The delicious fun of making pork recipes in the Instant Pot continues as we make the Best Damn Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin. Tender, juicy and bursting with awesome flavor, then topped with a gravy made from the very juices the pork cooks in. It’s super easy to make and the whole thing is complete and on your plate in about 25 minutes.
Pork tenderloin is an extraordinary meat that is very lean, very tender, and always makes an excellent meal. Making pork tenderloin in the Instant Pot is not only super easy, the pressure cooking makes it so succulent and delicious, it’s my preferred way to make it.
The Best Damn Pork Seasonings
One of the most popular recipes on RecipeTeacher.com is The Best Damn Instant Pot Boneless Pork Chops. In that recipe we use a very simple rub and some chicken stock with a couple of added ingredients to make terrific pork chops. For this recipe, we’ll borrow the same basic ingredients with just a couple of modifications.
Make Sure It’s Pork Tenderloin and not Pork Loin Roast
Both cuts of meat can be right next to each other at the grocery store, but be aware that they are very different cuts of meat. Make sure the package clearly says “pork tenderloin”. It will be long and narrow, usually about 1.5 to 2.5 inches in diameter. I like to use the vacuum sealed packages that will say if the tenderloin contains a solution. This solution is the brine and is a big step saver and helps to keep the meat tender and juicy. So always keep an eye out for it – it’s the best buy.
Start with a Simple Rub
We start by cutting our pork tenderloin in half crosswise to have two equal lengths of meat. This will help the pressure cooking process. Then we add a rub of brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. Fresh, course ground pepper is my choice to use and I like to go heavy on it. I personally love to use a peppercorn medley which consists of black peppercorns, pink peppercorns, green peppercorns, white peppercorns and coriander. The combination of peppercorns, especially when fresh ground creates such a wonderful flavor profile when combined with the other seasonings for this recipe. You can find peppercorn medley grinders in just about any supermarket spice section, usually very affordably too.
Prepare the meat
One of the keys to success is to let the meat sit out of the fridge for a bit. When meat goes right from the cold fridge to the hot pot, it is not going to be as good. Let the meat stay in its packaging on the kitchen counter for 15-20 minutes first. Then after unpackaging, rinse it under water and cut it in half. Coat it with some oil and apply the rub liberally. Set the Instant Pot to saute mode, and when hot, add the meat carefully and brown on all sides. This will take a total of about 5-7 minutes. Remove the meat, and press cancel. Then add the chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Make sure to scrape up all the little bits that have stuck to the bottom. This is important. If they’re not all scraped up, the pot can issue a burn notice when pressure cooking during the next step.
Pressure Cook Only 3 Minutes
After we’ve deglazed the bottom of the pot, we add some Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke to the chicken broth. Then we place the pork tenderloin right into the liquid, secure the lid, make sure vent is set to “sealing”, and pressure cook on high pressure (manual on some cookers) for only 3 minutes. Yes, just 3 minutes. Then let the pressure naturally release. The NPR will take about 12-15 minutes.
When cooking in complete and pressure has naturally released, remove the pork and set on a plate for 5 minutes before slicing.
Make Some Gravy!
Once the meat is removed. Press cancel, then press saute. Scoop out about 3 tablespoons of the juices into a cup and add 2 tablespoons of corn starch. Mix it well and slowly pour it back into the pot. Everything will thicken nicely in about a minute. Press cancel and you’ve got an amazing gravy from the very juices from which we cooked our meat.
PrintRecipe
Best Damn Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin, 1.25lb – 1.5lb
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons course ground black pepper (use less to taste preference – see note at bottom)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
Instructions
- Let pork tenderloin stay in package out of fridge for 15-20 minutes. Remove tenderloin from package and rinse and pat dry. Trim any visible fat. Cut tenderloin into 2 pieces of equal length.
- Coat each piece with about 1 teaspoon each of olive oil. In a small dish, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Apply the rub liberally onto meat.
- Set Instant Pot to Saute mode. When hot, add meat and brown each side for a couple of minutes each. When all sides are browned, press Cancel and remove meat to a plate. Add the chicken stock to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape all the bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke to the chicken broth.
- Place meat directly into the liquid, secure lid, set the vent to “sealing”. Pressure cook (manual) on high pressure for 3 minutes. When cycle is complete, allow pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes. Remove meat to a plate and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing into pieces about ¼ inch thick.
- To make gravy: After removing meat, press Cancel, then press Saute. Scoop out 3 tablespoons of the liquid to a separate cup and add 2 tablespoons of corn starch. Mix well until corn starch is dissolved. Slowly pour mixture back into the liquid in the pot. Once it starts to boil, press cancel. Mix well and sauce will thicken into a delicious gravy.
Notes
If you’re normally sensitive to pepper, please feel free to use less to your personal taste.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 3 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Erica says
So good ! Any tips on how to reheat leftovers? Thanks !
RecipeTeacher says
Thanks Erica! Just add a little of the juice and microwave for under a minute.
Anna Cataldo says
I thought that 2tsp pepper was too much, as well as the 1.25tsp salt, so did 1tsp finely ground black pepper (what I had), and a lil less than 1tsp salt. I also put a lil extra onion powder in at 3/4tsp, and doubled the garlic (because I am italian lol). Because I didnt have liquid smoke, I put in 3/4tbls worcestershire sauce instead of 1/2tbls. These are just personal preferences, but I am sure it wouldve been great as written. It was all a perfect amount of rub for the amount of meat (mine was 1.19lbs), with nothing to spare, but no more couldve been rubbed on even if I wanted to, worked out perfect.
One thing I wanted to point out, cornstarch is in step 5 of the recipe, but is not listed in the ingredients section at start of recipe so I didnt have the needed ingredient out and ready with the other ones; glad I had it available, but typically decide if I am going to make a specific meal based on ingredient list and if i have the items, so I just lucked out that I was able to make the gravy. Furthermore, olive oil is not listed in ingredients, but is in step 2. Also, I was confused in how it said to use already hot liquid with the cornstarch, because usually cornstarch has to be done with cold liquid or else it lumps (at least in my experience, even when making sure to only do a couple tbls of liquid instead of all of it; but been a number of years since i tried). Fearing lumpiness, I used 2tbls cornstarch with 2tbls cold chicken broth, and that worked nicely.
I served this with balsamic sesame roasted asparagus and steamed sweet potatoes where I was able to drizzle a bit of the sauce over them. It made for a very nice meal. The recipe says 2-3 servings yielded, but I made this into 4 meals (4oz raw is recommended serving size of most meats; my 4 servings were actually a lil bigger than id normally do with a 1.19lb loin [recipe called for 1.25-1.5lb]); I think the 2-3 servings yielded though is pretty accurate for how most Americans eat.
The meat was perfectly cooked; tender, juicy, the best damn pork ive had honestly. I think that even though I already halved the pepper, I think next time I might take that down even more. While I loved it, I could see a guest having a complaint if they are sensitive to spicy. It’s more like a flavor POW than a spicy to me, but I add a lil spice to everything so I’m not sensitive at all/prefer it, while others might hate the pow at all.
This was only my second ever insta-pot meal, and directions were well written I followed them to a T when it came to cooking technique. If I had to add anything in this technique…in step 4 “allow pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes”; then it jumps to “remove meat to a plate”. Between the two I would add to say to “switch vent from sealing position to venting position”. I only say that, because the last, and only other time I used the insta-pot, had the recipe not said to do that, I wouldve had a pressure cooker explosion. Idk what the difference was between that last meal i made and this meal, but they both had the same “allow pressure to naturally release for 15minutes” line, yet the last meal when i released the vent from sealing to venting after the 15 minutes is shot out steam for 30+ seconds. This pork loin, when I switched it, nothing happened; no steam shot out which surprized me after my first experience. Im guessing the first time the pressure mechanism was stuck and didnt naturally release anything at all, so adding a line to every recipe that says to switch the vent over, I think is a great idea in the lines of keeping your readers safe that may have never used an inta-pot before.
Jennifer says
I’m going to try this soon. I have a question about the cutting in half. In the narrative you say “start by…cutting in half lengthwise” but then in the recipe the directions say “cut into two pieces of equal length”. Which is it? If you cut something in half lengthwise it should already be two equal lengths. And, the pictures accompanying this show a round shape where cut in half lengthwise I’d expect to be flat on one end. Don’t want to ruin this!
RecipeTeacher says
Thanks for pointing that out. I’ll make the wording more clear. Cut it in half just like in the pictures.
Karena says
So delicious! The gravy is so good. Perfectly tender. And it’s really quick and easy.
RecipeTeacher says
Awesome!! Thanks for the feedback, Karena!
Diana says
Should I change the cook time if I’m using an 8 quart instant pot instead of 6?
Thanks!
RecipeTeacher says
Nope. Leave the same.
dale geraldson says
Made this tonite . Came out great Only to much pepper for me next one I will cut in half Best recpe so far for pork tenderloin
Doug says
Great recipe! Meat was perfectly tender. I substituted corn starch with arrowroot. Use a little less arrowroot than the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch it calls for.
Brooklyn13 says
This was amazing!!! Checking out all of your other recipes now……so excited!!
RecipeTeacher says
Thanks Brooklyn! Hope you find some other good ones too!
Mike says
Great recipe but I made some modifications. Used cola instead of broth, threw in a handful of garlic cloves and a sliced onion before pressure cooking. Came out great. Garlic was soft and sweet. I pulled them out of the liquid before thickening the gravy so they wouldn’t mush it up, tossed them back in right before dishing out the gravy. Family loved it.
Janice says
My family loves this pork tenderloin, even my super picky son. I was wondering if this recipe could be adapted for a boneless pork lion filet that I accidentally picked up instead of the tenderloin. Thanks