This bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin is one of those miracle recipes that just happens to only require 4 ingredients: pork, bacon, honey and olive oil. Just sear the pork, then roll up in bacon, drizzle with honey and bake. It’s easy as one-two-three (four)!
Four magic words: Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin: It’s one of those gem recipes that is so good and yet so easy that you almost don’t need a recipe. You literally just sear the pork, wrap in bacon, brush with honey and then roast.
(I wish more recipes were this quick and easy to write out! 😂)
Besides the tiny number of ingredients, the other big thing this has going for it is that the bacon keeps the pork really juicy. Pork tenderloin is extremely lean – in fact it’s slightly leaner than chicken breast even. Did you know that? There’s a bit of food trivia for you!
So by wrapping it with bacon, the pork is protected which helps keep it extra moist when roasting. Plus, the fat from the bacon bastes the pork as it roasts which also adds to the juiciness.
What you need for Bacon-Wrapped Pork
Here’s the only things you need!
(OK, ok … So salt and pepper make six ingredients in total. Free pass, I say! 😂)
Pork tenderloin – Also called pork fillet, this is a lean and tender cut of meat. When cooked properly, it’s juicy and succulent. Tenderloins range in size from small ones around 300g (10oz) to very large ones weighing up to 700g (1.4lb). (Not found in Australia, but I’ve seen ones this large overseas!) An average size is around 450 – 500g (16oz – 1 lb) each.
Bacon – Use streaky bacon strips that are long enough to wrap around the pork. You’ll need anywhere between 7 to 10 pieces, enough for a slight overlap between each strip. The exact number depends on the width of the bacon and the size of your pork tenderloin.
Honey – For the glaze. Combined with the bacon fat and salt, it transforms into a savoury, sticky and delicious coating that requires no other additions!
Oil, salt and pepper – For seasoning and searing the pork.
How to make Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
I said you pretty much don’t even need a recipe. But here are the steps anyway. I would never leave you hanging out to dry! 🙂
Season and tuck – Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper, then tuck the thin tail end of the fillet under so the pork is more even thickness and fits into a skillet.
Brown pork – Sear the pork over high heat in a little oil until browned all over, around 5 minutes. This is to give the pork a head start before we finish it in the oven. If we don’t do this, we end up with a thick band of overcooked pork surrounding the just-done centre. Pre-searing gives us an evenly cooked finish.
Wrap in bacon – Lay bacon strips vertically on a work surface, with each piece overlapping slightly. Take the pork from pan (let it cool a little so you can handle). Place the pork on top of the bacon, at the end closest to you. Use a long knife to fold the bacon over the pork and roll the pork so it’s wrapped in the bacon.
Seam side down – Roll the fillet over so it’s sitting seam side down. This helps the bacon stays in place. Now slide the knife under the pork, lift it and transfer back to the skillet (heat off, it’s now our baking dish).
Drizzle with honey – To be honest, I don’t measure! I just eye ball it and squeeze it straight from the bottle onto the pork. Then roughly spread it with a spoon or brush – no need for completely coverage here because it mostly melts off during the baking. The glossy, deeply bronzed glaze is from brushing the bacon with the pan juices later.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
Baste – Remove from the oven and baste the bacon using the juices in the pan. There will be a decent amount of syrupy glaze pooled in the pan. Basting with it will make the bacon a beautiful deep bronze colour.
Bake further 5 minutes (total bake time for 25 minutes) or until the internal temperature is 65°C (149°F). This yields medium doneness, which will have the faintest blush of pink inside with beautifully juicy flesh. To cook fully with no pink at all, just take it to 68°C (155°F) or so – around 3 more minutes baking time.
Rest for 5 minutes, then baste one last time before slicing. Serve with remaining pan juices!
What to serve with Bacon-Wrapped Pork
A starchy sidekick is called for here, to scoop up the residual bacon juices. Think: mashed potato, or creamy mashed cauliflower for the carb-conscious. Otherwise any standard plate-mopping companions from the bread family: crusty bread, hot flatbreads (this no-yeast one is a great easy one, otherwise, hot naan would be lip smackingly good too).
As for a salad, the plate above features a modest effort involving just a handful of leafy mixed greens tossed with my everyday simple Salad Dressing. If you wanted to make more of an effort and to try something a little different, here are a few suggestions:
– Nagi x
PS I just realised this is pork-on-pork. Is that a faux pas, like denim on denim?? 😉
Watch how to make it
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Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 8 to 10 slices of streaky bacon , long enough to wrap around the pork 1 1/2 times.
- 1 lb / 500g pork tenderloin , at room temperature
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (honey works better, it's thicker)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
- Lay out bacon: Lay the bacon strips vertically on a board, slightly overlapping (see photo in post). There should be enough bacon so when rolled will wrap the length of the pork.
- Season the pork with salt and pepper. Tuck the thin end of the fillet under so the pork is roughly the same thickness from end to end.
- Brown pork: Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Sear the pork on all sides until nicely browned. (Don't worry about cooking through, it will go in the oven.) Turn off heat, remove pork and allow to cool enough to handle.
- Wrap pork in bacon: Place pork on the arranged bacon at the end closest to you. Use a long knife to lift the bacon under the pork and roll the pork so the bacon wraps around the fillet. Finish with the bacon seam side down.
- Honey: Use the knife to transfer back into the skillet. Drizzle over honey and brush all over.
- Bake 25 minutes: Transfer skillet to oven for 25 minutes and roast pork until the internal temperature is 65°C / 149°F. (Note 1) Baste with pan juices at the 20 minute mark, mopping up plenty of the honey and juices pooled in the pan (this will make bacon deep golden).
- Rest 5 minutes: Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Baste once more just before serving. To serve, cut into thick slices. Serve with remaining pan juices.
Recipe Notes:
- 300g (10oz): 20 minutes
- 400g (14oz): 25 minutes
- 500g (1lb): 28 minutes
Nutrition Information:
Originally published May 2015. Updated with much needed new photos and recipe video. But most important, a Life of Dozer section added! ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Anything Bacon Wrapped is a GOOD THING!
And more Pork tenderloin recipes
Life of Dozer
Latest attempt to keep him out of the kitchen…..
How long should I cook a 2.5 pound one?? And should it be the same temperature?
Hi Kaitlin! Wow, that’s a big tenderloin! Are you sure it is a tenderloin? They don’t come that big in Australia – as far as I know! How thick / long is it??
Hi, Nagi. My guess is the larger ones some have used are pork LOINS as opposed to tenderloins. Pork loins are larger and not as tender. I made your recipe for dinner tonight, making a couple of changes. Since you said you prefer the thickness of honey, but I prefer the flavor of maple with pork, I mixed equal amounts of both in a bowl, then used as the glaze. Also, since the bacon was plenty long, I decided to use both tenderloins that come in the package instead of either cutting the length of the bacon or double wrapping the pork. After removing the silver skins, I scored the flat sides with a fork to rough them up a bit which helps the two sides adhere to one another, salted and peppered every surface, then browned just the rounder sides. I then put them opposite sizes together, ie: one fat end with one skinny end, to look look like a round roast. Then I wrapped them in the bacon (here I used a large offset spatula instead of a knife), glazed them and baked them on the convection oven setting until a meat thermometer read 145 degrees, removed them from the pan to a cutting board, tented lightly with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Yummy!
Gosh, I was WONDERING Kim!!!! I really should update this recipe with prep photos to be clear 🙂 Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! I love that you used a mix of both maple and honey!!
It turned out beautifully! I would post a picture but don’t see any place to do so. Thank-you for the recipe!
Sorry, I only use Facebook. And you’re very welcome!
I’d love to see on Instagram if you use it!!! I’m @recipe_tin – just tag me! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it Kim, thank you for letting me know!!
I just bought a pork tenderloin that was around 5 lbs. I’m cooking half of it. We must grow them bigger in the USA.
They’ll only add more hormones. No thanks, small is good.
I’m making this tonight ?
Gosh I had no idea! That’s a LOT bigger than we get them here!
I think she may means pork loin, the tenderloins are the size you say Nagi and I’m in the U.S. Great recipe thank you! -Don Hillebrand
Phew! I was getting worried about GIANT PIGS in the US!!! 🙂 Happy weekend Don! N x
Awesome recipe.. Came out exactly as advertised thanks.
WOO HOO! So glad you loved it Ryan!! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know! ? N x
Hi Daniel! Thanks for your thoughts! 🙂 I’ve updated the recipe to clarify that it’s 350F for fan forced or 390F for conventional.
In one of her comments, Nadia stated “I have a fan forced oven” – sounds like a convection oven, which cooks quicker. This may explain all the comments about meat being under cooked. Anybody have any thoughts on how to convert this to a regular oven.
Hi Annice! Sorry for the confusion, my fault, I should have specified the type of oven I have. I’ve updated the recipe to clarify that it’s 350F for a fan forced oven or 390F for conventional oven. I hope that helps!!
I followed the easy recipe and even cooked my pork 30 minutes because the bacon was not done. Bacon still wasn’t as cooked as pictures show but was afraid of over cooking the pork loin. It was so undercooked it was bleeding. I live in Louisiana so the temperature should have followed the recipe but it didn’t cook properly.
Better luck next time I suppose
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you! Sounds very odd – bacon in the oven for 30 minutes should DEFIANTLY be enough to cook!
What heat setting and for about how long do you dear it? Cooking with a gas stove/ grill
Hi Blake! On high, just for 2 minutes or so, turning 🙂
*Gas stove/ oven
This recipe is incredible. I did a couple of mods. Briefly rendered the bacon to get some fat in the pan. Then dry rubbed the tenderloin and seared in the bacon fat. I put it on a rack in a tray since I did not have a skillet to put in the oven. Regarding cook time…remember that everyone sears for a different time so simply go with an internal temp of 145-150 and then rest it for 10-15 min. I bumped up the temp to 375 half way through to crisp up the bacon. Awesome!
Glad you enjoyed it Keith! Thanks for letting me know! N x
I think the issue some people are having is that most tenderloin recipes call for high heat and quick cooking, ie 425 for about 10 minutes per lb. 350 is NOT hot enough.
Hi RCG! 350 is how I make this, and I find it works fine! I have a fan forced oven though – do you?? 🙂
I am looking to cook this with a pellet smoker, any tips for that?
Oh gosh, I’m sorry Jonathan, never made this in a pellet smoker!
I’m currently making this and am well over the half hour cooking time and it is still “raw”. The bacon looks great, nice and brown. But the meat is cooking extremely slowly. I can’t see anything I may have done incorrectly..? Any suggestions? Maybe it’s just my oven? Thanks
Hi Leslie! Tenderloin is very thin (for a roast) so it should DEFINATELY be cooked at half an hour! Have you checked the accuracy of your oven temperature?? My old one was SO weak!
Can I sear and wrap the meat with the bacon and then hold to cook for a few hours? Just trying to prep ahead of time. I so should it be refrigerated for those few hours or is it OK to leave it out in the pan covered?
Hi Leslie! Actually that’s a good idea to get a head start! 🙂 Definitely refrigerate it, then take it out 30 minutes prior to baking 🙂
I do not have an oven safe pan. Would it work to seer it and then cook it in the oven in a glass Pyrex dish?
Hi Stephanie! Yup, it sure will 🙂
Sorry, but my bacon didn’t come out nearly as nice and brown as the picture in the recipe. And I’ve got a very highly rated Samsung gas oven. Had to finish it off by broiling it, which them cooked the pork tenderloin too much.
The original poster mentioned she is using an air forced (convections) oven generally when converting a recipe from air forced to gas you would add 20c to the temperature, this will definitely crisp up your bacon ?
Thanks for helping out Leah! <3 N x
Hi Chip, gosh, I’m sorry to hear that. Wish I could have been in the kitchen with you to help troubleshoot! I’m wondering – did you use a small tenderloin or a particularly thin one? Because bacon should definitely become nice and brown within the prescribed cook time and if it did not, it means the cook time was not long enough which would be the case if your tenderloin was smaller. 🙂
i also experienced this- but I suspect it was due to our bacon slices being quite thick. We had to broil the thing just to get the bacon to cook. Definitely recommend thinner bacon!
I made this for my Christmas dinner – it was delicious!!! I will be making it again, soon!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Ann!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know. 🙂 And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I plan to cook a tenderloin for a large dinner party this year. Any suggestions for cooking time or internal temperature in a large piece of meat?
Thanks!!
155°F/68°C out of the oven. 🙂 Let it rest covered loosely with foil for 10 minutes then it will increase to 160F/71C which means it is absolutely perfectly cooked, as juicy as it can be!!
I am going to be making 8 pork tenderloins for Christmas and was wondering how that works with the cook time….they are all about 2.5 pounds…thanks for the help!!!?
Hi Cynthia! Are you sure they are tenderloins? They sound too big!! Tenderloins are usually around 1 lb / 500g. If it’s over 1kg/2lb, sounds more like it is a loin or rolled shoulder?? This recipe will work with any roasting cut of pork, as long as the bacon can be wrapped around it!! As for cook time – 8 at the same time? You must have a large oven to fit 8 x 2.5 lb!!! I would estimate it will take about double the time to do 8 at the same time, assuming they are all cooked on the same shelf. 🙂
this is a very delicious meal. I cooked it with maple syrup although I had a very hard time keeping the bacon on and it pretty much fell apart. Any recommendations?
Hi Courtney! I’m so glad you enjoyed the flavour! I’m sorry your bacon had a hard time staying on. It sounds like either your bacon was too small or your pork was very large! The bacon needs to wrap around it enough so it overlaps then you finish with the seam side down. When it cooks, the bacon kind of moulds onto the pork which is how it stays in place. 🙂
Hi Nagi! I plan on making this at the weekend and I was wondering what you would recommend serving it with? Thanks!
Hi Hayley! Oooh, you know what? I just posted a garlic butter rice with the Peruvian Roast Chicken. That would be such a fabulous pairing! (Ie the RICE! Just the rice!)
Can I prepare and then leave to cook in the slow cooker and crisp off the bacon just before serving?
Hi Vicky! I’ve never tried this in a slow cooker but I’m fairly sure the results won’t be the same. Sorry!
Some recipes say to brown the bacon on the tenderloin before putting it in the oven. Will the bacon get really crisp if just done in the oven. Recipe sounds amazing and plan to make it for guests next week. Thank you
Hi Marilyn! Actually it is the opposite! If you brown the bacon before putting it in the oven, it gets too crisp 🙂
Will honey give a lot of sweetness to the meat? Want to try it, but afraid it will be kind of sweet which I don’t like. Is there any way to substitute the honey?
Thank you
Hi Olga! This is one of those recipes with a balance of sweet and salty. Bacon is so salty, it carries the sweetness. No one would ever say this is JUST sweet, it is sweet and salty. 🙂 Also the sweetness is on the bacon, not the meat. If you are very adverse to sweetness on bacon, I suggest reducing the honey by half and brushing with a bit of oil – this will help make it lovely and glazed like the photo!
Thank you Nagi! 🙂