Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin Recipe

This Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin Recipe starts with pork marinated in garlic, lemon, and herbs. It’s seared and finished with a sweet balsamic glaze. It takes me only 15 minutes to prep, and I keep the pork rosy and juicy. It’s easy enough for a Tuesday night but nice enough to serve to guests.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is the long, slender muscle that runs along the inside of the pig’s spine. It is the most tender cut on the animal. I love that it is inexpensive, comes to the store already trimmed, and cooks fast because the muscle is small and low in fat.

My key technique here is to sear the pork hard for color and lather it with the marinade. Then I finish it in the oven until it reaches the right temperature before glazing it. That’s basically the whole recipe, and the only real skill is knowing when to take it out of the oven. I’ll walk you through that in the steps and chef tips below.

One thing I care about most is not overcooking the pork. Pork tenderloin gets overcooked more than almost any cut I can think of. That’s the number one way to end up with dry, flavorless meat. I take it out at 125 F and let it rest, which leaves it a little pink in the center. That still catches people off guard, but once you taste tenderloin cooked this way, there’s no going back. So give this one a try on a random Tuesday night. I promise your family will be impressed by how amazing it tastes.

Ingredients and Substitutions

The glaze, the marinade, and the pork each have their own ingredient list. I grouped them that way with the swaps I actually use.

For the balsamic glaze:

• Balsamic vinegar – This is the backbone of the glaze, reducing down to something sweet, syrupy, and full of umami. Any balsamic works, so I buy whatever is organic and on sale rather than chasing an expensive bottle.
• Soy sauce, just a hint, goes into the reduction. It adds a little salt and a punch of umami you cannot get from the vinegar alone. Low sodium is fine if you want more control over the salt.
• Unsalted butter – A knob whisked in at the end gives the glaze its sheen and rounds off the acidity. I use unsalted to finish a sauce with a little fat.
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end brightens the reduction. I was taught to finish every sauce with a hit of fresh acid, and this is that acid.

For the garlic citrus herb marinade:

• Garlic – Grated fine on a microplane so it coats the whole surface of the pork and flavors it fast. Fresh grated is what you want here; jarred minced will not give you the same punch.
• Lemon zest – The oils in the zest brighten the pork the way the juice brightens the glaze. Zest the lemon before you juice it, and you get both jobs out of one piece of fruit.
• Fresh thyme and rosemary – Both herbs are naturals with pork and with balsamic. They thread the marinade and the glaze together. Dried works if that is what you have, just use less, since dried herbs are far more concentrated than fresh.
• A little Dijon mustard adds acidity and helps emulsify the oil and aromatics. This helps the marinade cling to the pork rather than slide off. Yellow mustard is sharper and less rounded, so Dijon is worth it here.
• Olive oil – The oil coats the pork so the garlic and herbs cling to every side. Its flavor is a natural match for balsamic. Any neutral oil works if you would rather stay flavor-neutral.
• Pork tenderloin is the star ingredient, trimmed and cleaned, which is how it almost always comes from the grocery store or butcher. It is cheap for how good it is, and the price per pound is friendly no matter where you shop.
• Kosher salt and black pepper – Season the pork hard on every side, because a low-fat cut like this needs it to taste like anything. I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. I grind my own peppercorns, since freshly cracked pepper is a different thing from the pre-ground stuff.

How to Make Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Preheat the oven: Set the oven to 350 F with no fan.

Reduce the glaze: Add the balsamic and soy sauce to a medium saucepot over medium heat and cook until it reaches exactly 226 F, which takes about 10 minutes. That temperature is the whole reason the glaze coats a spoon instead of sliding off the pork like thin vinegar, so use a thermometer and do not eyeball it. Whisk in the lemon juice and butter, then set it aside.

Mix the marinade: Whisk the grated garlic, lemon zest, minced thyme, rosemary, Dijon, 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until it is a loose paste. Set it aside.

Season the pork: Pat the tenderloins bone dry with paper towels. Then season them hard with salt and pepper on every side.

Heat the pan: Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large cast iron or carbon steel pan. Heat it over high until it just starts to smoke lightly.

Sear the pork: Lay the tenderloins in the hot pan and sear 2 to 3 minutes per side until well browned all over. This crust is where most of the savory flavor comes from, so leave the meat still and let each side sit and color before flipping it.

Marinade and roast: Slather the garlic herb marinade generously over the top of each tenderloin. The marinade only has about 15 minutes in the oven to flavor the meat, so pile it on. Transfer the pan to the middle rack and roast at 350 F until the pork reads 125 F internally, about 15 minutes.

Rest the pork: Set the pork on a rack to rest for 4 to 5 minutes so the juices settle back into the meat rather than running out onto the board.

While it rests, brush some of the balsamic glaze over the top.

Slice and glaze: Slice the tenderloin against the grain and drizzle the rest of the balsamic glaze over the pieces.

Serving Suggestions

Serving this recipe is so simple. On a weeknight, I slice the tenderloin and spoon the glaze over the top. Then I add creamy roasted garlic mashed potatoes with a side of easy roasted asparagus. The balsamic pools into the potatoes, which is honestly my favorite spoonful of the whole plate.

The other night, I had friends over, so I made both tenderloins and plated them on a board so everyone could help themselves. I served them with a bowl of garlic green beans and a pot of traditional rice pilaf. If there is any pork left, I recommend slicing it cold into a lunch salad the next day or laying it over rice with a little extra glaze drizzled on top. It is almost better than the night before.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: I make the balsamic glaze and the garlic herb marinade up to a day in advance and keep them covered in the fridge. The pork itself has a temperature on it, so I cook that fresh and eat it as soon as it has rested.

How to Store: I cover the sliced pork and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The balsamic glaze holds separately in a covered container in the fridge for up to 10 days.

How to Reheat: I place the pork in a 13×9 dish, cover it with foil, and warm it on a middle rack at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes. It will most likely go past well done at that point, but it stays plenty juicy.

How to Freeze: I cover the cooked tenderloin and freeze it for up to 3 months, then thaw it in the refrigerator for a day, or until fully thawed, before reheating.

More Delicious Pork Recipes

• Honey Garlic Pork Chops
• Breaded Pork Chops
• Pork Adobo
• Grilled Pork Chops
• Pork Chops with Apples