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….😂
Janice Cerovac says
Can I cook the honey garlic pork tenderloin in the crockpot?
Nagi says
Hi Janice, you can – see this recipe here: https://www.recipetineats.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Slow-Cooker-Honey-Butter-Pork-Tenderloin-RecipeTin-Eats.pdf N x
LAG says
Excellent. Really easy. Most ingredients are in everyone’s kitchen/pantry. The only change I made was cooking to an internal temp of 145 degrees.
Lesley Chapman says
This was delicious! I boiled the sauce down a little to thicken it up while the meat rested. So good.
Nagi says
Sounds like you nailed it Lesley! N x
Susan Coleman says
Great recipe. I used 1/2 pure maple syrup and 1/2 honey.and used sherry instead of vinegar. For the rub, I used Jerk seasoning. It came out GREAT!! Will definitely make again.
Linda says
Looking forward to trying this. Can I use rice wine vinegar?
Lynn Schoenwetter says
I made this last night using the maple syrup version instead of honey. It was fabulous! Will make this often.
Calliope Stamatakou says
Thank you for the blind trust that I can have for every new recipe of yours !! It’s my first ever comment …from Athens
Roberta says
I used a 4.5 # pork loin roast and followed ingredients exactly but I used my slow cooker instead of oven. This will now be my go to recipe for Roast pork. Leftovers are fabulous as well.
john clark says
family loved it nice and tender and moist had great flavor
thanks for sharing
Rhonda L Halliburton says
I dont have soy sauce, what can I substitute?
Nagi says
Hi Rhonda, you really need the soy in this recipe to balance the flavours – N x
Rhonda Halliburton says
Thank you. I ended up substituting worchestsire for soy. Although the taste may of been different it was yummy! Next time I will make sure I have soy sauce on hand!
Sean Foley says
I am trying this now but found it interesting that the “Honey Garlic Sauce” ingredients have zero garlic.
Sandy Nevz says
Delicious. But i did have to leave it in the oven an addition 10 mins because the center had a slight pink. A definite NO when it comes to pork meet for me.
Sandy says
meat*
Sean Foley says
Oops. I figured it out when I got to the steps. The garlic listed at the beginning and not as much as part of the sauce threw me off.
mwms73 says
Made this over the weekend and it is already being requested by my husband and adult sons! The only thing I did differently was add a tbsp of balsamic vinegar to the sauce. Excellent recipe!
Janine says
This was so good! And so easy. I had everything on hand. So often I will find an interesting recipe, but don’t have all I need to make it. Definitely adding this to my regular meal rotation. Thank you!
jason says
Can I use red wine vinegar?
Nagi says
Hi Jason – yes you can 🙂 N x
Lynn says
15 tablespoons of soy sauce???
Nagi says
1.5 🙂 ie 1 1/2 tablespoons! N x
Ilona says
Delicious, wouldn’t change a thing! Thanks for the recipe.
Whitney Arredondo says
Hi there! I desperately want to make this tonight for dinner. But I have already sliced tenderloin in my freezer. How would you adjust the cooking for pre sliced tenderloin? Please do let me know. Thank you! Looking forward to trying this one out. 😍
Margaret says
Thanks for the recipe, it turned out great, Nice and tender and the family really enjoyed it.
Shirley Draeger says
This was excellent! I used maple syrup and cider vinegar. It was easy (and fast) to make with ingredients I always have on hand.
Natasha Vithoulka says
I’ve made this 3 times now with pork fillet, pork medallions and chicken breast and my family loves it. Thanks for this great, quick and easy recipe.
Manuela says
Can we use the original syrup