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
Denise says
Had this for dinner. Have to say it turned out great. In the future I may use 1/2 the dry rub as a lot of it came off in the air fryer. The taste is really good though, paired it with green beans and long grain rice…yummy!!
RecipeTeacher says
Glad you liked it, Denise!
Pat says
How long would you cook for a thinner boneless chop?
RecipeTeacher says
Just try a minute or two less.
Douglas Shafer says
I have made these for my family every week since my kids bought me an air fryer for Christmas and the name says it all. THE BEST DAMN PORK CHOPS.
RecipeTeacher says
Wow thank you so much, Douglas!
Karen says
My family devoured this meal! Thank you so much! I just got an air fryer for Christmas and this email will definitely be made again!
RecipeTeacher says
Awesome, Karen!! Many more good air fryer meals to come. Thank you for the feedback!
Mary Gayle Brown says
When does the mustard go in? Directions say to mix all the dry ingredients together and nothing about the mustard, Am I missing something?
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Mary. The mustard is actually the dry spice mustard.
Steve Heiser says
We made these chops last night and they were 10 stars they were wonderful juicy and tender never have i had anything better thanks for the recipe.
Steve Heiser says
These were the best chops i have ever made i usually make thin chops because i like crispy but these were truly unbelievable the rub was perfect they were very juicy but cooked through what more could you ask for thanks again for the recipe.–Steve
RecipeTeacher says
Thank you so much, Steve!!
Cathy says
Im new to the Insta AFryer, but made your pork chops and the taste was wonderful…But…I did not get the same “look”..my edges were browned but the chop didn’t…what did I do wrong? LOVE the rub!
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Cathy. I’m guessing you didn’t actually do anything wrong. There’s so many variables between different air fryers, the distance from the heating element, overall size, etc. What you can do in future is bump the temp up to 400 for the last couple of minutes. I hope this helps and I appreciate the feedback!
Janice says
This was delicious! I would suggest adding about 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of your Air Fryet to eliminate the smoke.
Dianne says
The best I have made. Thank you
Brittany Butcher says
These were lovely! Even the non meat eaters of the family said they were good. I actually have a new air fryer stove. This was the first thing I made with it. Thanks for the amazing recipe.
RecipeTeacher says
Ahh I’m honored to have a recipe as the maiden voyage with your new air fryer. You’re gonna love that thing. Many more great recipes to come!