Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin with Ginger & Soy

This honey garlic pork tenderloin recipe starts with an easy marinade with lots of fresh ginger and soy. Once marinaded, bake in the oven!

Lately, I have been all about simple and easy meals that take minimal ingredients, are higher in protein and also make for great leftovers. We love grilling up a Venison Backstrap, or throwing ingredients together for a protein-packed Taco Casserole. One bowl meals are also always on our rotation. My Egg Roll in a Bowl never disappoints, as well as my Sticky Ground Pork Rice Bowls. We’ve been making these Greek-Inspired Venison Power Bowls and enjoying them throughout the week for meal prep too! Give taco night a little twist with my Easy Chicken Fajita Bowls or Venison Burrito Bowls.

Adding this recipe for honey garlic pork tenderloin into your meal rotation is an easy and fast way to bring something different, yet healthy and simple to the table! It’s great to switch it up sometimes and we have been loving this recipe so much. We like to serve it over rice with some broccoli.

love recipe videos? watch how I make it on YouTube.

INGREDIENTS AND KITCHEN TOOLS

This marinade is SO simple. All you need are a few pantry and fresh ingredients. You can whisk it together in less than 5 minutes, I promise! Here’s what you need for the honey garlic pork tenderloin marinade:

• Pork Tenderloin
• Soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
• Olive oil (or oil of your choice like avocado)
• Lime
• Honey
• Fresh ginger
• Fresh garlic cloves

STEP BY STEP

Step 1: Combine all of the ingredients into a zip-top bag or bowl with a lid. Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour but up to 4 hours.

Step 2: About 30 minutes prior to cooking, remove the marinating pork from the fridge to come to room temperature before cooking. This ensures even cooking. 

Step 3: Preheat the oven to 400F. 

Step 4: Remove the tenderloin from the marinade shaking off some of the excess liquid. Don’t rinse or pat anything off, though. If the tail end is much thinner than the thickest part, you can fold the tenderloin into itself and tie the thin end together with some cotton kitchen twine or a toothpick so it bakes more evenly and the end doesn’t dry out. 

Step 5: Lay the tenderloin on a baking sheet or dish and bake for 22-28 minutes (depending on thickness) or until it internally reaches 145 degrees F (see here for the National Pork Board’s revised cooking temperature recommendations). I also recommend checking with a meat thermometer.

Step 6: Allow the tenderloin to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving. 

Step 7: We like eating this with rice and broccoli best but, it would be delicious with your favorite vegetables!

FAQ

SHOULD YOU MARINADE PORK TENDERLOIN?

First things first, let’s talk about pork tenderloin. Tenderloin is a wonderfully tender cut of meat because it’s non-load-bearing but with pork, it tends to dry out and lack flavor if it isn’t cooked or prepared right.

The simplest way to begin the process appropriately is by marinating the meat. While you can buy pre-marinated tenderloins from the store, they’re often filled with lots of additives and lesser quality oils. I find it best to make my own. But in short, yes, if you want a yummy pork tenderloin, use a marinade like this one in this honey garlic pork tenderloin recipe.

How do you make pork tenderloin that isn’t dry?

The trick to keeping pork tenderloin nice and juicy after you take the time to marinate it is not to cook it for too long. The National Pork Board has revised its statements for the internal temperature of some cuts of pork, including the tenderloin. You only need to make sure the tenderloin reaches a medium internal temperature of 145F, NOT 165F. The 20-degree difference really DOES make all of the difference.

By not cooking this honey garlic pork tenderloin to well done, you’re ensuring there is some juice left in the meat.

Additionally, when the meat has finished cooking, rest it on a cutting board for at least 10 minutes before slicing. This way the juices have a way to soak back up into the meat.

PREPARATION AND STORING

If you’re in a hurry you can always prep the marinade ahead of time and add it to the meat 1-4 hours before cooking. You don’t want to marinate this *too* long because it will start to break down the meat.

We find that this dish makes pretty good leftovers for 2-3 days! Simply portion out some rice (white, brown, or jasmine rice work great), a veggie (we love broccoli, but green beans would also be delicious), and a few slices of the tenderloin in an airtight container and reheat in the microwave when you want. Of course, this will cause the meat to cook more so keep that in mind.

Also, you can chop the meat up and use it in pork fried rice!

OTHER RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

• Sticky Ground Pork and Rice Bowls with Broccoli
• Venison Egg Roll On a Bowl
• Whole Roasted Chicken Legs
• Air Fryer Chicken Wings with Sweet & Spicy Sauce

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Photo and video clips shot by Amber Rice with Savor The Shot