This delicious pork belly cooks beautifully in the air fryer and is so easy to get perfect.
By the time the pork belly is ready, it will have a delicious crackling on top of the beautifully tender meat. To top off the pork belly, we drizzle it with an amazing glaze that is so easy to make.
Another recipe that I reckon you will love is the slow-cooked pork belly. After you have slow-cooked the meat, you can finish it in the air fryer to achieve that lovely crispy skin.
The pork belly should be enough to feed roughly four to six people. I do highly recommend that you make some side dishes to go with the pork. You can also try cooking a bigger piece of pork, but your air fryer may not be big enough.
I love the leftovers as they make for a great lunch or dinner the next day. I simply reheat the leftovers in the microwave and serve with the glaze. The leftover meat should last for three days in the refrigerator or three months in the freezer.
Pork Belly Serving Ideas
My favorite way to serve pork belly is on top of some freshly cooked steamed rice and the delicious soy glaze drizzled over the top. You may want to make some cauliflower rice instead of regular steamed rice for something a little healthier.
Steamed greens or stir-fried vegetables are the perfect side dishes. I love to do a simple stir fry combination of baby corn, sweet peas, bell peppers, broccoli, and some sliced carrot. It is an excellent combination and will not take too long to make.
If you have a bit of extra time, then I highly recommend making some creamy cabbage. It is a simple dish and consists of evaporated milk, cream, onion, cabbage, and chicken stock. You can also cook the cabbage in the slow cooker.
How to Personalize the Recipe
We only cover the meat in the seasoning as it will go a darkish color. If you want even more flavor on the skin, you can also rub the seasoning into it. Remember, it will make it go a much darker color.
The glaze is not super important, so you can give it a miss if you want to make the dish slightly healthier. I find the pork belly is so delicious you do not need anything extra on it.
You can cut the pork into slices rather than cooking it as one big piece. You will need to reduce the cooking time by half to account for the smaller pieces. Smaller pieces are the perfect tweak if you need this dish cooked fast.
Parboiling the pork belly for ten minutes can help produce a better result. The water will be absorbed by the meat, helping prevent it from drying out. It also softens the skin, so it is easier to cut or poke through. You may want to reduce the cooking time by ten to twenty minutes in the air fryer.
Below is the recipe for cooking this pork belly in the air fryer. If you have any feedback, please do not hesitate to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
Air Fryer Pork Belly Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) pork belly
- 2 tsp salt
Seasoning
- 2 tsp brown Sugar (Amazon)
- 1 tsp five spice
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp pepper
Soy Glaze
- 2 tsp ginger
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 4 Tbsp brown sugar (Amazon)
- 6 Tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp chili flakes
Instructions
- Using paper towel, pat the pork belly dry.
- Score the top of the pork belly in a criss-cross pattern. Rub the salt into the top of the pork belly.
- Combine the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl.
- Rub the seasoning into the bottom meat part of the pork belly.
- Preheat the air fryer to 200°C (390 °F).
- Place the pork belly into the air fryer basket and bake for 30 minutes.
- Lower the temperature to 180°C (350 °F) and bake for 30 minutes longer.
- Meanwhile, in a pot, mix the glaze ingredients and bring them to a boil.
- Once the top of the pork belly is crispy and cooked, slice into serving size pieces and pour the glaze over the top.
- Serve & Enjoy.
Recipe Tips
- If you have a larger piece of meat than the recipe recommends, you may need to cook the meat for longer. Using a meat thermometer will help ensure you cook the pork belly correctly. I recommend getting the internal temperature to roughly 75°C (170°F).
- I recommend using a sharp knife to cut the pork belly. Placing the crackling face down on the chopping board will help prevent squashing the meat as you cut through it.
- You can leave the chili out of the glaze if you do not like your food to be spicy.
- I am using a 7.2L (6.6 qt) air fryer, so you may need to cut your pork belly in half to make it fit into your air fryer. A smaller air fryer might also cook your meat faster.
Equipment I use
I use a 7.2L (6.6 qt) Air Fryer (Amazon | Walmart) for all the Air Fryer recipes that I have on this website. If you have a different-sized air fryer, you may need to adjust the recipe’s quantities and timings.
Nutrition Information
The information above is an estimate generated by an online nutrition calculator.
Posted on , under Air Fryer, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Pork.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Below are a few of my favorite air fryer recipes that are worth giving a try.
Cooking chicken tenders in the air fryer works surprisingly well. They are super easy to make and are certainly delicious. I love serving the tenders with some BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, and steak fries.
I have also got to recommend giving our air fryer pork chops a try. Our homemade seasoning takes the pork’s flavors to the next level. I highly recommend making some delicious side dishes to go alongside the pork chops.
I hope that you love this air fryer pork belly as it cooked beautifully for me. If you want to leave your thoughts on this recipe, please leave a comment below.
This is my second time preparing this dish in the air fryer, my family truly loves it, this time instead of brown sugar I used a maple sugar/BBQ spice blend , it smells amazing
Do you rest the pork belly when cooked?
I tried cooking pork belly in my air fryer but got afraid because it was bursting and oil was splatting inside. What will I do?
Hi Josie,
Pork belly will likely always splatter a bit. There is not a huge amount you can do to stop it.
Would covering the food with paper towel help?
I would worry about the paper towel going up in flames. Maybe aluminum foil instead, but you may not get the crackling on top of the pork belly.