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
Jeff Jennings
It was delicious, very tender. I’m only giving it 4 stars because we put 1- 1/2” thick chips in at 400 degrees for 12 minutes after preheating it for 5 minutes at 400. When I took them out the internal temp was only 120 degrees. They were still pink in center. We butterflied them into 3/4” and ran it another 10 minutes at 400 and they turned out great afterwards. We use a very powerful ninja dual zone 2 bin air fryer. Their most powerful model they make.
Ree
I think it is because you probably cooked them right from the fridge, you need to temper them for 30 mins prior to cooking. Maybe try next time?
Lori Lynn Myers
This recipe is excellent! The flavor is awesome! I was worried about the brown sugar and mustard. I was worried it would take on a BBQ flavor that I don’t like but it’s savoperfect!!
Brenda
I have a Philips air fryer and the temp only goes to 390 so how long would I cook thinner ones for?
Thanks!
RecipeTeacher
I’d go with the same time. But if you have an instant read thermometer, shoot for the 145°(f) internal temp.
Chanel Marson
This was the BEST pork chop recipe.. I usually murder my pork chops!!!! Not no more!!!!! Thank you sooooo much!!!! I would not change one thing about the recipe!!!!
Shawnana
So delicious! I had 5 pork chops to cook, I have a dual air fryer. I doubled the recipe and was able to coat all 5 easily. I just had to cook the last chop separately. The chops were amazing & so tender. I certainly save this to my recipe box and also pass it on. I will also definitely make this again!
Suanne Alexander
These were delicious!!! So flavorful and tender!! Definitely will be making them again!!
Larita Tennant
I’ve never been able to cook a tender pork chop, tried this recipe and they were tender and delicious. I’m a fan for sure, will be making these over and over. Thank you.
Tara Guardado
Excellent! Best pork chops I’ve made! Great recipe!
Carol Eagle
We love the pork chops cooked this wa
Y. I won’t fix them any other way.
Robin
I looked at my husband tonight and said, “I know I promised never to make pork chops again and here we are with pork chops on the menu!” Tried this recipe and we were delighted. Chops were juicy and tasty. I recommend this recipe!