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….😂
linda jakubowski says
Delicious! Easy to make. Definitely will make again. Thanks Nagi
Robin Bell says
Fabulous. This was so easy and so incredibly tender and delicious. I used dark soy sauce and it was absolutely fine, and tripled (!) the amount of garlic. I also deglazed the pan with a large splash of white wine before adding the sauce. Thank you for giving me the courage to try this!
Sue says
Is there any this can be made in a crockpot?
Elizabeth says
My daughter just made this tonight for dinner. We all loved it, and even my Polish husband said it kicks his pork schnitzel ‘out of the park’. Definitely a repeat meal, so easy and a taste sensation. Thanks Nagi!
Sandi Q Beach says
Could I sub brown sugar? Honey here is sky high. Thanks
Nagi says
Hi Sandi – you can sub maple syrup. I haven’t tried brown sugar – it might not be thick enough. N x
Oveta Alexander says
Could I use karo syrup in place of the honey? Is all I have laying around
Christine says
Made it for my family tonight, we all absolutely loved it, thanks so much ^^
Nina says
Delicious! Made this tonight in on of those tiny ovens in our Airbnb. So easy and so yummy with very little effort. Thanks for another amazing recipe.
Peter Melo says
Hi Nagi,
Great site!
You may know that several years ago Cook’s Illustrated put out new guidelines that it is safe to eat pork at 137 degrees. I think there is too much of a chance of dry meat when cooking to 155, especially when that number will be overshot while resting.
Victoria Wade says
It was way too sweet.
Carol says
DELICIOUS! I followed the recipe to the letter and we were delighted with the outcome. I served riced cauliflower with lemon and butter as a side….the honey sauce gave it a little extra zip. We will definitely have this again. Thanks
Rhonda says
Wow I made this for dinner this evening and it was awesome! I did not change a thing nor would I change a thing. Thank you!
Carol Pilarski says
Im making this dish for my card group. Problem is they like to play a round before eating. How can I keep the pork warm without drying it out until serving (30/45 min) minutes)
Mel says
Beautiful as usual. Used maple instead of honey which was a little different but none the less delicious
Nagi says
I am happy you enjoyed it, Mel! N x
Mark says
I cooked this tenderloin receipt tonight and added some lazy ginger. It was great although i overheated the source and burnt the honey so I just left it out. Will try again and remember to remove the source from the heat next time.
Stephen Digby says
Delicious! And oh so easy!
Added mushrooms and ginger to the sauce!
Anne says
I cook for one since my husband died, so I had such a small piece of pork fillet it was not worth roasting. I cut it into medium thick slices, used the rub, seared the medallions, then added the sauce and cooked on high for 4 minutes. Removed the pork, reduced the sauce, added pork to warm through and served over rice…superb, thank you !
Clive Bishop says
Made this tonight, absolutely delicious, however, used maple syrup for the sauce and it became so sticky that you could have used it instead of araldite! Be careful out there. Otherwise absolutely marvellous and easy to do
Nagi says
Thanks for the tip Clive! N x
Susan says
This was one of five dishes we made for NYE this year. It turned out amazing!!! Seriously delicious!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
adda says
Hi Nagy,
I wonder if I can “reverse sear” the pork tenderloin: after bringing to room temp, and towel drying, put it in the oven with just the rub on a rack and turn the oven on at 190F for 30 min or so till interior is at 145F. Then sear it in hot pan and then make the sauce. What do you think?