Here it is — the absolute best Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin recipe! It’s juicy, tender, and delicious.
It’s easy to make but looks and tastes impressive, making it equally perfect for a weeknight dinner or for special occasions and holidays.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
Pork tenderloin is notoriously easy to overcook, but luckily the Instant Pot makes it very hot to overcook things. Since the pressure cooker needs liquid to work and creates steam, it creates a very moist cooking environment that will keep the pork nice and tender.
This dish is packed with intense flavor. Pork goes very well with fall flavors like apple and maple, which is why I used maple syrup and apple cider vinegar to complement the flavor of the pork. The cooking liquid then comes the flavorful glaze for the pork. It’s absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
Pork tenderloin – most pork tenderloins are right around 1 lb. You may need to cut it in half in order for it to fit in the bowl of the Instant Pot.
Olive oil – you can also substitute vegetable or canola oil.
Soy sauce – I recommend using low-sodium soy sauce to better control the salt level of the dish.
Maple syrup – the maple flavor complements pork beautifully! But you can also use honey to sweeten it up a bit.
Apple cider vinegar – I prefer the apple flavor of cider vinegar with pork, but you could also use white wine vinegar or white distilled vinegar.
Water – you could replace the water with low sodium chicken stock for extra flavor, if desired. Make sure it’s low sodium to avoid the dish getting too salty!
How to make
Gather your ingredients:
Set your Instant Pot to saute mode. Rub tenderloins all over with salt and pepper to taste, Italian herbs, and onion powder.
Brown tenderloins in the pot, turning over every 1-2 minutes.
Take out the pork. Add the water and deglaze the Instant Pot.
Add soy sauce, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and garlic to the pot and saute for 1 minute.
Place the pork back into the Instant Pot. Put the lid on in the locked position with the steam valve closed. Set to manual for 15 minutes on high pressure.
Wait for a natural pressure release and open the lid.
Transfer pork to a plate and cut.
Set to saute mode. Whisk in the cornstarch until the sauce is thickened to a glaze.
Pour the glaze over the meat and serve.
Recipe Notes
- Try to purchase a pork tenderloin that is not injected with salt—many pork tenderloins sold at grocery stores are injected with a saline solution. So if that’s the case with your pork tenderloin, skip seasoning with salt, since it will already be salty enough from the brine.
- If possible, season the pork tenderloin about 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking to get better flavor and a crust that browns more easily.
- I like to garnish Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with fresh rosemary or thyme for a striking presentation. It also adds a nice aroma that pairs well with this recipe.
How to Serve
Here are a few of my favorite options for side dishes to go with this recipe:
Instant Pot potatoes and carrots
Need more ideas? Check out What To Serve With Pork Tenderloin for 15 delicious sides.
More Instant Pot Pork Recipes
If you love pork, I’ve got plenty more Instant Pot Pork recipes for you to try out! Here are some you might enjoy:
FAQs
Can you use other cuts of pork?
Yes—this recipe also works well with pork chops.
What does it mean to deglaze?
Deglazing is when you add a liquid to a pot while scraping all of the cooked-on bits on food. This infuses the liquid with the flavor leftover from browning the pork, making for a more flavorful glaze with an appealing deep-brown hue.
What is a slurry?
A slurry is a mixture of cornstarch and water used as a thickening agent. It’s what makes the glaze viscous.
What’s in Italian seasoning?
Italian seasoning blends typically contain a combination of dried rosemary, sage, basil, garlic powder, and sometimes other dried herbs and spices.
Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
- Turn on the Instant Pot and press saute.
- Rub tenderloins all over with salt and pepper, Italian herbs, and onion powder.
- Saute tenderloins for a few minutes until brown.
- Place the pork aside. Add the water and deglaze the Instant Pot.
- Add soy sauce, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and garlic to the Instant Pot and saute for 1 minute.
- Add the pork back to the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- When cooking time ends, wait for a natural pressure release.
- Open the lid, move the pork into a plate and cut into pieces.
- Mix the cornstarch with 4 tablespoon of water and pour the slurry into the Instant Pot.
- Press saute and thickened the sauce to a glaze.
- Pour the sauce over the meat and serve 🙂
Nutrition
Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin Delight
My question has disappeared so I'll try again: what is the approximate weight of the tenderloin you used?
Thanks,
Addie
See my response to the other question you posted below ◡̈
The recipe card ingredients call for 1 pork tenderloin, but the instructions use the plural. So are you using one of the two tenderloins that come in a package, just one of them, or both, or is it one pork loin? It would help to know the weight.
Most pork tenderloins are right around one pound, but I cut mine in half to fit inside the Instant Pot. So this recipe is for 1 pound (approximately, doesn't need to be exact). Hope this helps!
Hi Corrie, just a quick question about cooking meat and the "Natural release" method. I read that using the NR method keeps the meat moist while the pressure releases and cools.
My query is, if I used the Quick release method and immediately covered the inner pot with baking foil, would it achieve the same thing but allowing me to use the IP (with another inner pot!) for other cooking?
Cheers,
Hi Mark, this is a great question. I believe the answer is yes, it should achieve the same thing and you'll be able to start on another recipe! Let me know how it goes.
I suggest you look at a pot-in-pot method that I used for this recipe. I followed the directions and made mashed potatoes using one of the pot-in-pot covered pans. Google "stacker pans" and you'll have an idea how I cooked the potatoes. I bought mine from Amazon but other on-line and big box stores carry them.
I doubled the recipe and it was the most moist pork tenderloin I've ever eaten. Talk about a quick meal that looks like I cooked for hours, win for me. Thank you, Corrie.
Can this pork tenderloin recipe be doubled using the Instsnt Pot without changing cook time ?
Yes, it can! It just may take longer to come to pressure with more in the pot.
Cannot print. It shows 19 pages but they are all blank pages!! How can I printbtge actual recipe?
If you click print near the recipe, rather than on the web browser, that should work. If not, you can try to copy and paste the content into a word document to print. Sorry for the trouble!
Wouldn’t that make the meat tuff and dry cooking that long?
Because the Instant Pot is a moist cooking environment, it makes it hard to overcook things. It will stay tender and moist 🙂
Cheryl my go to recipe, I only cook for 7 minutes so I'm worried about this too!