This recipe for the Best Damn Air Fryer Pork Chops is so juicy, tender and delicious, it’s sure to quickly become a favorite air fryer recipe. With a few simple ingredients, and only 12 minutes cook time, these air fryer pork chops are perfect for a tasty dinner any day of the week.
Which Pork Chop Do You Have?
Not all pork chops cook the same way. Start with the cut you’re using, then choose the method that works best for you:
- Using Boneless Chops? If you’d rather use your oven, my Best Damn Oven-Baked Boneless Pork Chops are a reader favorite for staying juicy and tender.
- Have Bone-In Chops? For that traditional “Sunday Dinner” flavor, follow my simple Guide for Bone-In Chops in the Oven.
- Want a Savory Twist? Try these Parmesan Garlic Air Fryer Pork Chops for a buttery, cheesy crust that uses basic pantry staples.
- No Air Fryer Available? If you want to use your stovetop, my Best Damn Pan Seared Pork Chops are perfect for a quick, 10-minute weeknight meal.
Let me start my saying how much i’m loving my air fryer. I’ve owned a lot of kitchen gadgets over the years and my two favorites are my air fryer and my Instant Pot. And honestly, not far behind is my George Foreman Grill – but that’s a discussion for another day. The thing about an air fryer, is that, well, you’re not really frying in the traditional sense. It’s honestly more like a rapid cook oven/broiler. And there’s plenty of times I don’t want to heat up the house by turning on the regular oven. Besides, for this pork chop recipe I get the best results in the air fryer anyways!
What are the best pork chops for the air fryer?
I’ve found that the very best pork chops for the air fryer are thick, center cut, bone-in chops. I try to get them as thick as possible – somewhere between 1 ½ inches to 2 inches thick. The reason I like the thick chops the best is that with the cooking time required, it’s gives the pork chops a beautiful char on all sides. Thin pork chops will cook too quickly and never get that nice char on them. Thick pork chops require a cooking time of about 12 minutes. And with our rub from this recipe, we get that beautiful char on them that’s delicious!
Make a rub for air fryer pork chops
For this recipe for air fryer pork chops, we will not be breading the pork chops. Rather, we will be making a rub seasoning mix which we are going to very liberally apply to the meat. The rub is very simple too. We’ll use brown sugar, paprika, ground mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. We mix it together and rub it all in to pork chops that have been rinsed, dried, and coated with a little olive oil. Rinsing the pork chops and patting them dry with a paper towel is important so don’t skip that step.
Cooking
Preheating your air fryer is an important step! You’ll want to preheat at 400°F for 5 minutes. Then, when it’s ready, cook the pork chops in the air fryer for 12 minutes, flipping them over after 6 minutes. Check for doneness with an instant-read food thermometer. We’re aiming for an internal temp of 140°F. If your pork chops are very thick, they may require an additional few minutes.
When the pork chops are done, remove them from the air fryer and place them on a plate and let them rest for a couple of minutes. Then you’re ready to serve and enjoy! There will be a nice juice that will form from the seasonings and the natural juices of the pork. Slice the pork chops in thin slices, and get some of the seasoned juice on each bite. You’re gonna love it!
Best Damn Air Fryer Pork Chops
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 2
Description
Juicy, tender and delicious air fryer pork chops.
Ingredients
- 2 center-cut, bone-in pork chops, 1 ½ – 2 inches thick
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F for 5 minutes.
- Rinse pork chops with cool water and pat dry completely with a paper towel.
- In a small bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.
- Coat the pork chops with olive oil and rub in the mix. Rub it in well and liberally. Use almost all of the rub mix for the 2 pork chops.
- Cook pork chops in air fryer on the air fry setting at 400°F for 12-14 minutes or until internal temperature of 140°F. Flip pork chops over after 6 minutes.
Notes
Air fryer temperatures can vary. Remove pork chops when internal temperature reaches 140°F. The carryover cooking will bring the temp up to 145°F.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Category: Pork chops
- Method: air fryer
- Cuisine: American
Best thing to make in your air fryer! says
If I could give it MORE STARS, I would!!! This was INCREDIBLE!!! I bought 2″ pork chops a few weeks ago and needed a recipe that was good….my husband won’t eat dry pork (lucky for me I don’t cook dry pork!). I tried this recipe and did the seasoned rub….I only omitted 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, otherwise I followed it exactly. To say this was moist and flavorful is an understatement! This was the most incredible thing I’ve cooked in my air fryer, so far! I know there’s a lot of talk about paprika in the comments…..I used the stated amount, but I use normal, everyday paprika as we do not like the smoked paprika. If you are going to use the smoked, it WILL change the flavor significantly, so be aware. I get my paprika from McCormick spices which is in any grocery store you walk in to. I wouldn’t change a thing on the rub….I did have to add 5 more min to the cook time as my pork chops were really thick. I used an instant read thermometer to take the temp to 140-145 degrees. Let the meat rest for 10 min or so and it WILL be cooked through without being overcooked. This was the best damned pork chop we ever had! Thank you to the recipe creator!!
Amy says
I’m looking for air fryer recipes that will work in our Cuisinart toaster over/air fryer combo. Do you know if I would follow this recipe exactly the same on the temp/time listed or do I need to make adjustments? Thanks!
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Amy. It should work as written. Just use the air fry setting.
Susan says
Amy, I have the same AF as you. Please post how they come out! I find many recipes I try, burn quickly in the Cuisinart, as if it gets hotter than most. Trial and error, I guess!
Carol G says
I have the cuisinart air fryer/toaster combo. I also find it to run a little hot sometimes. I made them in there tonight exactly as the recipe stated, they were delicious!
Annie says
I made this tonight and it was fabulous! My chops were thinner so cooked them at 375 for 15 minutes in my Ninja Foodie Crisper Basket. They were crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. Will definitely be making this again.
Paula says
I made these with Splenda brown sugar. They are amazing. I had bone in thick chops so I cooked about 7 minutes longer. Delicious.
Sal says
I used a very good quality pork chop and the seasoning was on point. Love the balance of flavors they really brought out the natural sweeteness of the pork. There was a little of the seasoning left over so I combined with avacado oil tossed some parboiled red skin potato wedges and air fried those bad boys too. Def making this again!
Pam says
I’ve made this twice. The first time exactly as printed. Didn’t care for the thick chops and had to add cook time. Also too peppery for my taste. The second time I used 4 thinner boneless chops, cut the pepper to 1/2 tsp and did everything else the same. They came out perfect. They had a delicious crunchy, caramelized coating that tastes like heaven. I’ll never cook pork chops any other way. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
MrsD says
I wish I had read your comment before making these. My husband and son LOVED them with the dull amount of pepper. Next time I’ll pull out some of the pepper. The flavor was great but like you said, a bit to peppery for my taste as well.
Frances Fournier says
This recipe is definitely a keeper. Used it with and without the ground mustard — delicious. My new favorite! Have also used the same seasonings when making chicken breast.
Stephanie Miller says
Do I use the crisper pan or the grill pan?
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Stephanie. What brand/model of air fryer are you using?
Joan says
Which pan do I use?
RecipeTeacher says
If you’re using a tray style air fryer, use the middle position.
Laura says
I don’t have the mustard. Will they still be good? I just have regular yellow mustard ??
RecipeTeacher says
The ground mustard fills out the flavor profile but is not considered an essential ingredient. Go ahead and make without it. But if you have a chance to pick some up, it’s a great ingredient for many recipes.
Mark Morse says
I’m trying it with just a little bit of yellow mustard. We’ll see… ????
Mark Morse says
They turned out great. Maybe just a bit too much paprika for my wife’s taste, but I enjoyed it. This rub is very similar to my chicken wing rub.