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The Best Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin Recipe – delicious, tender pork medallions, juicy and bursting with flavor from your Instant Pot!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
You’ll love this recipe for Pork Tenderloin in Instant Pot
This Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin recipe is based off my crazy popular Best Baked Garlic Pork Tenderloin Ever Recipe – it is rich, buttery, and sooooo delicious.
This recipe, however, involves very little prep – just season pork, then brown, and finish with a quick blast in the Instant Pot as it comes to pressure. We’ve designed this dinner to be incredibly easy to make in an apartment, dorm, or other areas with small space – you don’t even need an oven or a stove.
And if you’re looking for another delicious Instant Pot dinner, be sure to check out our delicious Instant Pot Pot Roast dinner – a whole pot roast and potatoes dinner right from your Instant Pot!
How to make Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
Marinate. Pork loins can dry out faster, and the meat cooks better when marinated before cooking. Marinate a pork loin at least 3 hours before cooking.
Modify cook time for a loin. Since a pork loin is larger, it has a different cook time than a tenderloin. The actual recipe will be the same, but please use the modifications below:
- Place a trivet in the IP and set the loin on top of the trivet.
- Add and lock the lid, and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Let pressure naturally release for 15 minutes, then quick release any extra pressure.
- Open the lid and check internal temperature with an instant read meat thermometer – it should read 145F. Pork is done at 145 degrees internal temperature.
- If pork is not yet 145 degrees, place the lid back on the pot to let the carryover heat cook the pork to doneness.
Tips To Perfect Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin and FAQs
This recipe is super simple and delicious – but the following tips, tricks, and information will help you make a perfect pork tenderloin, every time!
- Can I Use a Ninja Foodi? If you have a Ninja Foodi, or another electric pressure cooker, you can absolutely use it in this recipe. I personally use a Ninja Foodi more than my Instant Pot more often because I like some of their other features. You can use any pressure cooker you have for this recipe.
- Instant Pot Tips: Cooking a pork tenderloin is pretty easy, but there are a couple tips to make sure your Instant Pot seals properly and comes to pressure, to make sure you use your instant pot safely, and how to be sure to keep your pork juicy and tender.
- Marinade: Pork tenderloin cooks quickly and is a great, easy cut of pork when cooked properly – it doesn’t explicitly need a marinade, but I prefer to marinate pork for the best flavor.
- Marinating helps infuse herbs and spices into your pork before cooking, so you can taste garlic and Italian spices throughout the pork.
- Marinating also helps to keep pork from drying out. While that is less of a risk with this instant pot recipe, marinating helps to ensure perfect tender pork.
- If you can’t marinate, no problem – but if you’d like to, you will get the best results even with as few as 30 minutes or up to overnight.
- What can I Swap for Pork Loin? If you have a pork LOIN, not a TENDERLOIN (pork loins are shorter and wider, and are over 3 pounds, tenderloins are long, skinny, and generally under 3 pounds); this recipe still works like a charm with a couple of modifications.
- I get a lot of questions on this recipe on whether to use a tenderloin or loin – and what the difference is between tenderloin and loin since they are similar cuts from the pig, and can both be used in this recipe.
- The two cuts are from similar areas (off the back of the pig), and are both leaner and respond to the same cooking methods, but a pork tenderloin is much longer and skinnier than a pork loin.
- Loins tend to be much fatter, much heavier, and over 3 lbs – while a tenderloin will be longer, skinnier, and around 1-2 pounds.
- For this recipe, I am calling for a Pork Tenderloin – but a loin will also work with the modification for time below.
Storing Pressure Cooker Pork Tenderloin
Follow the steps below for perfect reheated leftover pork tenderloin – and for best results, do not reheat in the microwave.
To store leftovers, place in an airtight container and keep in refrigerator for up to three days.
To freeze leftovers, place in a plastic bag or wrap in plastic wrap and keep in freezer for up to three months.
To reheat leftovers, let thaw naturally in the refrigerator overnight, and bake at 350, wrapped in foil, until piping hot when ready to serve.
Pork Tenderloin Instant Pot FAQs
The FDA has changed food safety guidelines for pork – a pork tenderloin is safely considered cooked at 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
When your pork has naturally released in the Instant Pot, insert a digital meat thermometer in the middle of the thickest part of pork, it should read 145 degrees.
Pork tenderloin can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to four days.
If your meat is under cooked by 5-10 degrees, put lid back on Instant Pot to let carryover cook for longer without having to bring the pot back to pressure again.
Pork is slightly pink when fully cooked – it can be cooked to fully white and opaque, but a little pink is perfectly fine. Make sure pork has been cooked to 145 degrees instead of judging by pork’s color.
Always let rest for 10 minutes after cooking before slicing to serve to ensure all the juices don’t run out giving you dry, tough meat.
What to Serve With Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
This recipe is perfect for people on keto diets because it is naturally low carb – so sides like roasted cauliflower with cashew pesto, roasted asparagus, and Keto ham and cheese rolls make a perfect side.
If you’re following a keto or low carb diet, I have a bunch of delicious Deviled Eggs Recipes that are a perfect easy side dish, especially for a backyard picnic!
Try these sides:
If you’re not watching carbs, this dinner is a knockout alongside fresh baked no knead bread, crispy baked french fries, or Crispy Roasted Potatoes, or rice pilaf!
You can find our entire pork recipe archives here.
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Pressure Cooker Pork Tenderloin
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 bottle Italian Salad Dressing, optional for marinade
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 2 lb pork tenderloin, optional: pre-marinate pork before cooking for foolproof never dry tenderloin
- 4 oz butter, thin sliced into 4-6 pats
- 2 tbsp diced garlic
- 1 tsp dried basil*
- 1 tsp dried oregano*
- 1 tsp dried thyme*
- 1 tsp dried parsley*
- ½ tsp dried sage*
- *OR 1 tbsp Italian Herb Seasoning Blend
- 1 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Optional – marinade the tenderloin in the Italian salad dressing for 2 hours or up to 24 in the refrigerator. After marinading rinse and pat dry.
- In a small bowl, combine garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, and sage.
- Remove pork from marinade, rinse and pat dry. Generously season tenderloin with salt and pepper, as well as herbs.
- Heat instant pot to medium high.
- Add oil to instant pot, heat oil until shimmery.
- Add tenderloin to pan, and cook on all sides until dark golden brown.
- When Tenderloin has browned, but not cooked, remove and set aside.
- Scrape up any brown bits from bottom of Instant Pot.
- Add stock to Instant pot.
- Add trivet to Instant Pot.
- Place pork tenderloin on top of trivet, top with pats of butter.
- Place lid on Instant pot, set to seal.
- Cook on the High setting for 2 minutes (yes this is right – we're simply using the time to come to pressure to cook your pork tenderloin plus an extra minute.)
- Let pork tenderloin naturally release, about 7-10 minutes.
- Let sit 10 minutes before slicing.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What do you marinade it with? I do not see anywhere that shows a marinade recipe
Hi Robin, you will want to marinade this in a bottle of your favorite Italian Salad dressing. I have updated the recipe to make it clear, thank you for pointing that out!
Thank you so much! I’m going to make this tonight. 🙂
What do you use for a marinade?
This was very tasty, but one minute of cooking time was not enough. Meat was at 120 degrees when I followed your instructions. Did another 3 min of cooking, followed by 5 min of natural release and it was cooked properly.
Hi!
This is my first time using my instant pot.
How does the tenderloin cook if the time is 0 mins?
I know there is something I am missing and am very confused on using an instant pot.
Thank You!
Hi Chastity!
So this totally confused me forever too – the 0 minutes is time at pressure. It actually takes about 20 minutes cooking time (all depending on your pressure cooker, location, etc.) to get to pressure and to release – so it does cook during that time. Always messes with my mind when you set it to 0!
Add “Jump to recipe” button please.
There is on in the top left corner 🙂
This was so yummy!! Perfect for my Keto Diet too! I made a ‘gravy’ with sauted sweet onions in butter, a couple table spoons of cream cheese, some cream and “juice” in the instant pot. It really topped it all off. I was surprised that this was so easy to cook. It will be on my go to list – especially for work night dinners!!