Frozen Pork Chops In Air Fryer - The Typical Mom

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Frozen Pork Chops in Air Fryer

By Justine

5 from 6 votes

Updated Jan 11, 2026

Published Jun 25, 2023

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Raw and cooked frozen pork chops in an air fryer basket with text: Air Fryer Frozen Pork Chops.

Frozen pork chops in air fryer can come out tender and juicy in no time! Use our dry rub so they have bold flavors with every single bite. Don’t worry if you forgot to defrost dinner, this tip will save the day for sure!

Air Fryer Frozen Boneless Pork Chops

When I have my stuff together my family’s favorite meal are the best pork chops cooked in the oven. BUT when schedules get hectic I need something FAST.

I have had those moments way too often and have shared a slew of tips lately like how to cook frozen steak in an air fryer and so on. They’re lifesavers so nobody knows I had an “oopsie day” at all.

Tips: My Favorite models are the Cosori or making Ninja Foodi recipes with the lid that is attached.

It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. This is how to preheat air fryer first before adding your food so it becomes as crispy as possible. For best results, here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.

A close-up photo of a hand pulling out the basket of an open air fryer on a light-colored surface. The interior of the air fryer basket is empty and features a mesh design, perfect for cooking your favorite dishes like bang bang shrimp. The edge of the air fryer has a latch mechanism for securing the basket.

Have you looked into the fridge and noticed it was bare before? I’m sure it’s happened a time or two, or a dozen….. You thought you put your frozen pork in the fridge the night before but NOOooooo.

And then you find them still in the freezer stuck together and rock hard like this, right?? Yep, I’ve been there. That is why I needed to figure out how to cook frozen meat, and share it with you.

Whether you buy bone in or boneless pork chops it doesn’t affect the cook time too much. The thickness will vary it slightly of course but this will get you started.

Ingredient Notes

You should choose pieces that are “normal” sizes, medium. I prefer boneless pork chops if at all possible. It is best to separate from one another initially but if not possible I explain how to do so midway thru the cooking process below.

Dry Rub

We’re kinda obsessed with creating the best steak dry rub ever because they’re so versatile and make everything taste amazing. We have one for steak, air fryer chicken wings, a salmon dry rub, and now this one for pork.

The key to making this work if your meat isn’t damp is to cook it for just 5 minutes. Then open your basket, separate them if they’re stuck together with ice, and sprinkle on your seasonings.

Don’t want to bother with this step? NO problem, just sprinkle on salt and pepper instead. I suggest you try it though because it takes them from good to WOW.

The reason this works so well is that your basket has holes at the bottom. As the meat defrosts it will emit some water which you really don’t want them to sit in. If they were on a sheet pan this would be an issue.

With it draining away you can still get a bit of crisp on the outside while getting juicy pork chops in the center which is what you’ll want.

How Long to Cook Frozen Pork Chops in Air Fryer

In the oven they take upwards of 40 minutes but now with hot circulating air in a Ninja Foodi, Cosori or any other brand of air fryer it’s closer to 20 minutes flat from rock hard to perfectly juicy tender.

Believe it or not you can even cook air fryer frozen chicken wings and frozen chicken breasts in air fryer now too! You should really try them all so you can be a believer too.

How do you know when pork chops are done?

It is important whether they’re frozen or defrosted to begin with is to cook until they reach a safe internal temperature of 145 degrees F. You can also tell that they are done (if you don’t have a meat thermometer) because the juices will run clear and there won’t be any opaque left in the center.

Tips

As I said, time will vary slightly depending on how thick your pieces are. I typically don’t cook 2 inch thick pork chops this way because it is hard to get them done properly in the center without drying them out a bit.

I would choose middle of the road as far as thickness goes, for How Long to Cook Thin Pork Chops I would decrease to half and check.

If they are stuck together cook for about 5 minutes and then open your basket and separate pieces. Spray meat with olive oil spray and sprinkle dry rub on the top at this time.

When done allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing to maintain juiciness. You want to do this with any pork chop recipe to maintain it’s juiciness. If your meat is defrosted, try our air fryer pork chops or pork steak in air fryer recipes. Add the bacon too y’all!

5 from 6 votes

Air Fryer Frozen Pork Chops Recipe

By Justine Frozen pork chops in air fryer can come out tender and juicy in no time! Use our dry rub so they have bold flavors with every single bite. Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 18 minutes Servings: 4 Save RecipeSaved Recipe Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

1 air fryer

Ingredients 1x2x3x

▢ 4 medium pork chops, frozen

Dry Rub

▢ 1 tsp paprika
▢ 1 tsp brown sugar
▢ 1/2 tsp onion powder
▢ 1/2 tsp garlic powder
▢ 1/2 tsp salt
▢ 1/4 tsp pepper
▢ 1/8 tsp cayenne , optional

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Instructions

MIx together dry rub ingredients in a bowl.
Spray inside of air fryer basket with non stick spray, lay frozen chops inside. Cook at 380 degrees F for 5 minutes.
Open basket and separate them if they are stuck together. Spray meat with olive oil spray and sprinkle dry rub on the top.
Close basket and continue cooking at 380 F for 13-15 minutes or until middle is no longer pink. (timing will vary depending on thickness of meat and if you have bone in or not, these were boneless) Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing to maintain juiciness.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 2oz, Calories: 215kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 90mg, Sodium: 356mg, Potassium: 521mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 252IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main CourseCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

When these babies are air fried they’ll get a really nice texture on the outside. NO need to deep fry pork chops to get it crispy anymore. You may never bake or grill them again after this. We’ve done so many things in this little kitchen appliance. Others to try too are;

Air fryer pork loin, oh yes that is possible too! If you want to know how to cook Instant Pot frozen pork roast that turns out amazing as well.

You can even make frozen salmon in air fryer if you want seafood some night. Of course you should try bacon in the air fryer for breakfast sometime too. You can even make an air fryer ham for the holidays if there are only a few of you at home.

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About Justine

Justine is the creative mind behind The Typical Mom and The Typical Family on YouTube. She began blogging about easy recipes, budget friendly activities for kids, and fun family travel destinations in September 2012.

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5 from 6 votes (2 ratings without comment)

13 Comments

I used your cooking instructions but doused them in olive oil blended with garlic and Montreal spice.. 👌
Reply
Love how well the air fryer cooks from frozen. I use it all the time for chicken but now will be doing the same for pork chops!
Reply
Came out great! So easy! Will make again.
Reply
This worked great! I adjusted the time as I had thick bone-in pork chops. I cooked them for 19 min. Thank you!
Reply
1. Yeah!!
  Reply
This is my go-to for pork chops! thanks so much 🙂
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Yammer yammer yammer. Jeeze. Just tell me how long, gabby.
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1. @Penny McTavis, or you could just figure it out yourself. Someone took quite a bit of time to put this page and all the literature together. Don’t be a bitch.
  Reply
2. Penny and Corey, I did see a time 5 minutes at first, then an additional 13 minutes or so. Also, Corey, a little bit of kindness goes a long way.
  Reply
  1. Kathy,
    
    I agree 100% that kindness goes a long way….However, I think Penny’s comments were insensitive and rude, so nothing wrong with Corey calling her out on it.
3. @Penny McTavis, how Rude !
  Reply
4. @Penny McTavis, wow, that’s not nice.
  Reply
5. @Penny McTavis, don’t you know how to click on “jump to recipe”? It’s very simple to do.
  Reply

Hi, I'm Justine!

Welcome to The Typical Mom blog where we share easy Instant Pot recipes, use our Ninja Foodi, Crockpot and air fryer daily, and share fun family travel destinations!

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