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These Air Fryer Pork Belly Bites are perfect little morsels of deliciousness. Serve them as finger food at a party or as movie night snacks that the whole family will love.

You may have seen some of our other pork belly recipes on this site – from these oven-baked pork belly slices to these Pork Belly Tacos – we love pork belly. It’s an inexpensive cut of pork with a lot of flavor and texture.

And yes, a lot of fat too, but you can cut down on the fat by trimming the meat judiciously, so it’s distributed evenly. When you cook air fryer pork belly a lot of the fat drips off, but the rest gets perfectly rendered into pockets of liquid deliciousness that makes your mouth very happy.

Don’t shy away from cooking pork belly for the fat’s sake. Just eat it in moderation! And yes, I know how hard that is. These little pork belly pieces are addictive.

Where to Buy Pork Belly

Pork belly is usually pretty easy to acquire at the grocery. It typically comes in packages of pork belly strips or cubed pieces. Sometimes you’ll find a whole slab of pork belly with the skin still on. Costco is a great place to get it.

If you can’t find it pre-packaged at the grocery, be sure to ask at the butcher counter. They typically can cut it for you from a slab they have in the back. Or they can order it special for you.

For pork belly bites, it’s best to remove the skin, because it doesn’t have time to get crispy.

Ingredients You Need

Pork belly – Cut into 1 inch pieces, skin removed. You also want to cut off some of the excess fat, but not all of it. Try not to leave any large chunks of fat.
Dry rub – We like to use this dry rub as a seasoning but salt and pepper is delicious too.

How to Cook Pork Belly in the Air Fryer

Step 1: Cut the belly pieces

For this recipe, you want to use 1-inch pieces of pork belly. This cooks down to be the perfect bite-sized pieces.

Step 2: Seasoning

Seasoning the pork belly gives it lots of extra flavor. We use our favorite homemade dry rub but this homemade Cajun seasoning would be amazing as well. I keep a container of this dry rub made up so I can use it on any type of meat or veggie I need to season.

It has paprika, chili powder, mustard powder, onion powder and garlic powder, brown sugar, black pepper and salt. It’s a great addition to these pork belly bites.

Step 3: Add to Air Fryer Basket

After seasoning, add the pork belly bites to the basket of your air fryer. Make sure not to over crowd the basket. Laying them out in a single layer will help them get crispy in the air fryer. You want the air to circulate around all of the pieces.

Step 4: Air Fry

I air fry these at 400°F (200°C) for 8 minutes. Then I give the basket a good shake and put them back on for another 2 minutes. This might vary for yours, depending on your air fryer wattage and the size of your pieces. Air frying is not an exact science. You have to keep a close eye on them.

I’ve found that just about every air fryer cooks at a different rate. They really vary in cooking speed and intensity. For that reason, it’s important to keep a close eye on your pork belly bites, in case yours cooks faster than mine. If you know your air fryer runs hot, maybe cook at a lower temperature.

If the pork belly bites are looking good already after 8 minutes, you can stop the cooking at that point. The goal is to get them crispy on the outside but cooked on the inside so that the fat is rendered and juicy. If you try one and it’s not to that point yet, put them back on for a few minutes.

The pieces will shrink down to little bite-sized morsels that are perfect for snacking. You can dip them in sauce, or just eat them the way they are.

It doesn’t get any easier then that!

Sauces for Pork Belly Bites Recipe

These little morsels already taste super flavorful, especially with the dry rub, but sauce makes everything better, so I serve these with a dipping sauce on the side.

In the photo below, we’re dipping pork belly bites into Alabama White BBQ Sauce. This makes a fantastic appetizer that our guests always rave about.

We also like to serve these pork belly bites with Ranch Dressing, Yum Yum Sauce, or Bourbon BBQ Sauce. If you’re looking for other alternatives, try homemade blue cheese dip. These sauces are great with air fryer chicken too.

What to Serve It With

Frequently Asked Questions

What is pork belly?

Pork belly comes from the underside or belly of a pig. It is a big slab of bacon that is uncured, unsliced and unsmoked. It is a very rich and fatty cut of meat.

Why is my pork belly not getting crispy?

Because of the high fat content the fat needs to be rendered to be crispy. Cook it until it crisps up. You may also have left too much fat on the cubes for them to crisp well. Next time you can trim it better, but for now just let them cook longer.

Can you overcook pork belly?

You can overcook pork belly, just like any food. If your air fryer runs hot or you’ve cut smaller pieces than we did, you might need less time than we used in this recipe. You want to keep an eye on the pieces to make sure you don’t overcook them. You want them to be crispy and the fat to be rendered, but you don’t want them to be cooked down so much that the fat all burns away.

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