Post was Updated on April 29, 2022
Are you looking for boneless spinach stuffed pork chops in the air fryer in an Italian style? You found the right recipe. These boneless pork chops are stuffed with a mixture of cream cheese and spinach that are making the meat super moist and juicy inside and coated in a layer of breadcrumbs that give a nice golden color and a crunchy texture on the outside.
As boneless pork chops usually have less fat than other parts of the pork, if we will cook the meat as is, the end result may be a little drier than we wanted.
To avoid that, and to get super juicy meat on the inside, we will stuff it with an Italian-style mix of spinach and cream cheese. On the exterior, we will coat the pork chops with breadcrumbs.
This will get us an interesting combination of textures: crunchy on the outside and super juicy meat on the inside.
This recipe is ideal for any occasion, even for some special ones because the spinach stuffed pork chops cooked in the air fryer will get a nice looking and rich golden color that will look stunning on every table.
Did I mention that it will take us only 30 minutes to make it? This is why I’m in love with my air fryer and why all the latest recipes on the blog are only cooked in the air fryer. I make even the desserts in the air fryer. This is how much I love it.
I can prepare something delicious in the air fryer in the shortest time and for the rest of the evening stay with my family and friends. I don’t need to sit for a whole day in the kitchen.
Let’s get started.
🤩 What You Will Find in This Post?
- Why you should use frozen spinach instead of fresh one?
- How to get a more crispy texture on the outside?
- Fun ideas for stuffing that you can and should try.
- How to fill more stuffing inside?
👩🍳 How to Make the Stuffed Italian Pork Chops in the Air Fryer?
- Prepare the stuffing mixture.
- With a small knife, make a small pockets inside of the meat.
- Fill the meat with the mixture and season with salt and pepper.
- Roll over the meat in a beaten egg then in breadcrumbs.
- Cook the boneless pork chops in the preheated air fryer for 20 minutes at 380°F.
Quick Note: If you need a more detailed step and want to find the best tips read further.
🥰 Why You Will Love This Recipe?
- This recipe will help you to make the pork chops juicy. Say stop to extra dry low-fat meat.
- We’ll use simple ingredients, or if you can’t find something, you can easily substitute them with some alternatives or to omit them all together.
- You will get a crispy crust without using a ton of oil.
- Because we use lean meat and we will not fry it on the pan, this recipe is a great option even if you are on a specific diet.
🏆 Expert Tips. What to pay attention on?
- Make holes in the meat with a small knife. Strive to make the hole as small as possible on the outside, and to make a pocket as spacious as possible on the inside without cuttings the walls of the meat. By making small hole in the exterior, we will keep all the stuffing inside.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket. Leave some space between the pork chops to ensure that they will cook evenly on all sides.
- Let the pork chops to rest of 5-7 minutes before serving.
🥘 Ingredients and Substitutes
- Pork Chops. Choose thicker pork chops. They will allow you to fill the meat with a larger amount of stuffing and as a result, the meat will be juicier. Usually, you have to chose between the Blade Chops, which are the fattiest part from the pork shoulder, or Rib Chops which comes below from our most loved part, pork loins. I picked the the boneless pork chops with this recipe because I was limited on time and I needed it to serve quicker on the plate. The benefit of cooking the boneless pork chops is that it will cook quicker, it looks better on the plate with our spinach stuffing mixture and it it easier to eat. Also, we can make a nicer cut into the meat and to fill it with the spinach mixture. If we will use the bone-in pork chops, we can’t do that, because we have the bones in the center of the meat. The downside of cooking the bonless pork chops in comparison with bone-in pork chops is that with boneless pork chops if you will not check regulary the inner meat temperature you can dry the meat. If you want to go safe and for your the most important part is the taste of the dish, then pick the bone-in pork chops.
- Spinach. I opted for the frozen spinach because it is faster to cook with it than with the fresh one. But if you have fresh spinach, chop it finely, and toss in a pan with a little oil until all the excess liquid comes out of it.
- Cream Cheese. You can also use and other soft cheeses. As an example, the feta or mascarpone cheese will fit perfectly.
- Breadcrumbs. If you’re trying to avoid bread, use panko instead.
- Egg.
- Salt and pepper.
Quick Note: At the bottom of this post, you will find the printable version of this recipe with all the ingredients amount.
🍳 Variations
Another good variation for the boneless pork chops stuffing mixture is to cook some finely chopped mushrooms with onions and to fill the meat with them. Or you can use a mixture of breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley, and sun-dried tomatoes as a stuffing mixture.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
As I said, for a balanced dinner, serve the spinach stuffed pork chops with a salad of fresh vegetables or next to some cooked vegetables such as:
Air Fryer Cauliflower Steak With Panko and Cheese
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chunks
Air Fryer Frozen Green Beans
Delicious Frozen Asparagus in Air Fryer
👩🍳 Directions
First of all, we need to prepare our stuffing mixture for the boneless pork chops.
Mix the spinach with cream cheese or other soft cheese you prefer.
After we have the stuffing mixture for the meat ready, it’s time to make some holes in the meat.
Use a small knife and make a pocket in the meat in which you will put as much stuffing mixture as possible.
Season the meat with salt and pepper and set it aside for a few minutes until we prepare the ingredients for the next stage.
Take 2 deep plates.
In the first one, beat an egg with a pinch of salt. On the second plate, pour in it the breadcrumbs.
After that, take the pieces of meat and roll them on the first plate with the beaten egg until you will make sure that the pork chops are well covered with the beaten egg on all sides. We are making this to stick the breadcrumbs to the meat.
Right after that, repeat the process on the second plate with the breadcrumbs.
Pro Tip: If you prefer a thicker and crispier crust, then repeat the last two steps twice.
Preheat the air fryer, sprinkle the tray with a little oil and put the pieces of meat in it.
Pro Tip: Again, for an even crispier crust, I will recommend sprinkling the pieces of meat with a little oil. This will make them even crispier.
Cook the meat for 20 minutes at 380°F (190°C).
Quick Tip: The cooking timer may differ because all the air fryer models are different. They are in a variety of shapes, sizes, and power which means that also the hot air will circulate differently. Because of that, you should be with an eye on the air fryer and check the meat in the last 5 minutes and adjust the timing if is needed. Personally, in this recipe, I used the Cosori Air Fryer 5.8QT.
How to Know if the Stuffed Pork Chops Are Done?
The safest and easiest method is to use a meat thermometer for that. After 15 minutes, remove the air fryer basket and check the inner temperature of the stuffed boneless pork chops. But make sure to measure the temperature of the meat but not the temperature of the stuffing mix. The pork chops are considered safe to eat when they reach 145°F / 63°C. Also, consider inserting the inner temperature in the thickest part of the pork chops.
In the end, serve the spinach stuffed pork chops cooked in the air fryer with a salad of fresh vegetables or next to some cooked ones.
In the picture below, you can see how spacious I make the inner pocket for stuffing, and how much stuffing I managed to put in the piece of meat. As a result, the meat turned out very juicy.
Love Cooking Pork in the Air Fryer?
Consider also to give a try to these delicious pork recipes:
♻️ Make Ahead, Storage and Heating:
It depends on what you fill the pork chops with. If you will use a stuffing mixture that lasts a few hours without leaving the water, then it allows you to prepare pork chops the night before. The mixture I chose does not allow us to cook ahead because the spinach will leave the water at that time.
The stuffed meat will keep in the fridge for less time than the regular cooked meat. Because of that, I will recommend not keeping it for more than two days in the fridge.
You can freeze it raw after the step when you coated the meat in the breadcrumbs. Then arrange it on a plate and cover it well with cooking plastic film or in a tightly closed container, but make sure that the meat does not overlap because the crust will deteriorate. Then you can put it in the freezer and keep it for 3 months.
You can reheat as usual, in the microwave for one-two minutes, or in the preheated air fryer for about three-four minutes at 350°F / 175°C.
Yes. It will not look so good on the plate but you can get easier juicy meat in the end. It will require less of your attention because if you will use boneless pork chops, you risk drying the meat.
📋 Recipe Card:
Stuffed Pork Chops in Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 oz Cream Cheese
- 2 oz Spinach Frozen
- 2 pieces Pork Chops
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper or to taste
- 1/4 tsp Salt or to taste
- 1 piece Egg
- 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
- Cooking Spray
Instructions
- Mix the chopped spinach with cream cheese.2 oz Cream Cheese, 2 oz Spinach
- Using a small knife, make an inner pocket in the pieces of meat.2 pieces Pork Chops
- Fill the pocket with the stuffing mixture.
- Season the pork chops with salt and pepper.1/4 tsp Salt, 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- In a bowl, beat an egg with salt and roll over the meat through the egg.1 piece Egg
- In another bowl, put breadcrumbs in it and spread the meat well on all sides.1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
- Preheat the air fryer and cook the pork chops for about 20 minutes at 380°F (190°C).Cooking Spray
Notes
- Cooking time may differ from one air fryer model to another because of that, keep an eye on the meat in the last 5 minutes and adjust the timing if is needed.
- If you need to cook more servings, consider cooking them in a few batches for the best results. It is important to not overcrowd the air fryer basket.
- Always let the stuffed pork chops rest after cooking. The general rule is to let the meat rest for half of its cooking time.
- The cooking time from this recipe is for the preheated Cosori Air Fryer 5.8QT.
We enjoyed this very much. I made it to the recipe! Yummy!