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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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!
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PrintRecipe
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
Shawna. M says
A little tough with the chops being air fried with no moisture however I would honestly make these again as the dry rub was quite tasty. Thanks for sharing!
E Chatland says
These are delicious
Beverly says
Tried the best pork chop recipe & darn tooting they are fantastic!!
Thank you for the recipe. I am going to try the chicken next!!
Amanda says
Just popping in to let you know my husband want to renew our wows every time I cook these. Best damn pork chops indeed, thank you!
RecipeTeacher says
This might win comment of the year. Thanks to you both Amanda and husband!
Doris Tatman Cates says
I used a pork tenderloin and cut it 2 inches.
This was amazing!!!! Love it!!!
Wendy Finch says
I made this and it turned ok,
but it was hot and spicy. Next time will cut back on black pepper.
Debra says
I just loved the Pork chops. It tasted great!! This is my second time cooking them. This is one of my favorite recipes.
Laura R says
One of our favorite recipes & The Best for a thick pork chop. Flavorable yet juicy! Bon Appétit!
Teres says
Best pork chops I have ever cooked! I consider myself a good home cook but gave up on pork chops because they usually end up tough and dry. A package of boneless pork chops found its way into our cart at Costco and I immediately looked at your site because I knew if anyone had a great AF pork chop recipe it would be you! I was right! I held off getting an AF, didn’t think I would use it. We were in a rental house for a short period without an oven, AF to the rescue. I use it all the time and your recipes never disappoint.
Thank you for sharing such awesome recipes.
RecipeTeacher says
And I thank YOU for the awesome, kind words!
Cheryl B. says
I didn’t have any mustard powder or a rub, so I had to modify a bit. So, I lightly rubbed my chops in Dijon mustard, then sprinkled on my homemade rub that contained brown sugar, Mrs. Dash, paprika, salt, and garlic. My chops turned out perfectly. Thank you for sharing your recipe.