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….😂
Hi Nagi, Thank you so much for this recipe, we had it for dinner to night and it was delicious. I served it with scalloped Potato’s, steamed Corn on the cob & beans, Definitely on my Dinner party menu now.
This recipe was so nice. The pork was tender and had quite a bit of flavor. The gravy was sweet and complimented the pork. I put a light potato puree and it worked well.
Used maple syrup and baked for 15 minutes – perfect!
Can you fix this in the crock pot.?
Not this one sorry Jerri, you really need to sear the pork and bring the sauce to a simmer to thicken it. N x
Too easy and so yummy. We loved this dish. Putting the extra sauce over the creamy mashed potatoes and steamed veggies was perfect. This is on the ‘cook again soon’ list. Thanks Nagi
Amazing! Simple and delicious…this will be my new go-to. :-).
Hi Nagi,
I’m just wondering, when you say oven and don’t make reference to fan forced, does this mean I shouldn’t use the fan forced setting on my oven for this recipe? I’ve just noticed that sometimes your recipes specify a temperature for fan-forced and some don’t. Sorry for my confusion. I hope this makes sense!
Hi Rebecca, when I note one temperature it means that the recipe can be cooked at this temp for ALL oven types. Where it matters, I’ll specify the two different temperatures. I hope this clarifies! N x
Ah yes that definitely makes sense. Thanks for clarifying! I cooked it and it turned out AMAZING. Thanks again 🙂
Thanks for sharing the recipe the recipe Nagi. The children love it. I used a happy call (I dont have an oven) for 15 mins (I turned it over every 5 mins). I also put 1T of butter with the garlic and it tasted superb.
Absolutely delicious! Everybody agreed this was a keeper! Thank you for sharing this with us.
Very tasty and quick, thank you
Nela
This is so yummy & my family of four loves this. Definitely will make this again. I also passed this onto my friends.
I’m so glad you love it Marcia! Thanks so much. N x
Tasted beautiful and hubby really enjoyed this . I’ve never really been a cook but started to try a few recipes and my confidence is growing. My husband said tonight wow you really can cook haha as he normally cooks. So thank you! I did forget to put the soy sauce in but this will definitely be a dish on repeat.
As per EVERY meal I’ve tried of your so far Nagi, this was delicious and very easy to make. Would be a great sauce with Ribs too!
Eating this right now with Instant Pot rice and veg
Sooo good
I did a a tbsp of chilli oil
Sauce is delicious
Yes definitely Dawn! N x
Made this and added chilli flakes to the rub, served with potato gratins sugar snap peas, absolutely delish!
YUM! Sounds great Lynn! N x
Wow, another winner Nagi!!
Love this recipe – sent leftovers to my son as he is a starving university student – he said it was to die for!!!!
We made this for dinner tonight and just wow!!!!!!!
By far the best most tasty pork loin I have ever had. Fabulous recipe!
Hi Nagi, decided to do this recipe with a Turkey breast and it was a winner! Thanks for the wonderful recipes.
Joana
This was divine! That sauce??? Shut the front door!
WOOT! 🙌
Everyone enjoyed this pork dish, even the picky five year-old. I think I may have over-reduced the sauce, it was almost like treacle! I’ll watch it more carefully next time.