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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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.
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
Joyce Walsh says
I used the recipe for The Best Darn pork chops and loved it.
I used pork steaks and reduced the amount of paprika, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly.
It’s going to be my favourite from now on.
Audrey says
This is my absolute favourite pork chop recipe. I have tried other recipes occasionally, but I have not found another recipe as tasty as this one. Thank you, Jason, for sharing your best damn air fryer pork chops with all of their deliciousness, because, well, that is precisely what they are!!!
Laura says
I don’t have dried mustard.. would they be fine without it? Or what can I substitute it with?
RecipeTeacher says
You can just leave it out. But, its a great ingredient if you ever get some.
JCW says
Hey there, I’ve just given the chops a good coat of prepared mustard as I don’t have dried, then the olive oil and go on with the rest of the recipe – works just fine.
Nan says
Excellent, do you cut the time in half for one chop?
RecipeTeacher says
Same time for one chop
Cooking Chops says
This recipe is seriously so damn good that my family asked me to make it three times in the past month and prior to that we rarely had pork chops. I made it twice with coconut sugar instead of brown and once with no sugar. All came out amazing. If you remove the sugar you can taste the mustard and paprika more and that flavor combo is awesome. Also, I love that this recipe is so fast and easy yet the chops come out like a restaurant. Seldom do I come across recipes like this that can be made in the air fryer! This is my go-to recipe now.
Laura Gallegos says
Hi there!
What if I only have thin chops, like 1/2- 3/4″ thick? Can I reduce the time?
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Laura,
Yes indeed reduce the time. Your best bet is to keep a close eye on the internal temp. Pull the pork chops when the internal temp reaches 135f. They will come up to 145 when they rest. This will prevent overcooking.
Heather M says
This was super easy and super delicious! My expert meat barbecuing/smoking husband even loved this, and begrudgingly annoying it might be the best pork chops we’ve ever made! Made it just as is, and it turned out perfectly.
RecipeTeacher says
The bbq/smoker crowd can be a tough audience. So I’m glad you guys liked it!! Thanks for the feedback, Heather!
Kaackerm says
Sorry if this has already been asked, but we got boneless center cut pork chops from Omaha steak for Christmas. Do you think this recipe would be fine with that type of chops too?
RecipeTeacher says
Yes indeed. Try and pull them out when the internal temp is about 135f. The carryover cooking will bring them to 145 without drying them out.
Pat says
My husband loves these! They turnout perfect, juicy and flavorful every time!!
Ilene says
My favorite air fry pork chop recipe so far! Flavorful and moist. ????
Marilyn S. says
Fantastic taste! I did not have dried mustard so used a tablespoon of Dijon which may have given the chops a little too much oomph! I would use a little less in the future. Such a delicious aroma in the house from this recipe! Love it! (So did my husband!)