These succulent air fryer lamb chops are ready in less than 10 minutes; they are perfect for weeknight dinners or elegant meals for guests.
Making air fryer lamb chops is probably the fastest way of cooking a cut of lamb. Once you’ve marinated the meat, it will take minutes to get dinner ready. And you don’t even have to marinate the chops; they will be super delicious without the long marinating time.
If you love your kitchen gadget as much as we do, check out all our Air Fryer Recipes, some of them contain meat or fish like Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs, Air Fryer Frozen Calamari, or the Air Fryer Frozen Fish Sticks.
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Why use the air fryer for lamb chops?
- The best thing is: The mess is minimal; you will only have to clean the air fryer basket. If using a pan, you will have to clean the whole stovetop as there will be a lot of splattering.
- Delicious: Succulent, tender meat with a nice, thin crust.
- Quick: It takes minutes to cook dinner, about 10.
- The simple marinade is made with just a few pantry ingredients.
Recipe ingredients
Lamb chops
- Cut from a rack of lamb. You can purchase a whole rack and cut the individual chops yourself or buy a pre-cut rack.
- You can also buy lamb shoulder chops, the ones without the long bone sticking out. Marinade and cook the same way; adjust the cooking time slightly if thicker (they are usually slightly thicker).
Ingredients for the herb marinade:
- Olive oil, dried rosemary, dried thyme, dried oregano, fresh garlic, fine sea salt or Kosher salt, and black pepper.
- You can use fresh herbs instead of dried ones; fresh rosemary is particularly lovely.
Step-by-step instructions
Marinade:
- If the layer of fat is very thick, cut a bit of it off.
- Mix olive oil, dried herbs, grated garlic, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl.
- Marinating the lamb cutlets is entirely optional; the air fryer lamb chops will taste delicious no matter what. However, if you have one or two spare hours, use them to marinate the meat; that simple process will bring them to the next level.
- Otherwise, mix the ingredients needed for the marinade and turn the pieces into the mixture before placing them into the basket (1).
- Preheat the air fryer if necessary (according to its instructions).
- Coat the chops with the marinade and place them in the air fryer in a single layer (2).
- Cook for 3 minutes.
- Flip the pieces using tongs and cook for another 3 minutes or until done to your liking (3).
- Rest the meat for 3 minutes before serving; the internal temperature will rise during the resting time (check the table below).
Expert Tips
The easiest way to marinade the lamb meat: place the pieces in a glass or ceramic (not metal) baking dish, pour the marinade on top, and turn the chops into it to coat it all over. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. Bring the lamb rib chops to room temperature before cooking.
Don’t overcook the meat; I’ve seen many recipes instructing you to cook the lamb chops for 10 to 15 minutes; that is a very long time. I am not sure if those chops are giant or not, but as far as I am concerned, I have never had a lamb rib chop weighing more than 2.5-2.8 oz (70-80 g).
If you are cooking chops cut from the shoulder, increase the cooking time slightly (they are thicker) and check if the meat is safely cooked with a meat thermometer.
- Medium-rare: 130°F/55°C; after resting 140°F/60°C
- Medium: 150°F/65°C; after resting 160°F/71°C
- Well-done: 160°F/71°C; after resting 170°F/77°C
I can fit 8 chops into my air fryer, and they will serve 2 people. If you want to cook more, do it in batches.
You can use the same herb garlic marinade for pork chops.
Recipe FAQ
400°F (200°C). This will give the meat a nice crust while remaining juicy on the inside.
Use whatever you like, either a store-bought spice mix or a mixture of your own. I like marinating lamb with cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and a pinch of cinnamon. Adding one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or a tiny splash of balsamic vinegar and a little bit of brown sugar is also lovely.
Let the meat rest for about 3 minutes, then serve immediately. If they sit for too long, the fat will congeal, which is not pleasant.
Refrigerate the cooked lamb chops in an airtight container for 1-2 days and reheat before serving.
What to serve with?
Try the air-fried lamb chops with mint pesto; they are delicious. You can also serve them with another dip like Greek yogurt dip, chili dip, etc.
Serve them with potatoes (mashed, baked, air-fried, boiled), couscous or bulgur, or a nice rice pilaf.
Make a simple green salad on the side or serve them with roasted or steamed vegetables, like broccoli, peas, green beans, and Brussels sprouts.
We compiled a collection of side dishes that pair well with lamb chops.
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📖 Recipe
Quick Air Fryer Lamb Chops
Equipment
- Air fryer
Ingredients
- 8 lamb chops Notes 1, 2
- 2 tablespoons olive oil Note 3
- 1 large garlic clove
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C).
- If the layer of fat is very thick, cut a bit of it off.
- Make the marinade in the meantime: Mix olive oil, dried herbs, grated garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Turn the lamb chops into the mixture to coat all over and place them in the air fryer basket in a single layer (Note 3).
- Cook for 3 minutes.
- Flip the pieces using tongs and cook for another 3 minutes or until done to your liking.
- Rest the meat for 3 minutes before serving; the internal temperature will rise during the resting time (Note 4).
Notes
- Cut from a rack of lamb. You can buy a whole rack and cut the chops yourself or use pre-cut lamb chops. One chop weighs between 2.5-2.8 oz (70-80 g). If you want to cook more, do that in batches.
- If you are cooking chops cut from the shoulder, increase the cooking time slightly (they are thicker) and check if the meat is safely cooked with a meat thermometer.
- You can marinate the meat 1 for up to 12 hours. However, the marinating time is optional.
- Internal temperature (check with a meat thermometer):
- Medium-rare: 130°F/55°C; after resting 140°F/60°C
- Medium: 150°F/65°C; after resting 160°F/71°C
- Well-done: 160°F/71°C; after resting 170°F/77°C
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