Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin
This easy recipe for Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin shows you exactly what cooking time and temperature you need to make a tender pork loin in your air fryer. It can be made in any air fryer or even the Ninja Foodi. A great protein for weeknight dinners that takes 30 minutes or less to cook.
Did you know, you can cook a pork tenderloin in the Air Fryer? The air fryer is a small version of a convection oven that circulates dry heat around the object you’re cooking. You can air fry small proteins like bacon or you can air fry and entire pork tenderloin.
Popular air fryer brands to make this recipe include: Ninja Foodi, Philips, Nuwave, GoWise, Chefman, Cuisinart
🐖 Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pork Tenderloin: You’ll need at least a 1lb raw pork tenderloin to make this recipe. It can be found in any grocery store and is budget friendly.
- Your Favorite Seasoning: Scroll down to find a homemade ranch seasoning recipe, but feel free to use a packet or change it up by adding whatver seasonings you like.
- Avocado Oil or Olive Oil: This will help the pork tenderloin brown up nicely on the outside while staying tender on the inside.
- Air Fryer: I used my Ninja Foodi all in one for this recipe but feel free to use whatever air fryer you have.
🥣 How To Air Fry Pork Tenderloin
1️⃣ Remove pork tenderloin from fridge and pat down pork tenderloin with paper towel to make sure all excess moisture is removed so that seasoning can stick to it.
2️⃣ Rub 2 tsp Avocado oil onto dry pork tenderloin then rub 2 tbsp ranch seasoning (or your favorite seasoning) evenly onto the tenderloin.
3️⃣ Place back in fridge to marinate for 30 minutes up to 24 hours.
4️⃣ Remove marinated pork tenderloin from fridge and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
5️⃣ Place in Air Fryer Basket and cover the top loosely with foil to prevent it from burning
6️⃣ Air Fry for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
7️⃣ Remove foil and Air Fry for 3-5 minutes to brown the outside.
8️⃣ Pork tenderloin is cooked for about 20 minutes total depending on size (see blog post for additional cooking times) or when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
9️⃣ Let rest under foil for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
⏲ Best Time & Temperature To Air Fry Pork Tenderloin
These air fryer pork tenderloin cooking times and temperatures are estimates for common sizes. Please remember that all air fryers are different and it’s up to you to make sure your pork tenderloin is cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a kitchen thermometer to be safe.
1lb Pork Tenderloin – 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes
1.5 lb Pork Tenderloin – 400 degrees for 18- 20 minutes
2 lb Pork Tenderloin – 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes
🍽️ How To Serve Air Fryer Pork Loin
This recipe uses a homemade ranch seasoning blend. See recipe below idea list!
- Wrap it in bacon
- Teriyaki Marinade
- Curry Spice
- Garlic & Herb
- BBQ Sauce
- Buffalo Sauce
- Pesto
- Honey Mustard Glaze
- Greek Seasoning
- Italian Seasoning
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Homemade Ranch Seasoning Blend
This ranch seasoning is made without buttermilk powder and is dairy free making it a perfect addition to any vegan, paleo, keto or Whole30 diet.
- ¼ cup Dried Parsley
- 1 tsp Dried Dill
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Minced Onion
- 1 tbsp Dried Chives
- 1 tsp Mustard Powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
Ninja Foodi Pork Tenderloin
You can make your pork tenderloin straight in your Ninja Foodi or Ninja Foodi Grill! It is an all in one pressure cooker and air fryer that has an endless variety of ways to cook healthy meals fast.
You could use the air fryer tender crisp setting or the pressure cooker setting to make a delicious pork loin. Both instructions are included below!
Keto & Whole30 Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin is perfect for Whole30 and a Keto diet because it is a great protein source that can be marinated with seasonings that are real food based and low in carbs.
Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
Have an instant pot instead and want to pressure cook pork tenderloin?
1️⃣ Add some oil to the bottom of your instant pot and use the saute function to brown your marinated pork tenderloin on all sides.
2️⃣ Add in 1 cup of water or stock to the instant pot and cook on manual HIGH pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick or manual release of the pressure cooker.
3️⃣ In the ninja foodi, you could remove the liquid, add the air fryer basket and air fry the pork tenderloin for a few minutes to brown it to your desired level.
Note: these instructions are an estimate for a 1.5 lb pork tenderloin
👩🏻🍳 Chef’s Tips & FAQ
The air fryer can only cook small frozen items safely, otherwise the air fryer may build up too much moisture and start smoking. It’s better to use the instant pot to cook frozen meat and then transfer to the air fryer. This is all possible in one machine with the Ninja Foodi system. Make sure you let the pork sit out at room temperature for about 15 minutes before placing in the air fryer. This will keep the meat from being tough so it can stay juicy and tender.
Since pork tenderloin will stay good in the fridge for up to 5 days, you may have leftovers. The best way to reheat pork tenderloin is to add it to a pan with some vegetable stock as pork tends to dry out quickly. Simply heat up some vegetable stock and add pieces of pork tenderloin and simmer over medium low heat until pork tenderloin is warmed through. You can also re-heat in the microwave.
Cooked pork tenderloin can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Be aware that it may need to be reheated with some broth as it could lose moisture in the freezer.
Pork tenderloin can be marinated anywhere from 3o minutes up to overnight for 24 hours.
Pork Tenderloin is a small, thin and tender piece of pork underneath the backbone of the pig that cooks very quickly.
Pork Loin is a larger cut of pork that has a fat cap on top and can be cut into various sized pork chops or steak type shapes.
Each come from the same animal but have different textures and fat content and therefore have different cooking times!
You can air fry breaded pork tenderloin but understand that it has a higher risk of burning as it will need to be in the air fryer longer than a typical thinner breaded pork chop would be. To Air Fry Pork Tenderloin that is breaded, cover the top with foil for most of the cooking time. Then for the last 5-8 minutes uncover the pork and continue to cook until pork is cooked through and breading is brown and crispy but not burnt.
Check Out These Air Fryer Ninja Foodi Recipes:
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Air Fryer Bacon
- Air Fryer Chicken Legs
- Air Fryer Burgers
- Air Fryer Frozen Turkey Burgers
- Keto Air Fryer Sausage Balls
- Air Fryer Crispy Roasted Potatoes
- Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken
- Air Fryer Frozen Soft Pretzel
- Air Fryer Frozen Sweet Potato Fries
- Air Fryer Frozen Breakfast Sausage
- Air Fryer Turkey Burgers
Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 pound Pork Tenderloin
- 2 tbsp Homemade Ranch Seasoning or 1 Ranch Seasoning Packet
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 tsp Avocado Oil
HOMEMADE RANCH SEASONING
- ¼ cup Dried Parsley
- 1 tsp Dried Dill
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Minced Onion
- 1 tbsp Dried Chives
- 1 tsp Mustard Powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for ranch seasoning and add to a jar or spice container.
- Remove pork tenderloin from fridge and pat down pork tenderloin with paper towel to make sure all excess moisture is removed so that seasoning can stick to it.
- Rub 2 tsp Avocado oil onto dry pork tenderloin then rub 2 tbsp ranch seasoning (or ranch seasoning packet) evenly onto the tenderloin.
- Place back in fridge to marinate for 30 minutes up to 24 hours.
- Remove marinated pork tenderloin from fridge and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Place in Air Fryer Basket and cover the top loosely with foil to prevent it from burning.
- Air Fry for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Remove foil and Air Fry for 3-5 minutes to brown the outside.
- Pork tenderloin is cooked for about 20 minutes total depending on size (see blog post for additional cooking times) or when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Let rest under foil for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
