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….😂
This is really a great recipe. Simple ingredients that are usually on-hand and quick enough for a weeknight meal. It’s on our regular rotation
I am glad that you liked it Bert!! N x
This is the first time I have ever cooked a Pork Fillet and it was amazing.
Everyone loved it and I got rave compliments.
Looking forward to making this again.
I served it with Fried Rice and Asian Stir Fried Veggies.
I did have to thicken the sauce with cornflour mix and then spooned it over the sliced pork fillets.
I am happy you enjoyed it Laura! N x
Nagi,
I became impatient and thickened the sauce with cornflour which was fine, but I think next time I will allow enough time to let it thicken to become a glaze on the stove top but all in all my adult kids loved it and said it was restaurant quality.
Restaurant quality meal, in such a short time 🤤
Like you said Nagi, minimal effort with great returns! Followed the recipe to a tee and it was very good, exceptional. served it with Jasmine rice (Nagi’s method for rice) and steamed green beans. We don’t eat pork loin much but we certainly will make it more with this recipe, thank you Nagi.
The best recipe ever and I made pork tenderloin for decades ! Thanks !
Made this today. My daughter and I enjoyed it a lot! We’re looking forward to making the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin as well. When I’m looking for a recipe I look here to see what you have first. The ones I have tried have been successes. Thanks Nagi!
Made this recipe a few times and it is always a hit with family.
Totally excellent!! We all loved it.
Absolutely delicious. Pork was juicy with a slight crust.
The honey I used was ginger honey – the ginger added a little heat to the sauce which balanced the sweetness.
Amazingly easy and tasty!!
I’ve made this twice, and the flavor is great. My only problem is that both times, after 18 minutes in the oven, my pork is still at only about 120°F. Not sure why this happens, and I even seared it a little longer on each side this time to see if that helped.
So I had this issue with the mustard sauce pork tenderloin. I would set the timer another 5 mins an check. My gas range took an extra 7 on cook time.
It was so easy to make, but SUPER DELICIOUS! I think it is better when it’s a day older. I will definitely make this again!
Hi Nagi,
Really good recipe, however I don’t seem to get the amount of sauce you did in your video!!!
The pork came preseasoned but I did use your sauce recipe. I added some onion to the sauce.
I’ve made it twice now and my family loves it!! Definitely a keeper.thank you
WOW. Ok, I’ve never cooked a pork tenderloin before (pork scares me) but this recipe was just prefect. Even the cooking time was spot on. So delicious, I could drink the sauce (lol). It will be on rotation in our house. Thank you!
I just made this and it is fabulous! I did add a bit of white wine. Thank you, I’ll be making this again.
Superb recipes. Obviously Ms Nagi a food lover and wonderful cook!
Delicious! Easy to make. Definitely will make again. Thanks Nagi
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!