This Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin Recipe is one of my favorite ways to make pork tenderloin in the oven! It’s made with juicy pork smothered in a sweet and savory honey garlic sauce!
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One thing you may already know about me is that I love honey garlic everything. Baked Honey Garlic Chicken, Honey Garlic Salmon, Honey Garlic Turkey Sloppy Joes…and the list goes on.
Well, this Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin Recipe is another delicious way to use honey garlic sauce. It’s made with juicy pork tenderloins that are doused in a sweet, savory, and tangy honey garlic sauce, then baked until tender, moist, and insanely flavorful.
This easy dinner recipe takes just 25 minutes to make!
Serve it with Instant Pot Brown Rice, Roasted Green Beans or Air Fryer Broccoli for a well rounded meal.
Stocked up on pork tenderloin? Try my Pork Tenderloin Marinade next!
Ingredients Needed:
This Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin Recipe is made with pantry staples, so you likely don’t even have to leave the house to whip this up!
- Pork Tenderloins: you’ll need two pork tenderloins equalling about 2-2.5 pounds. Be sure they’re both trimmed and ready to go.
- Oil: adds moisture and helps the seasonings stick.
- Seasoning Salt: seasoning salt is a simple way to add a ton of flavor to the pork.
- Honey, Chicken Broth, and Soy Sauce: a sweet, salty, and super flavorful base for our honey garlic sauce.
- Garlic: use freshly minced garlic for the best garlicky flavor.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: the bright, tanginess of cider vinegar cuts the sweetness from the honey.
- Salt: enhances other flavors within the sauce.
- Cornstarch: helps thicken the honey garlic sauce.
- Red Pepper Flakes: optional, but highly recommended for a kick of heat!
How to Make Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin in the Oven
This baked pork tenderloin recipe makes the perfect easy weeknight dinner. It’s ready in just 25 minutes and it’s always a hit!
- Prep the tenderloins: Place the tenderloins into a lightly greased 9×13″ baking dish, brush them with oil, then season with seasoning salt.
- Make the sauce: In a bowl, whisk together honey, broth, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, salt, cornstarch, and red pepper flakes.
- Bake: Pour the sauce around the tenderloin, then bake until 140ºF.
- Drizzle the thickened sauce over the finished tenderloin.
Baked Pork Tenderloin FAQs
I find 400ºF to be the perfect temperature for baking pork tenderloin. It’s hot enough that it can brown on top, but not so hot that it burns before the insides are tender and juicy.
Mine usually cook all the way through in anywhere from 15-20 minutes, but this depends on the thickness of the tenderloins you’re using. The best way to tell that they’re done is to use a meat thermometer. Check at 15 and add time as needed until they reach 140ºF.
Leftover Pork Tenderloin will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 4-6 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen, then warm either in the microwave or in the oven until heated through.
The short answer is no, because a pork loin is so much larger and the cook times will be way off.
If you do try it, you may want to leave the honey garlic sauce off until the last 20 minutes of bake time so that it doesn’t burn.
If you’re looking to use chicken breasts instead of pork tenderloin, I recommend checking out my Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken or Honey Garlic Chicken recipes.
Tips and Notes
- Pour the sauce around, not on. When you add the sauce to the pork tenderloin, pour it around them as opposed to on them. If you pour the sauce on top of the pork it will prevent them from browning.
- Check the temp. As always, the best way to tell that meat is done is to use a meat thermometer. Pork tenderloin should be 140-145ºF!
- Don’t overcook. Since pork is a lean meat, it can dry out more easily than other types of meat. Be sure to take it out of the oven as soon as possible after it reaches 140-145ºF.
- Let it rest. Resting the meat for 10 minutes before slicing into it is the key to juicy pork.
Serving Suggestions
These Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloins are delicious over a pile of quinoa or Instant Pot Jasmine Rice and with a side of roasted vegetables. I love Green Beans with Bacon, Honey Glazed Carrots, or this Easy Broccoli Salad for a prep ahead option.
We always have to have basket of Mom’s Homemade Buns too!
More Pork Tenderloin Recipes You’ll Love
Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 2 pork tenderloins (trimmed — 1-1¼ lbs each, about 2-2½ lbs total)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon seasoning salt
- ⅔ cup clear honey
- ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth (or sub water)
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ tablespoons corn starch
- ⅛-¼ red pepper flakes (optional – highly recommended!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a 9×13" baking dish.
- Place tenderloins in baking dish, brush with oil and season all over with seasoning salt.
- Whisk together honey, broth, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, salt, corn starch and red pepper flakes.
- Pour sauce around pork tenderloin in pan — avoid pouring on top of pork as it will prevent it from browning.
- Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until a meat thermometer reads at least 140 degrees F. Remove from the oven and cover to rest for 10 minutes.
- Slice pork tenderloin and serve with sauce.
Notes
- Size matters: this recipe will not work with a pork loin which is much larger and requires a longer cook time. In the time it takes the loin to cook, the sauce will burn. If your tenderloins are larger than 1.25 pounds each, you may want to add the sauce for the last 15-20 minutes of cook time.
- Check the temp. As always, the best way to tell that meat is done is to use a meat thermometer. Pork chops should be 140-145ºF!
- Don’t over-cook. Since pork is a lean meat, it can dry out more easily than other types of meat. Be sure to take it out of the oven as soon as possible after it reaches 140-145ºF.
- Let it rest. Resting the meat for 10 minutes before slicing into it is the key to juicy pork.
- Slow cooker: you can make this recipe in the slow cooker! Simply add the tenderloins and sauce and cook on low for 3 hours or until done.
- Pork loin: I don’t recommend pork loin for this recipe because they are so much larger and require so much more bake time. If you want to serve the sauce with a pork loin you are cooking, simply simmer it on the stove top until thickened.
Nutrition Information
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Emma says
This recipe did not work for me. Followed it exactly, but the tenderloin was only at 120 degrees and the sauce burnt after 20 min.
Sharon White says
Thank you so very much for this gourmet recipe! So very tender and the flavor is delicious! Makes me feel like the family chef! Super yum!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sharon! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Gay Flowe says
I have made this pork loin recipe several times and it turns out perfect every time ! It’s wonderful.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Gay! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Terri RaFalik says
No way the tenderloin was near finished cooking in 20 minutes. I added another 20 and it reached 140 degrees. Now the sauce smells burnt. The meat didn’t brown either. The recipe for the sauce sounds good but probably need to cook separately.
The Recipe Rebel says
Sorry to hear that you had trouble with the recipe, Terri. The timing has worked well for myself (and others) so I wished it would of been a hit for you too!
Michelle says
I really appreciate the easiness of this recipe. The whole family loved the taste which is a bonus since we find pork to be rather bland.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Michelle! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for the kind review!
Donna Wilburn says
This was so good that my family was begging for more. I made this on Easter and I think it was devoured in 2.5 seconds and I cook two tenderloins. I made it just like they said and I added the red pepper flakes to it as well. I have a request for it to need made again this week. Thank you for sharing this.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Donna! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Steve says
I made this last night and it was so good. The only thing that threw me off was the “clear honey”. I’m a beekeeper and I got a chuckle out of that one. The color is dictated by the bees pollen source. I used some of my local wildflower honey which is darker and it worked fine. This recipe is a KEEPER. Thank you so much for sharing this one.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Steve! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Shannon Gregorek says
This is such a flavorful dish. My very picky eater gobbles this up. I love how quick and easy this is to prepare with a minimal ingredient list.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Shannon! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
AN says
Not sure what I did wrong, but my sauce did not thicken to a nice glaze as in video.. any advice?
Donna Wilburn says
Did you use corn starch to help thicken it?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi AN! I’m not sure why it wouldn’t thicken if using cornstarch.
Hannah says
This was really delicious! I only used 1/2 c honey and doubled all other sauce ingredients. To me, this was the perfect balance of sweet and savory. I put red bell pepper, onion, and carrots in with the sauce and tenderloins. Served with brown rice. So so yummy!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Hannah! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Sierra says
This was absolutely delicious! We had been craving Chinese food and decided to make this in hopes of satisfying that craving. It was a job well done! Craving satisfied. Tender, moist, juicy, sweet and spicy is how I describe this meal. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sierra! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for the review!
Michelle Mcgrew says
The whole family loved it.. even the picky ones!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Michelle! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for the review!
Jackie Neumann says
Sounds wonderful. Will it work if I cut the recipe in half?
Sierra says
Yes! However, I will say, we put the sauce on our rice as well and it gave it an extra boost of flavor. So it all depends on how much sauce you want.
The Recipe Rebel says
It should work! Enjoy!
Tim says
Made this in a Ninja Foodie and it came out great. Thanks.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Tim! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for the review!
Gary says
Excellent! Great flavor with many different accents.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Gary! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Northern Belle says
Gosh, that doesn’t sound rude or racist at all! It’s possible to not like a recipe and simply say you didn’t enjoy the seasoning level without being a horrible person. But I’m doubting whether you even made it.
Not happy says
Horrible recipe. The cooking time is WAY off. Purchased pork tenderloin at the recipe’s suggested weight. At the 20 min cooking mark the pork was still bright pink and oozed pink when thermometer pierced it. At the 35 min mark pork was still too pink to eat. At 45 minutes the pork was done, however the sauce was burnt beyond recognition. Wasted money. Ruined dinner.
The Recipe Rebel says
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe. What was the temperature when you pierced it the first time? The pork is cooking to between medium-rare and medium.
John Thomason says
The cooking time says “Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until a meat thermometer reads at least 140 degrees F.” It was only 120 degrees in the center at 20 minutes, and these were less than a pound each. Then the recipe says, “If your tenderloins are larger than 1.25 pounds each, you may want to add the sauce for the last 15-20 minutes of cook time.” Last 15-20 minutes? It was only 15-20 minutes to begin with, and I suspect that was an error, given the low temp after that amount of time at 400 deg. Also, I let the tenderloins out of the fridge to come up to room temp before I baked them.
Krista Allison says
Same here. Took them out still pink in the middle. Put them back in without the sauce for another 20 mins so the sauce wouldn’t burn
The Recipe Rebel says
I’m sorry to hear you had problems with the recipe, Krista. It has worked well for myself (and others), so not sure why it didn’t work for you either.
Donna says
I have not made this yet. Was thinking about making tonight. I always read people’s comments first. I know from experience a pork tenderloin Will not cook that quickly. I make them often. If making this recipe, I would separate the two pieces of tenderloin and brown on all sides first. Then I would put the glaze around it. I will still take 30-40 minutes to cook through at that temperature.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Donna, we make them pretty often as well and this method works correctly every time. I think will depend on how you like your pork. It can range from medium-rare to well-done, just like beef. Enjoy!
Jenny says
I’m going to assume you didn’t use 2 -1lb tenderloins and probably did a 2 lb tenderloin or 2-2lb tenderloins.
na says
ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!
I’m surprised to see all these positive comments. Are they real?