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.
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!
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PrintRecipe
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
Patty Wac
Excellent! This is my go to pork chop recipe from now on. It comes out perfect every single time. I do use less paprika and salt. But this really is the best damn pork chop recipe I’ve ever tasted.
Midge
Just had the best pork chops ever. Thank you I just got a new kitchen stove with air fryer. First recipe I tried SUCCESS ,
Dwight
Very Tasty but not as tender. Not sure why. Maybe next time I will brine the chops.
Bronwyn
Awesome recipe! Thanks for sharing!!
Mary Ellen Minton
How long do I cook the pork chops if I have 4of them?
Thank you
RecipeTeacher
Hi Mary Ellen,
So it should be the same time, but all air fryers are different so it’s possible it could be another 1-2 minutes.
Doreen Roman
I had all but given up on my air fryer, but this was the best!
AWESOME!
Hailey A Birdsall
All 6 of my picky eaters loved it!
David P.
WOW…What more can I say as these were indeed the best pork chops I’ve ever tasted and made. Did exactly as directed in my Foodie Grill and they were so juicy and darn to die for flavorful. Amazing how all of those spices seemed meant for the pork chops because we just smacked our lips and kept putting more meat in our mouths.
Thank-you again but you have a winner for sure.
RecipeTeacher
You just made my day! Thank you so much, David!
Betty
Awesome very flavorful and tender.will be making this again. Might try on gas grill next time
Wendy
First meal I made in our air fryer. I’m not a huge pork lover but this recipe might turn me into one. I did a little longer 8 mins on either side and it was still just as juicy and yummy. Thanks for the “Best Damn…” recipe can’t wait to try the other ones.
Shery Sullivan
I never made these pork chops but can’t wait to get those chops and use my air fryer. I’m all new at this.
Amy
I made these last night. My husband’s response after the first bite was “Wow.” This recipe is a keeper!
Dave Dewey
First real meal prepared in the air fryer and your recipe was the perfect one to start with. Easy, quick, and hard to mess up. Looking forward to trying your other “Best Damn…” recipes.
RecipeTeacher
Awesome, Dave! I’m looking forward to hearing how you like them too!
John Mc
Love this recipe! As soon as I read the rub ingredients, I prepped extra rub (added some ground cayenne pepper) and then sprinkle it on sweet potato wedges before I put them on the second rack of my air fryer. The result is a sweet/savory/spicy punch to the potatoes (which can have a single layer flavor profile). Goes perfect with the chops! Thanks
Merry
My chop is thawing now but was wondering…I don’t have dry mustard. Should I just leave it out altogether or substitute something else?
RecipeTeacher
You can leave it out. But, some use regular mustard with much success. You’ll only need a little bit.
Sandra
How would you incorporate the regular mustard?