After I made this pork tenderloin in my air fryer, I was more excited than i’ve ever been about a recipe i’ve made. The flavors of the seasoning rub are so perfect, the meat is so juicy, and the taste is simply out of this world! Do you sense a little excitement from me about this recipe?
Pork tenderloin is the filet mignon of pork. It’s a very lean, very tender piece of pork. It can be prepared a number of ways and works well with so many different seasoning mixtures. One of my favorite ways to prepare pork recipes is with a seasoning rub combination of brown sugar, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, ground mustard, salt and pepper. And maybe just a dash of cayenne for a little heat. This seasoning mix, along with the simplicity of an air fryer, will produce a pork tenderloin that you will not believe. The outside of the tenderloin will crisp up and the brown sugar will caramelize to create a flavor explosion. With the high speed circulating heat of the air fryer, and being close to the heating element, it’s the perfect environment so that the pork tenderloin stays nice and juicy on the inside.
Air Fryer with the Best Damn Pork Seasoning Rub
Our recipe for air fryer pork tenderloin couldn’t be more simple. We use a medium sized bowl and mix together the dry ingredients. Before we rub the ingredients on the tenderloin, we’ll want to cut off any of the “silver skin”, which is just a thin membrane that is usually on part of the meat. Just use a sharp knife and peel it away. Then coat the pork tenderloin with some olive oil and rub in all the seasoning mix.
Preheat your Air Fryer
Set your air fryer to 400°F and preheat for 5 minutes. Once the air fryer is preheated, keep the temperature at 400°, select air fry setting, and set the time for 20-22 minutes. Most pork tenderloins are usually between 1 lbs and 1.5lbs. For pork tenderloin on the small size, go with 20 minutes. For larger size meat, go with 22 minutes. The key is to get an internal temperature of 145°F when measured at the center of the meat with an instant-read thermometer.
Let The Cooked Pork Tenderloin Rest
After the cooking is done, carefully remove the pork tenderloin from the air fryer and place on a plate or cutting board and let it rest for 3-5 minutes before slicing.
Recipe
Best Damn Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
Mouthwatering, tender, juicy and delicious pork tenderloin made in an air fryer.
Ingredients
- Pork tenderloin (1.25lbs – 1.75lbs)
- 2 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tbs smoked paprika
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne powder (optional)
- ½ tbs olive oil
Instructions
- Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Trim the pork tenderloin of any excess fat/silver skin. Coat with a ½ tablespoon olive oil. Rub spice mixture on entire pork tenderloin.
- Preheat air fryer to 400° F for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, carefully place pork tenderloin into air fryer and air fry at 400° F for 20-22 minutes. Internal temp should be 145°F.
- When air fryer cycle is complete, carefully remove pork tenderloin to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Save any juices to serve over sliced meat.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 21 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Am says
Turned out fantastic. I only cooked it for 15 minutes and it was done. I didn’t have ground mustard, so I used prepared Dijon mustard and added the olive oil to the seasoning mix and made a wet rub instead. I can’t wait to make this for my family. My husband and I loved it.
Kelly says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Most mouth watering recipe I have ever had.
Kim says
Normally my pork comes out super dry and tasteless when I do it myself. Using this recipe, it was juicy falvorful and fabulous. I’m using this from now on, was super easy and only took about 16 minutes in my ninja fryer, cooked it til 145, then rest for 5 minutes.
P D says
Always my go to recipe for pork roast no matter what cut I’m using! Fabulously scrumptious every time????
Roger Beck says
Cooked my first tenderloin tonight with your recipe and it came out perfect! Thank very much for coming up with such a simple yet very tasty recipe!
Tanya says
Hi, I glad I found you, I’m on my way to make two 2lbs tenderloins(2 lbs both) but as I replied to one of the comments above I don’t have an actual air fry option, I have ninja foodi tendercrisp pressure cooker and I’m wondering if air crisp will do the same job as air fryer, it seem to do it with egg rolls and nuggets but sometimes they need a bit more time to get ready then listed on the instruction. Any advice how should I make it? Thank you
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Tanya,
Yes, that appliance is both a pressure cooker and an air fryer. Yes, use the air crisp setting and the basket that comes with the appliance.
Danny says
Do I flip half way?
RecipeTeacher says
You do not need to flip.
Diane says
Really easy recipe, first time I’ve used the air fryer and it was amazing. Right kick of spice, with mash , green beans and Yorkshire puddings. Juices added to gravy.
Linda says
Loved it! Hubby is a pork tenderloin or pretty much a pork anything snob and even he enjoyed it. Make per instructions except I was a little nervous as some mentioned a burn so I just cooked it at 390 for the time stated and it wasn’t quite up to temp so I increased for another minute or 2 at 400. It was perfection, and I think for the first time ever I cut it properly (against the grain), so the slices were long instead of short little round things like I’ve done in the past. Thanks for my first recipe here, glad I found you!
RecipeTeacher says
I’m so glad you found us too!! Thanks so much for the feedback Linda. I really appreciate it. 🙂
Cassie says
This was delicious but my 1.75 pound cut was more square shaped and thick so I had to adjust cooking times a bit. I cooked at 400 for 16 minutes and then reduced to 350 for 10. It was 141 degrees when I took it out to rest. Delicious crust and juicy on the inside. Thanks for the recipe!
Ana says
Thank you for this recipe. My kids loved it. The first time I made it, I did get the crust. Lately, I haven’t been able to replicate it with crust, as all of the seasoning seems to fall off. Any ideas? Thx
cathy chianese says
Made this pork tenderloin for our New Year’s Day meal and it didn’t disappoint. It was juicy. Now it is in our dinner rotation. Will look at your website for other air fryer recipes since this one was so good. Nice to have a pork tenderloin recipe that takes it out of a crockpot.