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:
-
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
Ingredients
- 2 pork tenderloin (pork fillet), 500g/1lb each (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 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 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, light or all purpose (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup 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:
- 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.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I love the robe so much, I got another one and put his name on it. Poor boy, now he’s been named and shamed….😂
Nickel_UK says
Was lovely, thourgh I used a slurry of;
1 desert spoon potato starch
2 tablespoon water
Mix together and then tip into the sauce while meat is resting separately.
Katrina says
This recipe was very eaay and tasty. I did add some habanero powder to the rub since we like spice and added about a teaspoon of fresh ginger since i had some. Liked it a lot!!
Anna Balyasov says
Thank you for the receipt! First time in my life pork was juicy and tasty.
Sheila Young says
Amazing recipe, so easy-to-use make and so delicious 😋
paul cavallaro says
I gave it 5 stars I made it with maple syrup instead of honey and it was really good. However, next time i make it i’m going to double the rub because i felt like there wasn’t enough. You really have to cook to the meat temp (155) because 15 minutes was not long enough for mine. I cooked mine for 35 minutes after checking the temp at 15 minutes. It was still rosy when I served it. Hope you have leftovers, it’s so tender and tasty it makes a great sandwich for lunch.
Randi says
This recipe for pork tenderloin was excellent. It was easy to follow , easy to make and extremely delicious.
Kobey says
Thank you, Nagi!
This pork is so tender, delicious and easy to make.
We are looking forward to trying the sauce with chicken breasts.
Kelly McGee says
This was absolutely delicious!!! Definitely making it again.
Lisa K says
Thank you Nagi for this amazing recipe! May I ask if anyway tried with smaller tenderloin (250g in my case), how long do you roast it for such size?
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️
Dgp says
YUM! Great rub. Delicious sauce. Pork tenderloin was juicy and tender. Definitely a winner to be repeated often. Thanks so much for this and all your other wonderful twists to recipes.
dana says
your honey garlic pork tenderloin was wonderful. Thanks for the recipe
Nicole says
This was so delicious!! We all loved it so much and it was fun to make. I served with garlic mashed potato, glazed carrots and peas. It took about twice as long to cook than what the recipe said though. Still so good and worked out perfectly tender!
Rakel says
Absolutely gutted that there are no left overs from this, we made this last night for our Sunday dinner and wow, it was just perfect, a keeper for sure, thanks Nagi and congratulations on everything you have achieved, well done to you and your team, and your manager ofcourse, dear Dozer, well done sir 🙂 x
Lori says
This is definitely a keeper. Everyone loved it plus it was ready I’m a half hour! Made exactly as directed other than adding 5 mins to the cook time because my tenderloin was quite thick.
CarlaK says
This is the first pork tenderloin I’ve ever made and it was so delicious I did not have Rosemary but that’s okay cuz I really don’t like Rosemary and I’m not too much on the hot so I didn’t add the sriracha and it still was so tasty and juicy and tender
Debra Caroline McCallum says
Made this last night – WOW! My husband and I rarely eat pork fillet but this will change from now on! Next dinner party this will be on the menu! Again, thanks Nagi!! x
Wendy says
I made this last night. Easy to make and an absolute winner. Will definitely make again.
Paula Clarke says
I’m cooking this for a second time. It’s absolutely delicious. Thank you for this recipe.
Sian says
Made this tonight it was delicious! Every plate was licked clean.
I added Brussel sprouts into the pan in the oven to roast.
Served it with the Brussel sprouts potato bake and steamed broccoli and carrots.
Will add this to my fortnightly meal plan for sure
Kylie says
That was so insanely good. Absolute restaurant quality and one I will make for company. Thank you again Nagi for another beautiful recipe