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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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….😂
I only had balsamic vinegar, but it was delicious and shockingly easy.
I scaled this recipe down for one pork tenderloin (just two of us). My husband said “this was excellent.” High praise for a man who usually has no comments.
This pork tenderloin recipe is probably the best one I’ve ever tried! Quick, easy, and so tender and flavorful. My husband loves it too and I plan to make it for my in-laws (who love tenderloins)!
Nagi, thank you for an absolute
stellar recipe. I followed the recipe exactly as written and the results were amazing. The pork was so juicy and tender. This recipe will be rotated often. Hugs to Australia for you and Dozer too!
I have cooked this quite a few times over the last year or so. It is perfect every time. Again tonight! I served with mashed parsnip…yum, and mixed steamed greens. Tonight I used maple syrup instead of honey and threw in some quarters of apple for the last 10 minutes of roasting, it worked great….I am going to try it with peaches or nectarines when they are in season just for something different. But trust this recipe as it us….Nagi is the master!!!
Couldn’t find my honey for the Pork fillet so used Golden Syrup and it was amazing. Will definitely use this recipe again!
Couldn’t find my honey so used Golden Syrup and it was amazing. Will definitely use this recipe again!
Top notch Nagi, Thankyou!
I love this dish have made it for friends and family who also, love it. Thank you
Made the pork terderloin with garlic honey sauce and it was loved by the family, definitely make it again. Thanks Nagi for all your wonderful recipes
This was so easy and absolutely amazing. My entire family loved it- it will now be on our monthly rotation and if everyone in my family of picky eaters gave this enthusiastic thumbs up- I think it would be great for guests too.
Your recipes are great. This is the latest one I’ve made for the family. Thumbs up all round. Thanks.
Absolutely perfect. Did the potato salad with it and a slice roast pumpkin. Stunning.
Thank you. I just made your chicken curry using the Abbas meat curry powder, then also poached some chicken.
So now- since I have made some chicken stock will make this to go with chicken rice. Thank you so much. I didn’t feel like doing char siu- this is so much easier.
I just cooked it. My God its so good and it’s absolutely perfect with the chicken rice. It’s so much easier than cooking char siu
I made this last night, it was delicious..the sauce was perfect, next time will make a double batch it was so yummy. Served it on your garlic butter rice with kale which I substituted with silverbeet and added diced kohlrabi..delicious.
I love this recipe. I have made it twice, amazing flavor and juicy!
can you use this recipe with turkey tenderloin?
I have a tenderloin recipe that is my goto recipe, marinated in lemon and rosemary. Looking for a change for no real reason I discovered Nagi’s recipe with honey and garlic. OMG! its so flavorful and delicious! Even the next day in sandwiches it was amazing. Thanks Nagi for this, you make me a better cook everytime!
This is so special, serving it to guest today, sauce is so good – I made extra, love this recipe!
Fantastic! So easy and delicious. Thanks, Nagi and company!