Air Fryer Roast Pork

Forget your oven – this juicy, tender air fryer roast pork loin is ready in a fraction of the time with crispy, golden brown crackling you won’t be able to get enough of. Roasting pork in the air fryer is a great way to cook it because it is quick and effortless, so you can have roast pork any night of the week!

Why you’ll love air fryer roast pork

• It’s easy to prepare. Very simple prep means you can have a delicious juicy pork roast with minimal fuss any night of the week.
• It’s quick to cook. Air frying roast pork cooks it much more quickly than traditional oven roasting. You can have a delicious, tender pork roast in under an hour.
• The crackling is perfect. The circulating hot air cooks pork rind to crispy perfection, while keeping the inside juicy and tender.

Cooking a pork roast in the air fryer is so quick and easy; with a little simple preparation, quick cooking time, and easy clean-up, this is definitely my favorite way of roasting pork!

Pork roast

The beauty of this recipe is it can be used for any joint of pork. You can use any small pork roast. However, because of the quick roasting time, a tender cut of pork is going to be your best choice.

Boneless pork loin roast is an excellent choice. Boned and rolled, it makes a fantastically juicy and tender roast. If you want pork crackling, choose a roast that has a rind (skin).

When buying your pork roast, be sure to choose one that will fit in your air fryer. I usually find that a 2lb pork roast fits nicely in my air fryer, and is perfect for serving 4 (with some leftovers for roast pork sandwiches the next day!)

Seasoning

The recipe below uses kosher salt for seasoning. Keeping the seasoning simple when roasting pork lets the flavor of the meat really shine.

The salt is also important for getting the crackling really crispy as it helps to draw the moisture out of the skin as it cooks, so don’t skip it even if you decide to use some different flavorings.

You will need approximately one teaspoon of flaked or kosher salt per lb of pork.

If you prefer, you can add some other spices with the salt when seasoning the roast. Try flavors like:

• Fennel
• Smoked paprika
• Garlic powder and/or onion powder
• Black pepper
• Cajun seasoning
• Italian seasoning

Oil

I normally use light olive oil when roasting pork in my air fryer, but you can use any liquid cooking oil that you would usually use for roasting a cut of meat.

Choose a cooking oil with a high smoke point to prevent your air fryer from smoking during cooking. Vegetable oil or corn oil are both good choices.

How to roast pork in an air fryer

This recipe is very simple and straightforward to make, but there are a few key steps to getting perfect roast pork in the air fryer.

Step 1: Prepare the pork roast

• Pat the pork roast dry. If your pork roast has a rind or layer of fat, then you will need to cut through this with a sharp knife to make deep scores through the rind.
• Try to just cut through the pork skin or rind into the fat beneath and not into the meat, as the pork roast can lose moisture during cooking if the meat is cut. Cutting through to the meat can prevent the crackle from getting really crispy, and cause your pork to dry out during roasting.

Step 2: Season pork roast

1. Sprinkle the salt over the pork and rub it in, making sure it gets into the scores in the rind.
2. Set aside for ten minutes. The salt will draw moisture out of the pork skin, helping it to turn into perfect crunchy crackling (skip this step if your pork roast doesn’t have a rind).
3. After ten minutes, pat the pork roast dry, then drizzle with oil and rub in so that the pork roast is well covered with salt and oil.

Step 3: Roast pork in air fryer

• Preheat the air fryer to 360°F / 180°C. Then place the pork roast in the air fryer basket, and air fry for around 50 minutes (25 minutes per lb of meat) – see the section below for more details on cook times.
• When the cooking time is up, check that the pork is cooked correctly by ensuring it has reached 145°F/ 63°C in the center of the thickest part, and that the crackling is done to your liking.
• If the pork is cooked but crackling needs longer, carefully remove the crackling and place it back in the air fryer for 5-10 minutes.

Step 4: Rest the pork before serving

• Finally, remove the pork roast from the air fryer, cover it with aluminum foil and leave to rest for ten minutes before serving. This is important to allow the juices to reabsorb into the meat before you carve it.
• If you find that the crackling is too hard to cut through easily when you are carving the meat, turn the roast over and cut it crackling side down and cut with a sharp knife.

How long to cook pork roast in the air fryer

The exact cooking time will vary according to the size and shape of the cut of pork you are cooking, and will also depend on how efficient your air fryer is.

A rule of thumb you can use is to air fry a pork roast for around 25 minutes per pound (450g). So a 2 pound (900g) pork roast needs around 50 minutes.

However, the only way to be really sure that your pork roast is cooked correctly is to use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. For roast pork, it should be 145°F/ 63°C, measured in the center of the thickest part.

Getting crispy crackling

Pork crackling can be tricky to get right. The level of crispiness of crackling depends on how much moisture there is in the pork skin, and removing as much of this moisture as possible during cooking.

Air frying is a good place to start, but there are a few other steps you can take to get it as crispy as possible.

1. Remove moisture from the rind. Pat the skin dry before cooking, and also after you score the rind. The skin will only start to crisp up after all the moisture is gone, so starting with dry skin is essential.
2. Score the rind. It is really important that you only score the skin during this step, cutting through to the fat, but not into the meat.
3. Add salt and rub in. Take the time to rub the salt in properly and make sure the salt gets into the scores. Then set it aside for ten minutes. The salt will draw more moisture out of the pork skin, which you can blot away with paper towels.
4. Finally, add oil, and rub in well. This helps the skin to crisp up, and will react with the salt and the fat under the rind making the skin puff up and get really crispy.

These steps should be enough to ensure that your crackling is crispy and perfect every time, but if all else fails, you can also carefully remove the crackling once the pork has finished cooking, and crisp it up in the air fryer for 5-10 minutes while the pork roast is resting.

Air Fryer Roast Pork

Print Recipe

Forget your oven – this juicy, tender air fryer roast pork loin is ready in a fraction of the time with crispy, golden brown crackling you won’t be able to get enough of.

• Author: Natalie
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 50
• Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 lb pork roast [Note 1]
• 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Instructions

• Pat the pork roast dry. If the pork roast has a rind, score the skin with a sharp knife in a criss-cross pattern, cutting into the fat beneath, but not into the meat.
• Sprinkle salt over the skin and rub in [Note 2]. Leave the pork roast for 10 minutes to allow the salt to draw the moisture from the skin.
• Pat the pork roast dry again, then drizzle with oil and rub in.
• Preheat air fryer oven to 360°F/ 180°C.
• Place pork roast in air fryer basket, and cook for 50 minutes (25 minutes per lb of meat).
• When the cooking time is up, check that the pork is cooked to ensure it has reached 145°F/ 63°C in the center of the thickest part [Note 3].
• Remove pork roast from air fryer, cover with kitchen foil and leave to rest for ten minutes before serving [Note 4].
• Carve into slices to serve [Note 5].

Notes

1. Try boneless pork loin roast, pork shoulder blade roast, rolled roast or any other small pork roast.
2. This step is key to getting crispy crackling, so skip it if your pork roast doesn’t have a rind.
3. Use an instant read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature in the thickest part.
4. If the crackling is not quite as crisp as you would like it at this point, remove it before resting the meat, and put back into the air fryer for 5-10 minutes until crisp.
5. If you find that the crackling is too hard to cut through easily when you are carving the meat, turn the roast over and cut it crackling side down and cut with a sharp knife.