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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PrintBest 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
Louise
Made this recipe tonight and it was soooo good! Will definitely doing it again. Thank you for the recipe
Hunter
I was very surprised with how well this turned out. Very impressed. I will be making porkchops much more often
Ricky Stupar
These were super amazing. My husband and I have a smaller air fryer, so what I did was cut the pork chops into pieces/ debone them. I had them marinate for around 3 hours and placed them in the air fryer. They came out absolutely amazing.
RecipeTeacher
Thanks Ricky!
Heather Linteo
The only way I cook pork chops now
Amanda
What a great recipe! Nice and simple and very juicy chops! I paired ours with a side salad and some Mac & cheese. Will definitely make again! TY
Barbara Cody
This is the first recipe we tried in our new air fryer. AMAZING. I prepared it exactly as the “teacher” instructed. My husband’s comment was “I don’t think I have ever had a more tender, tastier pork chop”! This recipe is a keeper – just delicious!!
Jay S
WOW! I am normally potatoes and meat kind of guy, not meat and potatoes. since the potatoes always get finished first. Not this time so Tender and juicy and awesome flavor
Michael
This was amazing. We swapped regular paprika for smoked and used smaller chops. I think this might me one of our regular meals now.
Meri
The description is right on. The whole family loves this recipe. The ONLY way we will cook thick chops anymore! Thank you very much!!!😋
Alisha
I typically don’t even like pork chops, but these were delicious. Everyone at the table ate, even my picky eater 4 year old. I was only able to get thinner chops, but I simply reduced the time in the air fryer and enjoyed the results. Thanks for this recipe!
Pam
Made these tonight for dinner, so easy and hubby said 5 Stars! Be making them again, so moist and great flavor. Thank you!
Ashley
How long did you cook thinner chops?
RecipeTeacher
Just a few minutes less, depending on the thickness.