe makes enough marinade for four pork chops, maybe more.
2. If you’re using those thick loin chops, they’ll turn out better if they’re pounded before you marinate them. I trimmed the fat and then pounded the chops until they were about 1/2 inch thick.
3. Whisk together the marinade ingredients.
4. Marinating all day in a Ziploc bag or glass or plastic container with a snap-tight lid will give best results with thick pork chops like this, and I actually marinated the ones I cooked for new photos overnight and part of the night day. (If you’re making to cook on a work night, trim the pork chops the night before, then make the marinade and pour it over in the morning before work and let pork chops marinate in the fridge all day.)
5. When you’re ready to cook, drain pork into a colander place in the sink and let the marinade run off while you preheat grill to high heat.
6. Turn heat to medium high when you put pork on the grill. If you want grill marks, lay pork chop on an angle to the grill grates and cook about 3-4 minutes (check to see if you have grill marks).
7. Then rotate the pork chops so they’re going the opposite way and cook about 3-4 minutes more, or until you see criss-cross grill marks when you lift one pork chop to check.
8. Turn pork to the second side and cook 3-4 minutes more, or until pork reaches 145F/65C when you test with an Instant Read Meat Thermometer. (affiliate link)

If you don’t have an outdoor grill, this recipe can be cooked on a Stove-Top Grill Pan or a George Foreman Grill with good results. (affiliate links) Serve hot and enjoy!

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

The pork chops in the photo is being served with Easy Low-Carb Cucumbers Caesar. Another tasty option would be Easy Air-Fryer Asparagus with Lemon and Parmesan.

More Tasty Pork on the Grill:

Kalyn’s Souvlaki
Grilled Ginger Soy Pork Chops
Low-Carb Greek-Seasoned Pork Chops with Lemon and Oregano
Chile Mustard Pork Kabobs

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Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Pork Chops with Lemon, Garlic, and Sage

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Additional Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 22 minutes

Grilled Boneless Pork Chops with Lemon, Garlic, and Sage are a great option for outdoor grilling.

Ingredients

• 4 thick boneless pork chops

Marinade Ingredients:

• 3 T fresh squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. rubbed sage (or use 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage, use less sage if you're not crazy about sage)
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Trim desired amount of fat from pork chops.
2. Put pork chops one at a time into a Ziploc bag and pound with a meat mallet (affiliate link) or something heavy until they're about 1/2 inch thick.
3. Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, sage, garlic powder, onion powder, and fresh-ground black pepper to make the marinade.
4. Put pork chops into a Ziploc bag or glass or plastic container with a snap-tight lid and let them marinate 8-10 hours in the fridge, or longer is okay. (If you're making to cook on a work night, trim the pork chops the night before, then make the marinade and pour it over in the morning before work and let pork chops marinate in the fridge all day.)
5. When you're ready to cook, drain pork into a colander place in the sink and let the marinade run off while you preheat grill to high heat.
6. Turn heat to medium high when you put pork on the grill.
7. If you want grill marks, lay pork chop on an angle to the grill grates and cook about 3-4 minutes (check to see if you have grill marks).
8. Then rotate the pork chops so they're going the opposite way and cook about 3-4 minutes more, or until you see criss-cross grill marks.
9. Turn pork to the second side and cook 3-4 minutes more, or until pork reaches 145F/65C when you test with an Instant Read Meat Thermometer. (affiliate link)
10. Serve hot.

Notes

I use my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe. I  use 3 tablespoons lemon juice, but I really like lemon so you might only want 1 tablespoons.

This recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma Complete Grilling Cookbook. (affiliate link)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 447Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 120mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 37g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Grilled Pork Chops with Lemon, Garlic, and Sage are a great main dish for low-carb or low-glycemic diet plans, and if the pork is lean you could eat this for any phase of the South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Grilling Recipes for more recipes like this one! Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2009. It was last updated in 2021.

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