The Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich is a Midwestern favorite that has many loyal fans! Crispy breaded pork tenderloin that’s been pounded thin, fried, and sandwiched between two buns is something you’ll find on many Midwestern restaurant menus and everyone claims their recipe is the best. We’ve brought that favorite to you guys and we’re making it in the air fryer to keep dinner easy, tasty, and a bit healthier!
Our pork tenderloin sandwich is not just a sandwich—it’s an experience. A Midwestern experience, to be exact.
If you’re not from the Midwest, or have never visited, you may not be familiar with our ways. Ranch dressing covers everything. Casseroles are a staple. Corn is considered a vegetable. And pork tenderloin sandwiches are often the size of your head, sandwiched between a normal hamburger bun – making for a unique dining experience.
This breaded pork tenderloin sandwich is a bit more manageable than the ones you’ll find in most restaurants around here. Rather than being 8-12 inches in diameter, we kept ours a more manageable size. This makes eating it a little easier and cooking it a lot faster. It’s still juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and ready for a bun, a heavy squirt of mustard, and plenty of dill pickles. Maybe a slice or two of onion if that’s your style.
This pork tenderloin sandwich goes great with air fryer waffle fries or homemade air fryer potato chips!
Ingredient Notes:
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Pork – Look for a pork tenderloin that is around 1 pound in size. Be sure to grab a tenderloin and not pork loin – these are two different cuts of meat.
Pork seasoning- Onion Powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and salt will enhance this pork tenderloin sandwich before we even get to the breading!
The breading– The breading is made up of flour, seasoned salt, eggs, and panko bread crumbs.
We’re making our pork tenderloin sandwiches around 4 ounces each. If you’d like larger pieces, just cut the pork into larger chunks and pound them out so that they are wider. You’ll want to keep them nice and thin regardless of how wide you make them.
How to Make Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches in the Air Fryer:
- Shape– Slice your tenderloin on the bias into 4 evenly sized pieces of meat. Place each piece between a layer of plastic wrap and pound it out with a mallet to about 1/4″ thickness throughout. Don’t worry about the shape at this point, it won’t be a perfect circle and it will very likely be larger in size than a bun.
If you haven’t heard the phrase “slice on the bias” before, don’t worry! It simply means to cut at an angle down the length of the item instead of cutting straight across it. So in this case, your first piece and last piece will have a slightly different shape than the other two pieces.
- Season- Add your onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a bowl and stir those ingredients to combine. Rub this seasoning onto both sides of each pork piece.
- Breading– Grab a shallow dish and add your seasoned salt and flour. Stir to combine. In a second shallow dish whisk together the eggs with two tablespoons of water. In a third dish, add your panko and seasoned salt, then stir to combine. You will dredge each piece of pork into the flour dish, then egg, then panko. When dipping the pork into the panko, press the meat into the panko to help the breading stick.
- Air Fry– Spritz your air fryer basket with an oil spray. Add your tenderloin to the basket in a single layer, not touching the edges. Cook in batches if needed. Air fry for 8 minutes at 400 degrees F and flip halfway through cooking. When you flip, you can spritz with an oil mist again for a nice crispy breading.
Recipe Tips for Cooking in Batches!
Set cooked pork on a plate in an oven with the light turned on to keep warm and continue cooking the remaining pork tenderloin until it’s all cooked.
After they are all cooked, place all of the pork tenderloins in the air fryer basket (it’s okay to stack them here) and rewarm them for 1 minute at 400 degrees.
Comments & Reviews
Shirley says
So easy and quick to make, tasty to eat! If you buy the thin sliced boneless pork chops they are already about 1/4” thick so that saves extra time too!
Savings to the favorites folder!!! Awesome, thanks for sharing this recipe!
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed this one! Thanks, Shirley!
Jim says
All thumbs up!!