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
danny yeoh says
i may not have all ingredients of this can i substitute and i must keep it PEANUT and NUTS FREE.
which of the seasoning is important to keep for flavour.
i am a out of job dad trying to help out at home. please dont laff too much. thanks danny
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Danny, while I can’t speak specifically to any particular allergies, all the ingredients are pretty prominent, but the most important is the brown sugar.
Lisa says
I’m out of paprika do you think this will be a problem and I’m thinking about adding pineapple at the end of cooking
RecipeTeacher says
If you’re out of paprika that’s ok. I love pineapple on pork! Yes, go for it!
Diane says
These are just delicious! I can’t wait to look around at some of your other recipes for the air fryer. I have the Corsori air fryer as well as love it. These pork chops were great with the rub. The cooking time was perfect with my super thick chops. Fantastic. Thank you for sharing. I signed up for your newsletter as well.
RecipeTeacher says
Thank you so much, Diane!! I’ve got lots more air fryer recipes on the way!
Shaneka says
I made these tonight for dinner and the meal was a hit with my family. They absolutely loved the taste of the pork chops and how juicy and moist that they were. My pork chops were not as thick as yours, so I put my air fryer oven on 380 for 12 minute. Thanks for the recipe!!
RecipeTeacher says
Excellent! You are welcome and thank YOU for the feedback, Shaneka!
Rebekah says
This may be a dumb question but did you use the Air Fry mode or the bake mode? I have the Instant Pot version of air fryer.
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Rebekah. Not a dumb question at all. In fact i’m updating the recipe to specifically say “air fry”. There’s so many functions on today’s air fryers and multi-cookers, it’s indeed important to specify. Looking forward to hearing how the recipe goes for you!
Don Dachner says
Mine didn’t get the char. Is it the brand of Air Fryer I’m using?
RecipeTeacher says
What kind are you using, Don?
Norma Wallace says
I tried this receipe last nite. Didn’t have the ground mustard, but did everything else. I have a 1st generation Phillip’s air fryer. So I don’t have to clean so much, I line the inner pot with aluminum foil. That means I let it cook just a little bit longer. It was soo fantastic! I will definitely be doing this one again! Thank you!
Joyce M Stevenson says
This recipe is the “bomb”. My pork chops were not as thick so I cooked on 380 for 12 minutes using your recipe. They came out perfect!! Thanks for sharing.
Caroline Goodroe says
Dinner in less than 15 minutes! Absolutely delicious, not dry, and great for my low carb diet with just that tiny bit of brown sugar! Loved them!
RecipeTeacher says
Awesome! Thanks, Caroline!
Debbie says
mmmmmm…sitting here eating them right now. Delicious recipe! Thanks for sharing
Sandy says
The pork chops were Awesome! We loved them!
Will be making these again! Great taste!
Flo says
Do you think snoked paprika will ruin this recipe? I can’t find my regular paprika.
RecipeTeacher says
No not at all. I love smoked paprika and use it all the time. Go for it.