How to Cook a Boneless Pork Chop in the Air Fryer

If you're new to the world of air fryers (and/or skeptical that you even need another countertop cooking device), let us reassure you: The air fryer is actually an impressively versatile kitchen tool. It's possible, though, that the phrase "air fry" is a bit misleading. 

That's because it cooks food by blowing very hot air over it, the same way a convection oven does. (In fact, the air fryer is essentially an affordable countertop convection oven.) The resulting food is less fried than roasted, albeit roasted very fast. That makes the air fryer ideal for when you want to cook something quickly but would rather it end up crispy as opposed to soggy, the way a microwave tends to do. (Here are 8 things we think you should never microwave.) 

Case in point: Boneless pork chops. Though these standard-bearers of weeknight ease can be quickly pan-seared, the process often involves a lot of cooking oil and the cleanup that comes with it. If you've ever tried to cook raw meat in the microwave, however, the gray, unappetizing results were something you only needed to witness once to realize it doesn't work.

Enter the air fryer: It heats to 400°F in just 3-4 minutes (compared to 10 or 15 for an oven), and the small cooking space and air movement ensures that your chops will cook evenly and quickly. And though they won't quite get the char that a pan sear might offer, they end up as tender and juicy as you could want, with enough crisp on the outside to be perfectly appetizing. We recommend coating them with your favorite spice rub. It adds a lot of flavor and helps give the chops a nice crust.