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
Late says
I make this all the time… just love it!
PamK says
Absolutely delicious, definitely a keeper. The only thing I changed was I used coconut oil spray. This was one of the first air fryer recipes that actually came out looking exactly like the picture and tasted good too! Thank you!
Michelle Miller says
Oh my goodness this is the best recipe for pork chops ever. I’ve had a air fryer for years and never used it for meats except nuggets. I wanted something different and not take forever to put together and cook. So of course I looked on Pinterest and came to this recipe first, I had everything on hand so why not. These were the best pork chops we have ever eaten. Tasty/juicy, no knife needed just take of bone with you fingers. That you so much for sharing this fantastic recipe.
Leslie says
Delicious and easy to make!!! I’ve made these several times with thick pork chops and my whole family enjoys them!! I do add a few minutes because they were still pink in the middle after 12 minutes but they are delicious ????
Tom says
I think I’m gonna’ have to try all of the recipes in the “Best Damn Air Fryer (insert dish) as I just made the chops, actually just one thick cut bone in chop to test this recipe. I just got an air fryer recently and even though I know these are really just glorified, miniaturized, convection ovens; the fact that you can fire up small batches of things without all the fuss, time, and extra dishes was compelling to me. Boy! was I happy I got one after making this recipe! –the only adjustments I made was to the rub as I like things really spicy so I added some of my “secret” spices to it (oh yeah, I had run out of regular dried mustard so I subbed in oriental hot mustard powder, you know, the “good stuff” that you get when you sit down at a Chinese restaurant instead of those plastic packets of chemical goo you get with take-out). Other than that, I followed the directions to the letter. 12 minutes cook time plus 5 minutes pre-heat plus about a minute or so to get the rub made and on the chop and you end up with safely cooked (I checked internal temps when done) glazed chops like this?? DAMN is right! Even though the internal temp was much higher than what I usually shoot for in chops and I was afraid this had been over cooked –it was NOT! Incredibly moist, cut like butter, and that rub that produced such a wonderful glaze truly earned this “Best Damn Air Fryer Pork Chop”! Who knows, maybe one day I’ll find a recipe that’s even better but that will truly be a tall order! I know this is a long winded review but this recipe deserved a little more time and effort writing about it. Can’t wait to try the other air fryer recipes in this series and many thanks to the Chef for sharing this!!!
Gaylr says
Made these pork chops and they were the tastiest, juiciest, best pork chops we’ve ever
had! Love this recipe and it’s so easy and fast to make. Thx so much!
Mary Hutchinson says
Just made these tonight. Used 1 1/2 boneless chops. AWESOME! Will be making them again.
Doris Poore says
This is the very best pork chop recipe. My husband brought home 2 DuRoc chops that were 2” thick. I followed this recipe to a T and they were delicious. Just the right amount of seasoning. I’m always leary of pork chops because they tend to be dry but not these. They are so tender . It was like chops you would eat at a fine dining restaurant. I’ve made them several times and have never had a bad one.
Beth says
This was a Big hit!! Excellent!!
Moist and tasty!! 12 minutes unbelievable!!
Lorraine says
Omg my husband LOVED these 1st thing I made. He said don’t wet the pork chops I said I have to follow the recipe. He kept saying omg these are so good!!! Thank you soooo much!!!