Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin
This easy recipe for air fryer pork tenderloin shows you how to cook tenderloin pork in your air fryer. It is very easy and quicker than cooking in the oven, as well as being a more energy-efficient way to cook.
Pork tenderloin in air fryer
Pork tenderloin, or pork fillet, is a tender cut of meat from a pig. The tenderloin should be very lean, but you may find some fat or silverskin on the tenderloin, which you should trim off before cooking.
In many of my other tenderloin recipes (links at the end of this blog post), I cook the tenderloin in the oven. Often I do this because I may be cooking baked potatoes at the same time in the same oven, so it is just easier to use the same oven and save energy.
However, I have recently discovered that my newly acquired air fryer is a great tool for cooking tenderloin. Not only is it quicker than cooking in the oven, but it also gives it a nice crispy outside, whilst keeping the inside moist and tender.
And if you use a nice marinade mixture, like the one in this recipe, it will char nicely on the outside and give you a super tasty glaze.
I used a small 3 Qt Nuwave air fryer that, even though it is quite small, was big enough for me to cook the tenderloin without having to cut it to make it smaller. I did have to bend it into the basket though a little.
Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin Cooking time
The trick to using an air fryer is to get the cooking times right. We do not like to eat pink pork meat in our household, so we tend to cook pork a bit longer than some other people might do. The USDA now recommends that heating pork to an internal temperature of about 63C (145F) is sufficient to make it safe to eat.
However, you may find at this temperature it is still a little pink and a bit too moist. [The USDA did recently reduce this temperature from the former recommendation of 71C (160F)].
As we do not like to eat pink pork meat I cook the meat to about 68C (155F). For the 500g tenderloin I cooked in these photographs this took me about 35 minutes at 200C in our air fryer. But then as normal kitchen ovens vary, I imagine that air fryers also have some variation between them.
That is why I recommend cooking until you are happy with the result. You may need to practice in your own air fryer to get it right. Just make sure you check enough whilst cooking the first one you try, either with a thermometer or by cutting into the meat.
Risks of cooking pork
Be aware that if you do not cook long enough, you may be risking food poisoning in the form of Trichinosis, if the pork is undercooked. And also if you overcook the meat it may become dry or even burnt. So it is worth putting in the extra effort the first time to get it just right, and to learn your own airfryer. It is, after all, delicious meat to eat when cooked properly.
I hope you manage to create a perfectly cooked tenderloin in your air fryer. If you do try this recipe, then please let me know how you get on in the comments section below.
How to air fry pork tenderloin
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Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin
This easy recipe shows you how to cook the perfect pork tenderloin in your air fryer, with a crispy outside and a lovely tender inside.
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin
For the glaze
- 2 tbsp dark soft brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tsp paprika
- 0.25 tsp salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 0.5 tsp garlic powder
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Frank's Red Hot sauce
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients (without the pork) together in a small bowl with a fork, until smooth.
- Prepare the pork by cutting off any white pieces of fat or sinew that may be present.
- Baste the pork on all sides in the glaze mixture.
- Place the pork in the air fryer and cook at 200C for anywhere between 25 and 38 minutes, depending on the size of the pork and how you like to eat it. (At 25 minutes the pork may still be a little bit pink and quite moist. The USDA says pork should be cooked to 63C for it to be safe). We do not like to eat pink pork so I cooked the tenderloin in these photos for 35 minutes).
- Check the pork every 10 minutes to make sure you do not burn it, and turn it around every 10 minutes to make sure it is equally cooked on all sides.
- If you are not sure if it is cooked, then either measure the temperature (between 63C and 68C) or cut into the thickest part to see what it looks like.
Notes
Leave the pork to rest for 3-5 minutes before carving and serving. Slice the pork into air fryer pork tenderloin medallions.
Serve with some potatoes and greens (here I used some sugar snaps and baby potatoes, boiled in the same pan).
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 3 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 80Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 412mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 1gSugar: 7gProtein: 8g
This nutrition information was automatically calculated by Nutritionix, but may not be 100% accurate.
Other pork air fryer recipes:
Pork in the Instant Pot:
Other pork dishes:
Esperanza
Monday 23rd of August 2021
I put this on my rotisserie for 40 minutes at 220 degrees and it was not cooked all the way through. I added another 20 minutes at 320 and that did the trick. Maybe it depends on your air fryer.
Gav
Monday 23rd of August 2021
Your air fryer goes up to 320C?!! Or were you cooking in Fahrenheit?
Linda
Tuesday 25th of May 2021
Do you just cook this on the mesh tray for the nuwave brio
Gav
Tuesday 25th of May 2021
Yes. I had to squeeze it in though as I have a fairly small air fryer.
Bill
Thursday 22nd of April 2021
DELICIOUS glaze. I substiTuted 1/2 brown suGar with maple syrup. Cooked 1 tenderloin @ 390f for 12 mins. Got to 145F.