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.
More Great Pork Tenderloin Recipes
- Best Damn Grilled Pork Tenderloin
- Smothered Pork Tenderloin
- Air Fryer Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
- Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin
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
Jeanne Iverson says
This is absolutely the best recipe ever!!! We will never eat pork cooked any other way. Flavor is amazing and so juicy!
Julie Davis says
I’ve made this about a dozen times. Always comes out great. Just enough spice and flavor and super juicy. One of my husband’s favorite dishes.
Elaine says
D
Linda Jenkins says
It is the best! My husband wanted to print it so I be sure to cook it again.
Marcia Smith says
Amazing recipe I keep coming back to! Be forewarned that 1/2 the recommended cayenne is plenty. I triple the seasoning recipe and make lots of pork at once. I grilled it tonight I stress of using the air fryer. I saved some of the seasoning mix (dry stuff ) and added it to butter in a small pan on the stove until the sugar in the mix melted and incorporated well. then added flour and cooked for a couple of minutes. Then I added broth and cream to make an AMAZING gravy.
Will Gates says
Delicious rub. Unfortunately 20 minutes way over cooked the two tenderloin. Normally I sear in a cast iron skillet and put into 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. So total cook time was about the same but at 20 minutes they sat at 175 degrees.
The rub saved the day.
Kirsten says
This really is the best air fryer pork tenderloin recipe–ever. It is not only easy and fast to make, it is so juicy and tasty. I was feeding two teenage boys, so this was only two portions. 🙂 I will be making this again… and again!
Pluviofile says
Perfect every time.
DebbieT says
Damn delicious! Used 8 oz of pork tenderloin, halved the rub amounts, cooked for 22 minutes, rested for 5 as directed. Truly delicious!
Tessa says
Made this using a 2.75 lbs. pork tenderloin. Doubled spice mixture and cooked for 22 minutes. Perfection! Even my four year old loved it!!
Mac says
This was amazing. So easy to make and the flavor is spot on. I was so happy to see this recipe as I had a pork tenderloin and wanted to make it in the air fryer so kitchen doesn’t heat up,, I love the dry rub and prefer over marinade on already tender meat ., I had all ingredients on hand except onion powder substituted onion salt and cut back on salt added. Turned out great it was a smaller tenderloin so I should have put it for fewer minutes as I would have liked it a little less well done. This will be my go to recipe