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….😂
Delicious! I made this last night, reduced the honey to 2 tablespoons as we prefer things less sweet, and I added a tablespoon of mustard… worked out really well… family loved it!
Would it be possible to make this recipe in an air fryer?
Beautiful – I had quite a small tenderloin and 15 mins was too long (my fault) so it was overcooked but the flavour was amazing!
The Sause made the meal! We will do this again.
Lovely pork fillet recipe. My OH and I always argue about the best way to cook fillet, he insists it’s long and slow. I’m so glad I found this recipe and proved it isn’t! I also worry about cooking fillet correctly, so having the temp guide was perfect for me. Great easy recipe, tasty and fool proof. Thanks Nagi, you’re wonderful.
This was so good! Thank you very much. Will double recipe next time!
Bursting with flavour. Will definitely try again.
Could you please tell me pan you are using? Is it cast iron and what brand – thank you
My husband said one of the best meals I’ve ever cooked .
Not a bad recommendation as I have been cooking for for him for 50 years
Everyone in the family loves this dish! So easy to make and great for leftovers too- thanks for the recipe
Quick enough for a weekday meal but fancy enough for company. My 6 yo twins and husband love when this is on the menu. Thanks N!
Is there a substitute to cider vinegar? And what are the possible substitutes? I’m gonna cook this recipe tomorrow, thank you!!
I’ve made this a half dozen times now and it’s a hit all around. I keep a running list on my fridge for my kids to note their favorite meals (to give me ideas!) and this has made the list.
I doubled sauced and ended up with extra. Would love to turn into salad dressing. Any suggestions
Can you tell me how hot the oven should be as this is not stated?
180C/350F it is stated as the the first instruction!
Easy, quick and fantastic!
All I had in my cabinet was regular dark and I used Molasses and some honey used a regular cast iron skillet. Turned out amazing and juicy
I love the way you make alternative suggestions and conversions. It makes cooking so mush easier. Thank you.
It sounds great, but am I crazy? Where’s the garlic in the honey garlic sauce?
the 3 ingredients are added to the pan juices full of garlic-hence-honey garlic sauce….lol
Help please! I halved this and used one tenderloin. I only have hard anodised non stick cookware but my pan is oven safe so that’s what I used. The sauce burnt and turned into a sticky almost caramel that set hard very quickly. Perhaps this recipe can’t be halved or should I have made the full quantity of sauce? The pork was still yummy but the sauce just did not work. Unfortunately disappointed here but still a loyal follower!
I am sorry that it didn’t turn out great for you Im – reducing the amount of sauce is the cause there – your pan was too large for the amount of sauce you had so it evaporated too quickly! N x
Hi so I did this a little different. I added season potatoes cut into small pieces with olive oil & only did one pork tenderloin. It’s cooking as we speak. Hoping I didn’t mess up the sauce
Hi Pam. Could you please tell me how it turned out ?
Thanks, Kate.
I figured that might be the issue! The pork still got a positive review from my non-pork loving partner. Will try again with more sauce! Might be worth adding a note not to scale down if there isn’t one I missed. Thanks x
Hi Im, yes that’s a trap I learned the hard way, too – whatever you’re putting in the oven in a sauce it’s fine to reduce the dish for 2 instead of 4 serves, but NOT the sauce. I made this mistake a couple times before I twigged what I was doing wrong 🙂
I did this dinner tonight and used one fillet and I roughly halved the other ingredients and it worked fine (sorry!). I cooked in a large ovenproof wok type pan and there was still sauce after.
I made this yesterday and everyone loved it including me! This recipe is a keeper!
That’s great Andrea!! Enjoy! N x