This bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin is one of those miracle recipes that just happens to only require 4 ingredients: pork, bacon, honey and olive oil. Just sear the pork, then roll up in bacon, drizzle with honey and bake. It’s easy as one-two-three (four)!
Four magic words: Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin: It’s one of those gem recipes that is so good and yet so easy that you almost don’t need a recipe. You literally just sear the pork, wrap in bacon, brush with honey and then roast.
(I wish more recipes were this quick and easy to write out! 😂)
Besides the tiny number of ingredients, the other big thing this has going for it is that the bacon keeps the pork really juicy. Pork tenderloin is extremely lean – in fact it’s slightly leaner than chicken breast even. Did you know that? There’s a bit of food trivia for you!
So by wrapping it with bacon, the pork is protected which helps keep it extra moist when roasting. Plus, the fat from the bacon bastes the pork as it roasts which also adds to the juiciness.
What you need for Bacon-Wrapped Pork
Here’s the only things you need!
(OK, ok … So salt and pepper make six ingredients in total. Free pass, I say! 😂)
Pork tenderloin – Also called pork fillet, this is a lean and tender cut of meat. When cooked properly, it’s juicy and succulent. Tenderloins range in size from small ones around 300g (10oz) to very large ones weighing up to 700g (1.4lb). (Not found in Australia, but I’ve seen ones this large overseas!) An average size is around 450 – 500g (16oz – 1 lb) each.
Bacon – Use streaky bacon strips that are long enough to wrap around the pork. You’ll need anywhere between 7 to 10 pieces, enough for a slight overlap between each strip. The exact number depends on the width of the bacon and the size of your pork tenderloin.
Honey – For the glaze. Combined with the bacon fat and salt, it transforms into a savoury, sticky and delicious coating that requires no other additions!
Oil, salt and pepper – For seasoning and searing the pork.
How to make Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
I said you pretty much don’t even need a recipe. But here are the steps anyway. I would never leave you hanging out to dry! 🙂
Season and tuck – Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper, then tuck the thin tail end of the fillet under so the pork is more even thickness and fits into a skillet.
Brown pork – Sear the pork over high heat in a little oil until browned all over, around 5 minutes. This is to give the pork a head start before we finish it in the oven. If we don’t do this, we end up with a thick band of overcooked pork surrounding the just-done centre. Pre-searing gives us an evenly cooked finish.
Wrap in bacon – Lay bacon strips vertically on a work surface, with each piece overlapping slightly. Take the pork from pan (let it cool a little so you can handle). Place the pork on top of the bacon, at the end closest to you. Use a long knife to fold the bacon over the pork and roll the pork so it’s wrapped in the bacon.
Seam side down – Roll the fillet over so it’s sitting seam side down. This helps the bacon stays in place. Now slide the knife under the pork, lift it and transfer back to the skillet (heat off, it’s now our baking dish).
Drizzle with honey – To be honest, I don’t measure! I just eye ball it and squeeze it straight from the bottle onto the pork. Then roughly spread it with a spoon or brush – no need for completely coverage here because it mostly melts off during the baking. The glossy, deeply bronzed glaze is from brushing the bacon with the pan juices later.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
Baste – Remove from the oven and baste the bacon using the juices in the pan. There will be a decent amount of syrupy glaze pooled in the pan. Basting with it will make the bacon a beautiful deep bronze colour.
Bake further 5 minutes (total bake time for 25 minutes) or until the internal temperature is 65°C (149°F). This yields medium doneness, which will have the faintest blush of pink inside with beautifully juicy flesh. To cook fully with no pink at all, just take it to 68°C (155°F) or so – around 3 more minutes baking time.
Rest for 5 minutes, then baste one last time before slicing. Serve with remaining pan juices!
What to serve with Bacon-Wrapped Pork
A starchy sidekick is called for here, to scoop up the residual bacon juices. Think: mashed potato, or creamy mashed cauliflower for the carb-conscious. Otherwise any standard plate-mopping companions from the bread family: crusty bread, hot flatbreads (this no-yeast one is a great easy one, otherwise, hot naan would be lip smackingly good too).
As for a salad, the plate above features a modest effort involving just a handful of leafy mixed greens tossed with my everyday simple Salad Dressing. If you wanted to make more of an effort and to try something a little different, here are a few suggestions:
– Nagi x
PS I just realised this is pork-on-pork. Is that a faux pas, like denim on denim?? 😉
Watch how to make it
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Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 8 to 10 slices of streaky bacon , long enough to wrap around the pork 1 1/2 times.
- 1 lb / 500g pork tenderloin , at room temperature
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (honey works better, it's thicker)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
- Lay out bacon: Lay the bacon strips vertically on a board, slightly overlapping (see photo in post). There should be enough bacon so when rolled will wrap the length of the pork.
- Season the pork with salt and pepper. Tuck the thin end of the fillet under so the pork is roughly the same thickness from end to end.
- Brown pork: Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Sear the pork on all sides until nicely browned. (Don't worry about cooking through, it will go in the oven.) Turn off heat, remove pork and allow to cool enough to handle.
- Wrap pork in bacon: Place pork on the arranged bacon at the end closest to you. Use a long knife to lift the bacon under the pork and roll the pork so the bacon wraps around the fillet. Finish with the bacon seam side down.
- Honey: Use the knife to transfer back into the skillet. Drizzle over honey and brush all over.
- Bake 25 minutes: Transfer skillet to oven for 25 minutes and roast pork until the internal temperature is 65°C / 149°F. (Note 1) Baste with pan juices at the 20 minute mark, mopping up plenty of the honey and juices pooled in the pan (this will make bacon deep golden).
- Rest 5 minutes: Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Baste once more just before serving. To serve, cut into thick slices. Serve with remaining pan juices.
Recipe Notes:
- 300g (10oz): 20 minutes
- 400g (14oz): 25 minutes
- 500g (1lb): 28 minutes
Nutrition Information:
Originally published May 2015. Updated with much needed new photos and recipe video. But most important, a Life of Dozer section added! ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Anything Bacon Wrapped is a GOOD THING!
And more Pork tenderloin recipes
Life of Dozer
Latest attempt to keep him out of the kitchen…..
Looks so delicious, look at that bacon wrapped in that deliciousness
Pork on pork. What a sight! 🙂
Nagi this turned out sooo good. Usually I make a recipe per the instructions and then tweak it. No need with this one. It turned out just like your pictures. I used a cast iron skillet and I believe that made the difference with the bacon cooking all the way through. Thank you for a great recipe!! My husband is very picky and he loves it!!
Hi Lisa! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed this, and thank you for taking the time to let me know! N x
Hi – I have a 2 lb tenderloin, that I seared on my stinking hot skillet and then wrapped in bacon. I have it covered in the fridge waiting until later today to roast.
Do I need to increase roasting time to 50-60 minutes at 390 (normal oven)? I have a shallow pan and am very concerned about the bacon “popping” all over my oven. Should I tent with foil to prevent spatters?
I am so looking forward to my pork, sauerkraut and roasted potato meal tonight!!
MaryJane
Sorry for the late response, I guess I am too late! I think 40 – 45 minutes will do the trick. 🙂 Sounds like an amazing feast MaryJane!
I just wanted to mention that I made this recipe, and it turned out picture perfect! The flavor was amazing, and everyone who tried it was impressed. Because I had a regular oven (not convection), I actually put two tenderloins together, flipping one so that the smaller ends were ticked under at each end, making it almost equal in size from end to end. I kept them together as if it was one larger roast when I rolled it in the bacon, and ended up cooking at 350° for 50 minutes to an hour, basting frequently. The result was perfection, with moist pork, and caramelized bacon. It looked so impressive that i took photos of it! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi Jenny —
Did the bacon splatter all over the oven? Did you cover it at all?
MaryJane
So glad you liked it Jenny, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
If I am doing 2 one lb tenderloins do I cook them for the same amount of time. I’m really excited to try this!
Hi Suzee! Yep, cook them at the same time, probably won’t take any longer to make 🙂 N x
I tried this with a couple of changes, of sorts. I brushed the tenderloin with bbq sauce, and added a little crushed pineapple before wrapping it with pecan smoked thick sliced bacon. I grilled this until the bacon began to render some fat; brushed with a little more bbq sauce. The I put it in a 350 oven, used an oven thermometer. The dinner guests were totally pissed…I only made one 🙂
Oooh! PECAN SMOKED BACON??? Incredible!!
If I try this with a 2-3lb tenderloin, how long should I cook for, like Pat, I have one already unthawed?
You could still do this actaully, just follow the first few steps sear the pork loin wrap in bacon and roast until the last 25 minutes remove from oven bast woth honey and follow the remainder of the instructions she has basting every few minutes the bacon will not burn doing this
Hi Shyla! I think you have a loin, not a tenderloin because tenderloins don’t come that large! Unfortunately this won’t work for a loin that large because it is so big, it will take around 1hr to roast and by that time the bacon will be burnt. Sorry to disappoint!
This was “stupid simple” and delicious. While the roast was perfect, the bacon was not as crispy looking as the picture. I’ll likely go up to 375 degrees next time. I will definitely cook this again.
PS do you have a normal oven as opposed to a convection / fan forced oven?? If so, definitely dial it up to 390F/200C 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Walter, thank you for letting me know!!
Hi darling
I absolute love your pork loin,l had some trouble with the bacon ,next time it be perfect ,cooked it with green asparagus in a hollandaise sauce and just boil kiffer potatoes,heaven ,keep up the good work,(cooking)ps I am from down under .Australia
Regards Lou
Hi Lou! So glad you enjoyed it, and I love the sides you served them with – YUM!
Hi Maria! I bake at 180C/350F (fan forced) / 200C/390F (conventional oven) and it comes out golden, it sounds like your oven might be a tad weak? Just turn your oven up! N x
These sound so good, thanks for sharing this delicious looking recipe.
Simon
Thank you Simon! I do hope you try it! 🙂
Do you have a delicious recipe for a 2 1/3 pound Tenderloin. I am definitely going to try this recipe but I’m gonna buy the right size pork tenderloin for it. I defrosted my Tenderloin this evening, planning on cooking this but after reading your comments, it’s not going to taste or look like yours! Do you have a delicious recipe for a 2 1/3 pound Tenderloin? I need it!!!!
Maybe your packaged tenderloins will separate into 2 strips when you open the package. The 2 pk from the Club stores yield 4 total loin strips.
will let you no have mines turn out sundaynite.
Hope you enjoy it Barbara! 🙂
Tried it – fantastic
I’m so glad to hear that Andy! Thank you for letting me know! N x
I tried this recipe out tonight and the pork came out juicy and tender but unfortunately my bacon is still raw. I’m not sure what happened but can I have some tips for next time?
Gosh how odd Melin! The bacon should cook much faster than the pork. I’m completely baffled???!!!
I have no idea what went wrong. The pork was cooked beautifully but the bacon just did not want to cook. I even stuck it under the broiler for a few minutes to try to crisp it up but it didn’t do anything. I used maple smoked bacon could that have anything to do with it? I also cooked it at 390 F. Is it my ovens fault maybe? Or should I have gotten different bacon?
Smoked bacon is fine. You didn’t use “diet” bacon did you? Bacon needs fat in it to caramelise. Bacon cooks way faster than pork so something really odd happened here!
Do you cover it when cooking
Hi Cheri! Nope, roast uncovered so it gets gorgeously golden! 🙂
I want to try this for a dinner party of 8. If I seared the pork just before the guests arrive and wrap it in bacon, then put in the oven say 30 minutes later, would the pork dry out?
Sorry about the dumb question, but I’m really trying to improve my cooking and kitchen organisational skills. I don’t want a hugely messy kitchen and I am messy, when guests arrive.
I’ll let you know how it turns out
Hi Andy! That’s not a dumb question at all, I totally get it 🙂 This is how I would do it to minimise juices leaking from the pork – heat the skillet until it is STINKING hot – as in smoking. Add oil then sear the pork VERY briefly all around – literally 1 minute in total, just enough to get the thinnest possible layer of searing. Then remove it straight away onto a plate. Doing this you will reduce juices leaking from the pork while waiting to roast. Then wrap with bacon and roast when your guests arrive. 🙂
Thank you for posting this recipe! I was actually looking for another recipe I’d used before, but this seems much easier to try for this busy mom. I also want say it was refreshing to scroll through the comments to see so much positive interaction. It really lifted my spirits after a long day. Thanks, everyone, and God bless!
Thanks Angela!! There are so many great readers here, happy to help other people and provide helpful comments 🙂 I love it! N x
This is an awesome receipt and we would like to serve it for a dinner party of 12. Can any of the steps be done early to prevent a mess in the kitchen when the guests arrive….also to allow me to enjoy the company?
Hi Dale! This can be made then reheated gently in a 180C/350F oven for around 10 minutes or even in the microwave. 🙂 But I really do feel that this is best made fresh, if possible! The pork is juicier 🙂
I’d like to make this for dinner tonight but I definitely prefer the flavour of real maple syrup (Canadian girl!!). Will the glaze be too thin? Is there a way to thicken it up? I thought maybe brown sugar but I’m thinking that’ll be too sweet! Any suggestions would be appreciated! Also I have a pack of 2 tenderloins. Total weight for both is just over a kg. So how long should I cook for (no pink please!).
Sofia
Hi Sofia! When I make it with maple syrup, I do extra basting at the end while it rests. 🙂 As the pan juices cool, the juices / maple syrup will thicken slightly so I baste to get it glossier 🙂