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.
PrintRecipe
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
Annelize
They didn’t lie, the best pork fillet recipe! Ta!
Didn’t use mustard powder. Didn’t have paprika, used mother-in-law-tongue instead. Delish!
Steph
This recipe will be my introduction to an air fryer. I’m wondering if I can use this recipe for a larger pork loin, say about 4lbs. I can increase the seasonings just fine, but how does the timing work? Thanks
RecipeTeacher
Hi Steph. We do indeed have a recipe for air fryer pork loin. Here’s the link…
https://recipeteacher.com/best-damn-air-fryer-pork-loin-roast/
Teresia Chase
This has become my go-to recipe for pork tenderloin. I have made it at least a dozen times in my Air Fryer oven. Sometimes I have to make substitutions but they all work out. For example, I had no brown sugar once so I used Splenda. Tasted great. I ran out of the smoked paprika and used Old Bay Seasoning. Still terrific. The only problem I ever had was once I accidentally used too much red pepper. That made for an interesting dinner and one which we couldn’t share scraps with our Chihuahuas.
Kelly
This tenderloin recipe is in my regular rotation. It’s so delicious
Barbara Krew-Connolly
Anxious to try this, maybe next Sunday..
Karen
Very tender- first time with my air fryer and a big success-tasty too will make again!
Kay
Love it! Only thing is little bit salty for us. So we will reduce salt next time when i cook it.
Oh, since we couldn’t finish it yesterday and it looks so dry today from the leftover, i tried to use microwave to heat it and it turned so dry..:( what should i do for next time if ibcant finish it?
Nina
ALWAYS reheat leftovers in the air fryer! Food tastes like it was just made. The microwave will ruin just about everything
Carolyn Cohen
Best damn air fryer pork tenderloin!
Gabriel Gilmour
This is delicious!! Just made it and the pork is so tender and juicy!! Thanks for the recipe.
Andrew
Made this for dinner. Came out excellent. Was super juicy with lots of flavor. Thank you for the recipe.