Pork Tenderloin with Honey Garlic Sauce

Pork Tenderloin seasoned with a rub, seared until golden then oven baked in an incredible Honey Garlic Sauce until it’s sticky on the outside and juicy on the inside! A quick and easy pork fillet recipe with high returns for very minimal effort.

Pork tenderloin recipe

Pork tenderloin is like chicken breast – it’s a lean, tender cut of meat and when cooked just right, it’s juicy and succulent.

It is also easy to overcook, and overcooked tenderloin = dry and bland.

Hence the beauty of this pork tenderloin recipe. It’s unbelievable when the pork is cooked perfectly.

But if you go slightly over, no one’s going to notice with this outrageously delicious honey garlic sauce!

What you need

VERY few ingredients! This is another one of those recipes with high returns for low effort – minimal ingredients, less than 10 minutes of active effort for incredible flavours!

How to cook pork tenderloin 

The best way to cook pork tenderloin is to start it on the stove and finish it in the oven. Sear the pork first to give it a nice crust (remember, colour = flavour 🙌🏻) then finish cooking it in the oven.

Can’t it be cooked entirely on the stove??

Yep, it sure can, but the outside ring of the tenderloin will be cooked more than ideal by the time the centre is just cooked. Reduce this uneven cooking by bringing the pork to room temperature before cooking.

What about in the oven?

Again, yep, you sure can, but you won’t get the same colour on the surface of the tenderloin so you’ll notice a loss of flavour. But with a sauce this good, it’s forgivable to skip the initial sear! 😇 Directions in the recipe notes.

Look at that sauce glazing the pork!!! Doesn’t it look incredible??!

The Honey Garlic Sauce used in this pork tenderloin recipe has made an appearance in various forms on my website, such as with Salmon, Chicken Breast and as a dipping sauce for the crispiest ever Baked Chicken Wings.

It’s just one of those terrific back pocket sauces that works with virtually every protein. Just a few ingredients that totally transforms when simmered on the stove into a savoury-sweet sauce.

It’s inevitable that it will make yet another appearance one of these days!

What to serve with pork tenderloin

Though you cannot see it properly in the photo above, that yellow/green blur in the background is this Lemon Potato Salad which I added steamed green beans to. A two-in-one carb + veg side that keeps for days, I’m a big fan of those! Here’s a few more:

• Baked vegetables and rice
• 12 Minute Couscous Salad with Sun Dried Tomato and Feta
• Kale and Quinoa Salad and Garlic Butter Rice with Kale (kale is a nutrition powerhouse and these are 2 seriously tasty ways to eat it!)

Otherwise, serve it with a fresh garden salad tossed with a fresh vinaigrette like French, Italian or the everyday salad dressing used in this Cabbage Salad.

I’d also recommend something to slop up the sauce with – bread, mashed potato, or Cauliflower Mash. What looks like mash in the photo below is actually Mashed Cauliflower. Carb free, creamy smooth indulgence – you’ll see it in the recipe video! ~ N x ❤️

Watch how to make it

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Pork Tenderloin with Honey Garlic Sauce

Author: Nagi

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 25 mins

Total: 35 mins

Mains

Western

5 from 12 votes

Servings5

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Recipe VIDEO above. Tender, succulent pork fillet seasoned with a rub, seared until golden then baked in a Honey Garlic Sauce until sticky on the outside and juicy on the inside. Simply incredible! (And really, it's SIMPLE!)

Ingredients

• 2 pork tenderloin (pork fillet), 500g/1lb each (Note 1)
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil (or butter)
• 3 garlic cloves , very finely chopped

Pork Tenderloin Rub:

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Honey Garlic Sauce:

• 3 tbsp cider vinegar (Note 2)
• 1.5 tbsp soy sauce, light or all purpose (Note 2)
• 1/2 cup (150g) honey (or maple syrup)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
  
• Mix Sauce ingredients together.
• Mix Rub ingredients then sprinkle over the pork.
• Heat oil in a large oven proof skillet (Note 3) over high heat. Add pork and sear until golden all over.
• When pork is almost seared, push to the side, add garlic and cook until golden.
• Pour sauce in. Turn pork once, then immediately transfer to the oven.
• Roast 15 - 18 minutes or until the internal temperature is 68C / 155F (Note 4).
• Remove pork onto plate, cover loosely with foil and rest 5 minutes.
• Place skillet with sauce on stove over medium high heat, simmer rapidly for 3 minutes until liquid reduces down to thin syrup.
• Remove from stove, put pork in and turn to coat in sauce.
• Cut pork into thick slices and serve with sauce!

Recipe Notes:

1. Pork tenderloin preparation (also called pork fillet) - if you see a thin transparent skin on it (that's called the silver skin) it is best to trim that off before cooking (but not a major deal if you don't). Some butchers do, some don't. Trimming excess fat is optional.

Note: Tenderloin is not the same as pork loin. Tenderloin is long and thin, loin is fatter. For loin, try this Slow Cooker Honey Butter Pork Loin recipe.

2. Subs:

• Cider vinegar - white wine vinegar, rice vinegar or champagne vinegar. OR 2 tbsp normal white vinegar.
• Soy Sauce - Use light or all purpose. Do not use dark soy sauce or sweet soy sauce.

3. Ovenproof skillet - if you don't have one, just transfer pork to tray to bake. Once baked, pour any juices on the tray into the skillet to make the sauce.

4. Internal Temperature of Cooked Pork (using a meat thermometer inserted into the middle of the thickest part)

* For no pink (pictured), take it out of the oven when the internal temperature of the pork is 155F/68C - around 16 to 18 minutes. After 5 minutes rest, it will be 160F/70C which is just cooked beyond pink (ie optimum juiciness without pinkness).

* For a slight blush of pink, take it out of the oven when the internal temperature of the pork is 150F/65C - takes 13 minutes. After 5 minute rest, it will be 155F/68C (which is just pink, as juicy as pork tenderloin can be).

5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings (200g/7oz pork per person)

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 360kcalCarbohydrates: 29g (10%)Protein: 38g (76%)Fat: 9g (14%)Saturated Fat: 4g (20%)Cholesterol: 127mg (42%)Sodium: 661mg (28%)Potassium: 749mg (21%)Sugar: 28gVitamin A: 4.4%Vitamin C: 0.9%Calcium: 1.6%Iron: 11.6%

Keywords: Baked pork tenderloin, Pork Tenderloin

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