Honey Pork Tenderloin is juicy, tender, and bursting with incredible flavor. Coated with a delicious honey garlic glaze, it is quick and easy on your grill or roasted in your oven.
🐖Ingredients
- Pork tenderloin
- Honey 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."
Get a company-worthy honey glaze pork tenderloin with these easy step-by-step photo instructions. The honey garlic glaze is easy to use with only three ingredients and can be grilled or oven-baked.
Pork tenderloins are the perfect size for "cooking for two" or smaller households but are easy to scale up to a party. The whole family will love the tasty dinner.
Pork tenderloin is super tender, but you can brine it if you want. Simple on the grill but can easily be done in the oven.
👨🍳How to grill honey pork tenderloin
- Trim pork tenderloin of any silverskin and membrane.
- Mix a glaze of honey, soy sauce, and garlic powder.
- 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.
- Continue to grill and rotate every 5 minutes until an internal temperature of about 145° or your taste is usually 25-30 minutes.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
This is a summary of the steps and ingredients. See the recipe card or the step-by-step photo instructions below for complete instructions.
👨🍳How to oven-bake honey 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 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 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.
This is a summary of the steps and ingredients. See the recipe card or the step-by-step photo instructions below for complete instructions.
⏲️How long to grill
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.
Pork Tenderloin Recipes
Try these other pork tenderloin recipes. First, a personal favorite of mine and many others, try my Memphis Pork Tenderloin, or 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 serve
This tenderloin goes well with many side dishes. I like to use Grilled Mixed Vegetables, Grilled Corn on the Cob, or Grilled Baby Potatoes. Then add a dessert of Grilled Pineapple or Strawberry Pie.
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. Be sure to rinse well when done 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.
The sweet taste will go well with rice or potato side dishes. Roasted or grilled vegetables will also be an excellent addition.
🐖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.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°. Clean and oil well.
Mix honey, soy sauce, and 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.
Allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
📖 Recipe
Honey Pork Tenderloin on a Grill or in the Oven
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin
Honey 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.
Your Own Private Notes
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.
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
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.