With just a few simple seasonings, you can make the most amazing, mouthwatering air fryer pork loin roast in about an hour. It’s as easy and applying the rub and letting your air fryer do it’s magic.
The more I use my air fryer, the more I love it! It’s one of the best kitchen appliances i’ve ever owned. And it’s the absolute perfect appliance for making an amazing pork loin roast.
Use Pork Loin Roast 2lb – 2.5lbs
We’ll start with a good top loin pork roast of about 2 – 2.5lbs. This is the perfect size for most 5-6qt air fryers. You’ll want to make sure the package says pork loin roast and not pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin is a wonderful cut of meat, but it’s considerably smaller than a pork loin roast and requires different temp and times. A pork loin roast is what boneless pork chops are cut from. It’s an awesome and simple dish that is perfect for a family dinner. They’re also quite affordable too!
Best Damn Seasoning Rub
Just a few simple ingredients are used to create the perfect rub for our pork loin roast. The seasonings include brown sugar, ground mustard, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. This will give us about 3.5 tablespoons of rub. You can use almost all of it on your pork roast. Any remaining rub, you can reserve to make a quick gravy. See the recipe notes below.
Air Fry for 45-55 minutes at 360°F
With our pork loin roast all rubbed up with seasoning, it’s time to cook. Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 360°(F). Then place the roast inside the air fryer with the fat cap side up. Set it to air fry for 360°(F) for 45 minutes. Turn it halfway through cooking. We want an internal temperature of 145°-160°(F). Use an instant read thermometer and check for an internal temperature of at least 140°. I say 140° because the roast will continue to cook when you take it out of the air fryer. If it’s not yet 140°, let it continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes.
Let it Rest!
Now it’s time to gently remove the roast from the air fryer and let it rest on a plate. Cover it loosely with foil and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. It will actually continue to cook and the internal temp will rise several degrees.
What About Larger Sized Roasts?
Once a pork loin roast gets above 2.5lbs, it really depends on how well it fits into your air fryer. We definitely don’t want too tight of a fit and we don’t want the meat too close to the heating element. If you have a larger sized air fryer, use your judgement if its fits well. If it’s above a 5-6qt air fryer, you can fit larger roasts. Then increase the cooking time by approximately 20 minutes per pound and always be sure to check the internal temperature.
Recipe
Best Damn Air Fryer Pork Loin Roast
- Total Time: 55-65 min
- Yield: about 6 servings
Description
A mouthwatering, tender and juicy pork loin roast, seasoned to perfection and made in an air fryer.
Ingredients
- 2lb – 2 ½lb boneless pork loin roast
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tbs smoked paprika
- 1 ½ tsp ground mustard
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp kosher or coarse salt
- ¼ tsp cayenne (optional)
- 1 tbs olive oil
Instructions
- Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl
- Coat the roast with olive oil and add the seasoning rub. Massage it well onto the entire roast.
- Preheat air fryer to 360° F for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, carefully place pork roast into air fryer and air fry at 360° F for 45-55 minutes. Internal temp should be 145° – 160° F. (If internal temperature is not yet 145°, continue to cook another 5-10 minutes or however long is required depending on weight of roast)
- When cooking time is complete, carefully remove pork roast to a plate and let rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Make a simple gravy by adding 1 cup of chicken broth to a saucepan, any remaining seasoning rub mix, and simmer for about 5 minutes. You can also add in any juices that have collected on the plate during the roast resting time, as well as any juices that may be in the air fryer pan. Then, in a seperate cup or small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 4 tablespoons of cold water. Mix well. Slowly pour the cornstarch slurry into the simmering broth to thicken.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 44-55 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Margaret says
I had a 4lb loin, and made it tonight for dinner. It was melt in your mouth good.
Anke Lansky-Johnson says
Amazing!! Thanks for the detail… First time using the Airfryier and PERFECT!!
Susan Gray says
Have to agree. New to air fryer cooking and tried this for Easter Dinner. Only 2 of us… but had 3.5 lb roast so cut 4 steaks off then cut in half and froze excess. My roast today was about 1.5 lbs. I used my meat thermometer and adjusted time to 24 minutes. It was delicious! Thanks for taking the time to provide excellent detail!
Donna Lee Saenz says
When roasting your 2 lb pork loin roast do you place the roast in the floor of the basket or do you place it on the rack that came with the air fryer?
RecipeTeacher says
Most basket style air fryer don’t have the option to insert the basket without the remaining enclosure. But, with all the different new air fryers out – you do not want the pork on a solid surface. The hot air needs to circulate underneath it. So however it fits in your basket, that’s how it should go.
Matt says
In the description you say the rub will make about 3.5 tbs, but just looking at the rub ingredients it looks like it would make about 4.5 TBS. Are one of the measurements off should it be 1.5 tsp of ground mustard instead of 1.5 tbs?
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Matt. Thanks for pointing that out. It’s been updated to reflect 1.5 teaspoons of ground mustard.
Maggie says
Delicious, family loved it. Thank you ????
Donna-Rae Powell says
Excellent!!
Added carrots , small potatoes and onions. Will definitely make this again. Thank you.
Candace says
This was delicious, easy & the best pork loin I’ve ever made. Juicy & tasty. Doesn’t need the gravy!
Brenda says
I made this with a 3 lb. cut and it was really good. I did cook it a few minutes longer to account for the slightly larger size. Came out very juicy on the inside and the rub on the outside was very flavorful – sweet and savory all in one. It got great compliments from my whole family. Even my 13 year old teenage boy who compliments nothing gave an unsolicited compliment! For me, that speaks volumes! Thanks for sharing this one. It will be in the permanent recipe book from now on.
Tom says
Made this for Valentine’s Day dinner and Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!
It was superb!!!
We will be using this recipe for years to come.
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
RecipeTeacher says
Very cool! Thanks, Tom!
Fran says
Hi, I’m making this tonight & will let you know how it turned out! Just wanted to let you know that you forgot to include salt in the ;ingredients’. I tasted the rub then realized it needed salt…so added about a tsp.
RecipeTeacher says
Thanks so much, Fran! Yep, an oversight upon my typing up the recipe. I appreciate you letting me know.
Craig Hutto says
I altered the recipe slightly, as I almost always do, and it turned out absolutely moist and delicious.
I substituted local dark wildflower honey for the brown sugar and dijon mustard for dry ground mustard since these were in my pantry.
I also adjusted the cooking time to 30 minutes at 360° since the tenderloin was 1.5 pounds.
Callie says
Oh my gosh, was this good!! My mouth was watering when I opened the air fryer. The rub is delicious and the meat was SO tender and juicy. I will be making this again (and again, and again ????). Thank you for sharing!