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!
You might also like…
Thick and Juicy Air Fryer Pork Chops: Just like the name says, we use thick, bone-in pork chops with a simple herb blend and air fry to juicy, tender perfection.
Best Damn Air Fryer Coffee Crusted Pork Chops: These are unbelievable! We use boneless pork chops and a simple coffee-based seasoning rub for a flavor that’s rich, savory and so delicious!
Air Fryer Parmesan Garlic Pork Chops: We take bone-in pork chops and load them up with Parmesan cheese, garlic and simple seasonings for an amazing experience. This one is a personal favorite.
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
Jean Luck
I have three large bone in pork chops to make. How do I adjust the timing for them.
RecipeTeacher
It will probably be close to the posted time in the recipe. Your best bet is to check with an instant read thermometer. You want an internal temp of 145°(F).
Owen
I made these tonight and they were great! Instead of oil, I added unsweetened apple sauce to the ‘rub’ to make it more of a paste. Fantastic!
RecipeTeacher
That’s an outstanding addition to the recipe, Owen!
Carmen Flanigan
I fixed these for lunch today. You named them right! I put the oil in with the herbs and made a paste which I rubbed onto the pork chops. Yum! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe.
kamoon
I have boneless pork chops and a toaster-oven style air fryer….ready to experiment!
RecipeTeacher
Sometimes those toaster-oven style air fryers can take a bit longer to cook depending on the size.
Karen
Tender juicy everyone loved these
Pam Pearson
Made this last night and it was very good! They had to cook much longer but that’s probably because my air fryer is a toaster oven style combo cooker with a larger oven space. But that seasoning blend is spot on! Has a delicious smoky BBQ flavor that would be great on oven fries, chicken, or other meats.
RecipeTeacher
Hi Pam. As the newer and larger (toaster oven sized and even oven sized) air fryers become more and more popular, i’m hearing the same thing. I’m going to begin adding notes to the recipes for these larger appliances. They do indeed take longer to cook because of the much larger space.
Libby J
These are the best!!! I have made them with boneless as well. I use smoked paprika for a bit of more kick. Highly recommend this recipe. My go to for quick easy dinner during the weak. Thank you recipe teacher!
Sandra Melvin
Omg this is a great recipe
Lucia Harrison
Amazing, so good, only increased the garlic powder, lol, because I love garlic. Fantastic.
Vivian E
Delicious and the recipe is exact, easy and tasty!