This juicy and crispy air fryer tonkatsu is simple, healthy, and delicious! The secret to the paleo and gluten-free crunchy crust is plantain chips!
Table of Contents
- What is tonkatsu?
- Why should I make this version?
- Can you make paleo tonkatsu in the oven?
- Can you make keto tonkatsu?
- Ingredients
- How to make air fryer tonkatsu
- Prepare the pork loin chops
- Prepare the tonkatsu coating
- Set up the breading station using three shallow dishes
- Coat the pork chops with the breading
- Air fryer tonkatsu instructions
- Oven-baked tonkatsu instructions
- How to serve the tonkatsu
- More paleo Japanese recipes
- Healthy Tonkatsu (Air Fryer or Oven Baked) Recipe
What is tonkatsu?
Tonkatsu or pork katsu is a traditional Japanese dish that consists of a boneless pork loin chop coated in a panko breadcrumb crust and then deep-fried. Served with a pile of thinly-sliced cabbage and tangy Tonkatsu Sauce, this crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside pork loin is one of my favorite washoku dishes.
When I went paleo and gluten-free, I thought my pork katsu eating days were over. However, when I discovered that plantain chip crumbs make a fabulous paleo breadcrumb crust (e.g., air fryer chicken nuggets and air fryer fish sticks), I started experimenting with a paleo tonkatsu recipe. Because I don’t love deep frying foods on weekdays, I focused my efforts on creating an air fryer version and an oven-baked version. After lots of testing in my home kitchen, I’m happy to report that my hard work paid off!
Why should I make this version?
- No deep-frying required! No need dealing with spattering hot oil or even pan-frying!
- It’s gluten-free, grain-free, and paleo!
- This air fryer or oven-baked tonkatsu can be cooked in less than 30 minutes!
- It’s a family favorite and your kids will love it!
Can you make paleo tonkatsu in the oven?
Yes! It won’t come out quite as crunchy as the air fryer version, but you can definitely make this tonkatsu recipe in the oven. To get the best results, place the breaded pork chops on an oven-safe wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Also, use the convection mode if you have it! My oven-baked tonkatsu directions are below and in the printable recipe card.
Can you make keto tonkatsu?
Yes! I’ve made this air fryer tonkatsu with crushed pork rinds (a.k.a. chicharrones) in place of the plantain chips and it works well. However, I think the taste and texture is better with the crushed plantain chips coating.
Ingredients
- Boneless pork loin chops: Buy boneless pork loin chops with a thin layer of fat on the top. Choose thinner pork chops—¾-inch or ½-inch thick chops are ideal. Any thicker and the pork chops will take too long to cook and the crust will get soggy as it sits.
- Plantain chips or strips: In place of panko bread crumbs, I crush up plantain chips to make the crunchy coating. I buy plantain chips or plantain strips that are fried in sustainable palm oil or coconut oil to keep this dish paleo-friendly. My favorite brand is Artisan Tropics.
- Cassava flour: I use cassava flour to lightly coat the seasoned pork chops before I dip them in the egg wash and plantain crumbs. If you don’t have cassava flour, you can substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour, tapioca flour, or arrowroot powder.
- Large eggs: Unfortunately, I don’t think you can leave out the egg—it’s essential to get the plantain crumbs to stick to the pork chops.
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Avocado oil spray: Use an avocado spray without any additives so it won’t cause a sticky buildup on your air fryer insert.
- Tonkatsu Sauce
How to make air fryer tonkatsu
Prepare the pork loin chops
Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel. Then, use a sharp paring knife to cut two small slits on the fatty edge of the pork chops—this will keep the pork chop edges from curling up when they cook in the air fryer or oven.
Use a meat pounder or meat mallet to smash the chops until they’re about ½-inch thick. If your pork chops are already ½-inch thick, you don’t need to pound them.
Sprinkle the pork cutlets on both sides with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and set it aside.
Prepare the tonkatsu coating
Toss the plantain chips or plantain strips into a food processor and process until a coarse powder is formed. (No food processor? You can put the chips in a plastic food storage bag and bash them with something heavy until the chips are pulverized.) You should end up with 1 cup of crushed plantain crumbs.
Set up the breading station using three shallow dishes
In the first shallow dish, pour in the crushed plantain chips. Reserve about half of the plantain crumbs to ensure that you’ll have enough for all four pork chops—you can pour in extra crumbs as needed). In the second dish, add the cassava flour.
In the last bowl, whisk together the eggs and ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
Coat the pork chops with the breading
Lightly coat a pork chop in the cassava flour, shaking off the excess flour. Then, dip it in the egg mixture, making sure it’s well coated but not super goopy. Lastly, coat the pork chop completely with crushed plantain chips and place the pork chop on the prepared wire rack in the rimmed baking sheet. Repeat this process with the rest of the pork chops.
Air fryer tonkatsu instructions
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. (My favorite air fryer is this model.) When the air fryer is ready, lightly spray the bottom of the air fryer with avocado oil spray and arrange the pork chops in a single layer.
Spray the tops of the pork chops with avocado oil.
Air fry the pork katsu at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until the outsides are golden brown and the centers are barely pink and the internal temperature reaches 145°F.
Oven-baked tonkatsu instructions
Heat the oven to 425°F conventional or 400°F convection bake with the rack in the middle. Arrange the pork cutlets on an oven-proof wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Spray the tops of the breaded chops with avocado oil spray.
Bake the tonkatsu until the outside is golden brown and the pork is barely pink and the internal temperature is 145°F, about 10 to 13 minutes.
How to serve the tonkatsu
Slice up the tonkatsu…
…and serve the crunchy pork with shredded cabbage dressed with sesame ginger dressing and tonkatsu sauce (a sweet and tangy Worcestershire sauce).
If you’re not eating paleo, feel free to make katsudon rice bowls by serving these pork chops over rice!
More paleo Japanese recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Healthy Tonkatsu (Air Fryer or Oven Baked)
Ingredients
- 4 boneless pork loins try to get pork chops that are ½-inch to ¾-inch thick
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces green plantain chips
- 2 tablespoons cassava flour or tapioca or arrowroot powder
- 2 large eggs
- Avocado oil spray
- Tonkatsu Sauce optional dipping sauce
Instructions
Prepare the pork chops
- Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel. Then, use a sharp paring knife to cut two small slits on the fatty edge of the pork chops—this will keep the pork chop edges from curling up when they cook in the air fryer or oven.
- Use a meat pounder or meat mallet to smash the chops so they’re about ½-inch thick. If your pork chops are already ½-inch thick, you don’t need to pound them.
- Sprinkle the pork cutlets on both sides with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.
- Plop the plantain chips or plantain strips in a food processor and process until a coarse powder is formed. (No food processor? You can place the chips in a ziplock bag and bash them with something heavy until the chips are pulverized.) You should end up with 1 cup of crushed plantain crumbs.
- Grab three shallow bowls for your breading station. In the first one, pour in the crushed plantain chips. You can reserve half of the plantain crumbs to ensure that you have enough for all four pork chops (pour in extra crumbs as needed). In the second one, add the cassava flour. In the last bowl, whisk together the eggs and ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Lightly coat a pork chop in the cassava flour, shaking off the excess flour. Then, dip it in the egg mixture, making sure it is well coated but not super goopy. In the last step, coat the pork chop completely with crushed plantain chips and place the pork chop on the prepared wire rack in the rimmed baking sheet. Repeat the process with the rest of the pork chops.
Air Fryer Tonkatsu Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. When the air fryer is ready, lightly spray the bottom of the air fryer with avocado oil spray and place the pork chops in a single layer.
- Spray the tops of the pork chops with avocado oil.
- Air fry the pork katsu at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until the outside is golden brown and the center is barely pink and the internal temperature is 145°F.
- Slice up the tonkatsu and serve it with tonkatsu sauce (a sweet Worcestershire sauce) and shredded cabbage dressed with sesame ginger dressing, if desired.
Oven Baked Tonkatsu Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F conventional or 400°F convection bake with the rack in the middle. Place the pork cutlets on an oven-proof wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Spray the tops of the breaded chops with avocado oil spray.
- Bake the tonkatsu until the outside is golden brown and the pork is barely pink and the internal temperature is 145°F, about 10 to 13 minutes.
- Slice up the tonkatsu and serve it with tonkatsu sauce (a sweet Worcestershire sauce) and shredded cabbage dressed with sesame ginger dressing, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello I was wondering if you could also use chicken for this recipe.
I think so! Just make sure the chicken cutlet is about 1/2 inch thick.
Could I use something instead of plantain chips for the breading?
I’ve tried using crushed chicharrones and they work!
I hadn’t heard of tonkatsu before but made these last night. The only thing I did different was using potato starch instead of cassava flour because it’s what I had (also much cheaper!). Anyway, they were awesome, and that’s despite me using my convection oven, having no air fryer. I believe you air fryer would have been even better, but these were very good, with quite a satisfying crunchy exterior. Thanks!
This was perfect. I’ve been missing tonkatsu, and this recipe is excellent. YUM. I did cheat a bit with a couple of Japanese pickles that contain sugar.
Will make again.
This is delicious! We have made it a few times already. 🙂 I ran out of plantain chips because I thought the bag I had was bigger. I used GF Japanese breadcrumbs instead. I think the taste is a better with the plantain chips, but it’s still good.
A great idea!
Thank you so much for you.
I will try to make it.
I have been eating plantation chips most of my life and here is another spin using plantations. Thank you for another simple and delicious recipe
Yummy! Crunchy, Moist. Will be making again.
This, as usual, was a very tasty recipe.
I accidentally used Cassave chips instead of plantains but it came out amazing.
Made it for the 2nd time and it’s so good.
No dipping sauce as I was lacking 2 ingredients.