Grilled Lemon Rosemary Pork Chops with Arugula Salad
Today I have a grilled pork chop recipe with lemon, garlic and rosemary. I served them with a simple arugula salad with Pecorino cheese and lemon. It is an effortless summertime dinner that takes only 45 minutes.
We originally shared this recipe on June 10th, 2014. We have updated some of the images and the text to share it with you again today. This post contains affiliate links.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Grilled Pork Chops Recipe
This recipe for Lemon Rosemary Grilled Pork Chops with Arugula Salad is the meal I made on one of our first nights in our lake cottage when we bought it back in 2014. It has since become a standard dinner during the warm season when we grill more often than not.
To make it, I mashed garlic and salt into a paste. I mixed it with lemon zest and rosemary and spread it over some lovely heritage pork chops. We grilled them and served them with this spicy arugula and shaved pecorino cheese salad with lemon and olive oil.
Its a great meal to put together after work during the workweek, and it also makes a terrific recipe to make for company because it can easily be doubled. Furthermore, much of the work can be done ahead of time. In fact the lemon garlic paste can be added to the pork several hours in advance making them even more flavorful!
Ingredients For Lemon Rosemary Pork Chops
For The Rosemary and Garlic Paste
- Garlic
- Coarse kosher salt, plus a pinch
- Lemon zest
- Rosemary
- Freshly ground pepper
Bone-In Pork Loin chops
Look for heritage pork, certified humane, or certified Organic if possible. Not only is the flavor of this premium pork far superior, but the regulations on the certification require more humane animal treatment.
You’ll want medium-thick chops weighing just shy of 2 pounds with the bones.
For The Arugula Lemon Salad
- Extra-virgin olive oil (use your best quality here as the flavor really shines through in the final dish.)
- Lemon juice (make sure to zest your lemon first for the paste mentioned above, then juice it for the dressing.)
- Dijon mustard
- Baby arugula
- Pecorino Toscano or Pecorino Romano cheese (Asiago can be substituted if you cannot find either.)
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat Grill and Make Garlic Herb Paste
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Lay the chops on a plate or platter. Pat pork dry with a paper towel.
Mince garlic. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt over the garlic and mash with the side of a chef’s knife to create a paste. Set ¼ teaspoon of the paste aside in a large bowl and add the remaining pinch of salt. (This will be for your dressing.) Scrape the remaining garlic paste into a small dish. Add lemon zest and rosemary and stir to combine.
Step 2: Season Pork with Garlic, Lemon & Rosemary Paste
Rub rosemary mixture over both sides of the pork chops. Sprinkle with pepper.
Step 3: Grill The Pork Chops
Grill Pork chops until just barely pink in the center, 3 to 5 minutes per side. An instant read thermometer in the center of each chop (near the bone but not touching) should read 145 to 150 degrees F for medium rare. For more well done pork take the temperature to 155 to 160 depending on your preference. Place the chops on a clean platter and tent with foil to rest for ten minutes.
Step 4: Make Dressing
While the pork rests, whisk lemon juice, olive oil and Dijon in the large bowl with the garlic paste.
Step 5: Arugula Salad and Serve
Add arugula. Toss gently to coat the greens with the dressing. Serve pork chops with the arugula and top with the Pecorino.
Serving Suggestions
On the side add a simple grain dish or summer salad. Here are some ideas:
- I love Orzo Salad or Mediterranean Barley Salad with these flavors.
- Serve this Italian-inspired recipe with our Italian Pasta Salad and our classic healthy pasta salad is loaded with veggies.
- For a grain free alternative, try our Steamed Potatoes with Herbs, Butter and Yogurt.
FAQs and Expert Tips For This Recipe
Since grills vary and the thickness of the pork will impact the timing on the doneness of the pork, it is important to use the timing (3 to 5 minutes per side) as a guide only. The best way to tell if grilled pork chops are done is to use an instant-read thermometer. Place the tip of the thermometer into the meat near the bone. It is important not to touch the bone itself as this will not give an accurate reading of the meat. It should read 145 to 150 degrees F for medium rare. For well done pork continue grilling until the internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees F.
The pork can be rubbed with the lemon zest garlic mixture up to 6 hours in advance. Keep covered and refrigerated. When you are ready to grill the pork, toss the salad just before serving.
More Healthy Pork Recipes
- If you are a fan of the classic recipe for pork chops with cream of mushroom soup gravy, then my from scratch Pork Chops with Creamy Mushroom Gravy made without canned soup will be your new favorite comfort food dinner.
- This Sheet Pan Pork Chops with veggies, potatoes and homemade raspberry ketchup is a weeknight dinner everyone will enjoy.
- If you like the flavors of today’s recipe, our recipe for Grilled Lemon Garlic Pork Tenderloin is another grilled pork recipe for effortless meals al fresco.
- This Skillet Apple and Pork Tenderloin with shallots and maple mustard is an awesome entertaining recipe for the fall.
- Our Ground Pork Stir-fry with Peppers is a 20-minute weeknight winner.
- This Ginger Pork Stir-fry with Bok Choy is another super-fast stir-fry made with ground pork.
- For a festive and impressive meal make our Maple Brined Pork Loin Roast with homemade apple chutney. It is celebration-worthy!
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Grilled Lemon Rosemary Pork Chops with Arugula Salad
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Grilled pork chops with garlic, lemon and rosemary paste with simple arugula salad dressed with lemon and olive oil, topped with shaved Pecorino Toscano cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus a pinch
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
- 4 bone-in pork chops, about 1.75 pounds
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 4 cups baby arugula
- 1 ounce Pecorino Toscano or Pecorino Romano cheese
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Mince garlic. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt over the garlic and mash with the side of a chef’s knife to create a paste. Set ¼ teaspoon of the paste aside in a large bowl for the dressing and add the remaining pinch of salt to it. Scrape the remaining garlic paste into a small dish for the lemon rosemary paste. Add lemon zest and rosemary and stir to combine.
- Rub rosemary mixture over both sides of the pork chops. Sprinkle with pepper.
- Grill Pork chops until just barley pink in the center, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
- Whisk lemon juice, olive oil and Dijon in the large bowl with the garlic paste.
- Add arugula to the dressing. Toss to coat. Serve pork chops with the arugula and top with the Pecorino.
Notes
Make Ahead
The pork can be rubbed with the lemon zest garlic mixture up to 6 hours in advance. Keep covered and refrigerated. When you are ready to grill the pork, toss the salad just before serving.
How To Know When The Pork Is Done
Since grills vary and the thickness of the pork will impact the timing on the doneness of the pork, it is important to use the timing (3 to 5 minutes per side) as a guide only. The best way to tell if grilled pork chops are done is to use an instant-read thermometer. Place the tip of the thermometer into the meat near the bone. It is important not to touch the bone itself as this will not give an accurate reading of the meat. It should read 145 to 150 degrees F for medium-rare. For well-done pork continue grilling until the internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees F.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 porkchop, 3/4 cup salad
- Calories: 302
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 4 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 43 g
This recipe was a total hit! It was super easy to prep. Making the garlic mixture early in the day was perfect. My husband grilled the chops in the evening, and everybody loved dinner. We will definitely make it again.
What an amazing flavor-packed dinner recipe. Thanks for sharing. Pinned to make this soon.
Amazing pork chops – so tasty and succulent! And the rocket salad (that’s what we call arugula in the UK) was the best side dish! Love it!
These pork chops turned out perfectly! They were moist and tender, and the lemon/rosemary combination added great flavor to them!
These pork chops look perfectly cooked and delicious with the peppery salad.
Thank you, Dannii. They do pair well!
I love this recipe! So fresh and easy and just a little cheese to top everything off!
A beautiful and balanced meal that the whole family loved – definitely putting in on repeat!
Katie, how sweet. Where is your new lake cottage (not too specific, of course!) So happy for you. What a lovely setting and goals. And I love how this meal symbolizes some of your new life goals. Sounds healthy and perfect. I love the simple life of working hard and focussed, but calm when I need to multi-task (homeschooling while blogging). Calm multi-tasking is my life, and times when I just. don’t. work. 🙂 Cheers to your new vision.