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!
Recipe
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
Edward says
This is the 2nd time that I cooked these boneless pork chops in the air fryer. They were about 1 1/2 inch thick. They tasted so awesome and were not tough at all. I will continue cooking these in ky air fryer.
Terry M says
My only regret was not reading the narrative, and missing the part about using the juices at the end! I saw them sitting there when I went to clean my air fryer and thought, darn, I could have used this! The rub is excellent – will be part of our pork chop rotation. I can see using it for grilled pork tenderloin as well.
JEAN OSTROM says
This spice blend is excellent. I also used it on sweet potato fries
AliTheCat says
I modified the sauce a little based on other reviews and it was so very good. But, even though I did a great job at the cooking time, the chops were still tough. Next time, I will use the thin ones and cook for less time. Might also let them “marinate” in the rub so they can absorb the seasoning.
Rose says
These pork chops were very tender and juicy. The only thing I would do differently next time is to use less pepper. The pepper overpowered the other flavors. My won who is a very picky eater liked them so I will make them again.
AliTheCat says
Thanks to your review, I cut back the black pepper drastically. Barely even noticed it LOL I saw on another recipe to just put s&p to taste then rub in the other seasonings.
Debbie says
These are the best dam porkchops. Juicy and great flavor, easy to make. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Love it.
Susan Tucker says
This recipe produces the juiciest and most tender chops every time! I’ve made it several times andam always amazed at how quick and simple it is. The only thing I did differently was to reduce the amount of paprika a bit. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Lu says
This is the best damn air fryer pork chop recipe I’ve ever come across.
Use it a lot
Julie says
I can see where this should be awesome but it was just so-so. I used this on boneless butterflied pork chops and they were a little moist but not earth shattering. I think I will try again but I will use thicker bone-in chops.
Julia Child says
Super tasty recipe. Worth some good quality, bone-in pork loin chops.
Yevette Jackson says
Made it today but with non- bone. Just recently bought an air fryer and I want to cook meals healthier and less stressful and time