Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin is juicy, tender, and bursting with incredible flavor. Coated with a delicious honey garlic glaze, it is fast and easy to make on your grill or roasted in your oven.
🐖Ingredients
Pork tenderloin
Honey Garlic Glaze—honey, soy sauce, garlic powder
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Featured Comment From Eric :
"I’ve never made a pork tenderloin before this, and this has literally become one of my favorite things to make. I’ve made it 4 times now in the last 2 months. It’s so good. I usually make more of the sauce."
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I love honey garlic glazed meats, like Honey Glazed Grilled Chicken Breasts or Honey Glazed Ham Steak. This company-worthy honey glaze pork tenderloin fits the bill perfectly.
Use my simple three-ingredient honey glaze and the easy step-by-step photo instructions to grill or oven-bake delicious, tender, and juicy pork tenderloin that everybody will love.
Try some of my other pork tenderloin recipes. First, a personal favorite of mine and many others, try my Memphis Pork Tenderloin. For a change of pace, see Alton Browns Chipotle Lime Pork Tenderloin or Balsamic Marinade Pork Tenderloin. For a complete guide, see How to Grill a Pork Tenderloin on a Gas Grill.
👨🍳How to Grill Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin—Step-by-Step
1. Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°. Clean and oil well.
2. Mix honey, soy sauce, and garlic powder.
3. Trim pork tenderloin of any silverskin and membrane.
4. Brush the honey glaze on the tenderloin.
5. Place over direct heat on the grill. Grill for five minutes, rotate one-third, then brush the exposed sides with more honey mixture. Repeat this twice more. Then, continue to grill and rotate every 5 minutes until an internal temperature of 145° to 150°. A total cooking time of about 22-27 minutes. Be sure to cook to the final internal temperature and not by time.
6. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏲️How long to grill pork tenderloin
The recommended medium rare internal temp of 145° will take about 25 minutes on a 450° grill surface.
Rare (less than 145°)—Not recommended due to USDA safety recommendations.
Medium-Rare (145°-150°) will take about 22-27 minutes
Medium (150°-155°) will take about 27-30 minutes
Medium-Well(155°-160°) will take about 29+ minutes
Well Done(160°+)—Not recommended due to dryness and texture.
Times are provided to help with planning, but never cook by time; always cook to a final internal temperature.
Options and variations of the glaze
There are not many options outside of the glaze. You can choose only the cooking method and level of doneness, but the glaze will open up flavor options.
Add dijon mustard for a honey-dijon pork tenderloin. Use fresh garlic, covered in the FAQ section below. Add cloves, nutmeg, or all-spice for honey-baked ham flavors or cinnamon for a delicious honey-cinnamon glaze.
👨🍳How to oven-bake honey garlic pork tenderloin
- Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional.
- Prepare an oven-safe pan (grill pan with ridges preferred) with a coat of PAM cooking spray.
- Prepare the tenderloin and the glaze in the same way as the grill instructions.
- Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, brushing with the glaze twice during baking—at about the 8 and 16-minute marks.
- Remove when the tenderloin reaches your desired internal temperature, about 25 minutes. The temperature will rise a few degrees after removal.
- Otherwise, oven-baked times will be similar to grill times. Smaller tenderloins may cook faster, and thick tenderloins will take longer to cook.
Note: I do not suggest the sear-and-bake method since the honey can burn. But if the color is not as dark as you wish when the tenderloin reaches the final temp, turn on the broiler for a few minutes.
How to serve
The sweet taste will go well with starch side dishes, like perfect baked rice, Julia Child's French Bread, or convection oven French fries. Roasted or grilled vegetables will also be an excellent addition. I like to use Grilled Mixed Vegetables, Grilled Corn on the Cob, or Grilled Red Potatoes. Then add a dessert of Grilled Pineapple or Strawberry Pie.
If cooked in the oven, I like to add baked cauliflower or roasted asparagus. Or try Oven Roasted Red Potatoes or Parmesan Baked Potatoes.
Should You Brine?
You can if you want, but tenderloin is not nearly as needly of brine as pork chops or pork loin.
If you decide to brine, I suggest 2 cups of water with 2 tablespoons salt for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. When done, be sure to rinse well and pat dry. Also, be sure to use low-sodium soy sauce if you brine.
♨️The grill setup
The grill surface temperature needs to be about 450°. You can not cook this on high heat—it doesn't work well for thicker meat, and especially with the honey, you will burn the outside before the inside is cooked.
Please see A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill for details about grill surface temperatures.
Can I use charcoal? Yep, but you need to create a cooler zone for the tenderloin. And remember you are cooking to a final internal temperature.
Storage of leftovers
Store refrigerated for 3 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze for 3 months.
To serve, cut up refrigerated leftovers for a tossed salad. Or reheat in the oven or microwave. If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
❓FAQs
No, a pork loin is much bigger and will cook differently. If you want to use the glaze on pork loin, pork chops, or country-style boneless ribs, that will be fine, but use the cooking instructions for those cuts.
I feel garlic powder works well, but you can use crushed or minced fresh garlic. But to remove the "raw taste," you should saute the fresh garlic for a few minutes in oil or butter before adding it to the glaze.
🐖About Pork Tenderloin
The tenderloin refers to the psoas muscle along the lower back. The psoas is generally the most tender cut since it is not used for movement. The psoas is the chicken tenders in the chicken or beef tenderloin (filet mignon) in cattle.
I always think of a pork tenderloin as having three sides since they are almost triangular in shape. So a "flip" is just a third of a turn, not 180 degrees.
But please note that pork lion is different and must be cooked differently. Pork loins will weigh 5 pounds or so. Most pork tenderloins are about 1 ½ pounds. Please do not confuse the two.
📖 Recipe
Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin
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Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin
Honey Garlic Glaze
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°. Clean and oil well.Note: Additional instructions for oven baking are in the recipe notes below.
- Mix two tablespoons of honey, one tablespoon soy sauce, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder.
- Trim pork tenderloin of any silverskin and membrane.
- Brush the honey glaze on the tenderloin.
- Place over direct heat on the grill. Grill for five minutes, rotate one-third, then brush the exposed sides with more honey mixture. Repeat this twice more. Then continue to grill and rotate every 5 minutes until an internal temperature of 145° to 150°. A total cooking time of about 22-27 minutes. Be sure to cook to the final internal temperature and not by time.
- Continue to grill and rotate every 5 minutes until an internal temperature of about 145° or your taste. A total cooking time of 25-30 minutes usually. Be sure to cook to the final internal temperature and not by time.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Brine if you want. If you decide to brine, I suggest 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of salt. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Rinse well and pat dry. Use low sodium soy sauce if you brine.
- Think of a pork tenderloin as having three sides since they are almost triangular in shape. So a "flip" is a ⅓ rotation.
- Be sure you understand grill surface temperature, or you will burn the outside of the pork before the middle is done. A grill surface thermometer is highly recommended.
- NOT BY TIME ALONE. You are cooking to a final internal temperature. There are variables of the weight and thickness of the tenderloin, the tenderloin starting temperature, and your grill.
Additional Oven Baking Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional.
- Prepare an oven-safe pan (grill pan with ridges preferred) with a coat of PAM cooking spray.
- Prepare the tenderloin and the glaze the same as the grill instructions.
- Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes brushing with the glaze twice during baking—at about the 8 and the 16-minute marks.
- Remove when the tenderloin reaches your desired internal temperature—about 25 minutes. The temp will rise a few degrees after removal.
- Oven baked times will otherwise be similar to the grill times. Smaller tenderloins may cook faster, and thick tenderloins will take longer to cook.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's note: Originally published June 20, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Eric Tivers says
I’ve never made a pork tenderloin before this, and this has literally become one of my favorite things to make. I’ve made it 4 times now in the last 2 months. It’s so good. I usually make more of the sauce.