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Crispy, succulent air fryer lamb chops with mint chimichuri! You’ll need about ten minutes of prep work to get started, but there’s plenty of flavor packed into these tasty chops.
We’ve got a lovely marinade and a chimichurri sauce ready to go, and these chops are deceptively fancy. When your guests try them, they’ll think you slaved away over a hot stove for hours to make these tasty chops, when you simply let the air fryer work its magic.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s impressive and easy. Great for dinner parties, holidays, and events. These lamb chops are easy to prepare. They’re easy to get right. It’s a tender, tasty meat treat.
- Our simple, mouthwatering marinade is as easy to make as it is to enjoy. It will really add extra flavor and tenderness to your meat.
- You can serve as a main course or as an appetizer. It’s up to you!
You’ll Need
To make these lamb chops in the air fryer, you’ll need a few key ingredients.
- Garlic
- Lemon juice and lemon zest
- Lamb chops
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Italian seasoning
Mint Chimichurri
You will need fresh mint, cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, red chili flakes, salt and pepper.
How to Cook Lamb Chops in Air Fryer
The first thing to do is to clean your lamb. Remove any excess fat. If there’s still the thin silvery membrane on your lamb’s underside, remove that, too.
Now cut your lamb into chops. You want “lollipops” with the bone handle. If you’ve bought lamb chops that already have the “lollipop”, you can skip these first two steps.
- Add olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, zest, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Mix to combine.
- Place the lamb chops in the marinade and toss to coat them. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for 30-60 minutes or overnight.
- Spray the basket of your air fryer with non-stick spray. Arrange the chops in a single layer at the bottom of the basket.
- Air fry for 8 minutes at 380°F/195°C, flip and cook further for 3-5 minutes. The internal temperature for medium rare is 145 degrees F (63 C).
- While the chops marinate, make the mint chimichurri. In a small bowl combine mint, cilantro (or parsley), lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and red chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper.
Hot Tips For Ingredients
There’s a few things you can do with your ingredients to really get the most out of this dish.
- When you’re using olive oil, go for extra virgin olive oil. It’s better for you, and will help the outside of your meat to develop a gorgeous golden brown color. Coating your meat in olive oil will also help the meat on the inside of your chops to stay tender and juicy.
- Lemon juice is a pretty important ingredient. It’s acidic enough to help break down some of the proteins in your chops, which gives you softer, juicier meat.
- When it comes to spices and seasoning, we’ve gone for Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. This helps to balance out the natural lamb flavor, giving you a nice broad, deep flavor palate.
Substitutions
You can switch up your seasonings if you’re feeling exotic. We’ve used some classic pantry staple spices and seasonings in this recipe, but you are more than welcome to experiment with your marinade. Chilli, cinnamon, and bay leaves all beautifully complement the natural flavor of lamb meat.
Storing Lamb Chops
If you have any leftovers, you can store your lamb chops a few different ways. You can refrigerate any lamb chops you have left over in an airtight container for up to three days.
We don’t recommend freezing cooked lamb. This will dry your lamb out and make it less tender.
How to Reheat Lamb Chops in Air Fryer
When the time comes to reheat your lamb chops, you can do this in the air fryer. Simply air fry your chops for ten minutes at 325 degrees, which should be enough time to warm the lamb chops all the way through. This might be easier if you allow the chops to reach room temperature before reheating rather than putting them in straight out of the fridge. This reheating time might require adjustment depending on the size of your chops and the type of air fryer you have. If your air fryer generally runs a little hot, you can try reheating over seven to eight minutes instead of the full ten.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re serving these chops as an appetizer, generally one or two chops per person is plenty. Otherwise, as a main, you’ll want to double that amount to 3-4 chops per person.
Like many premium cuts of red meat, it’s actually best to serve lamb chops medium rare. The outside, of course, should be an attractive browned color, but the interior should be a pink to indicate that they are medium rare.
More Air Fryer Recipes
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If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐! I will be happy to hear from you!
Lamb Chops with Mint Chimichurri
Equipment
Ingredients
For The Lamb Chops
- 6 lamb chops, about 1 pound (500 grams)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For The Mint Chimichurri
- ½ cup chopped mint
- ½ cup chopped cilantro or parsley
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- Salt and pepper, as needed
Instructions
- Add olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, zest, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Mix to combine.
- Place the lamb chops in the marinade and toss to coat them. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for 30-60 minutes or overnight.
- While the chops marinate, make the mint chimichurri. In a small bowl combine mint, cilantro (or parsley), lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and red chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Keep aside.
- Spray the basket of your air fryer with non-stick spray. Arrange the chops in a single layer at the bottom of the basket.
- Air fry for 8 minutes at 380°F/195°C, flip and cook further for 3-5 minutes. The internal temperature for medium rare is 145 degrees F (63 C).
- Serve immediately with mint chimichurri. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was incredible! The lamb was juicy, and that mint chimichurri was so fresh and vibrant. I felt like I was dining out.
Wow, thank you, Arjun! That’s the best compliment. The mint chimichurri really takes it to the next level, doesn’t it?