We absolutely love this garlic and brown sugar roast recipe. It's been our tried and true favorite for as long as I can remember. You can hardly do any work with a super-easy cooking process.
You're going to love this brown sugar and garlic-crusted pork roast! It's such a simple and easy roast recipe that anyone can do it!
I've seen some pretty "involved" recipes for creating a juicy pork roast, and I've been let down by so many as well. Before I finally found this one, I had a bad spell of dry pork roasts, but bless my husband's heart, he kept eating them haha.
This is about as easy as a pork roast recipe can get! No searing the sides, no basting during the cooking process, and no rotating or flipping.
For a busy momma and wife, like myself, this recipe has got just a few ingredients and a few fast steps. It's practically a "set it and forget it" recipe, which is great!
If you like pork roasts, make sure to check out my Air Fryer Pork Loin Roast and Honey Mustard Pork Shoulder Roast.
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy prep. I've already mentioned this but it's worth mentioning again that this recipe comes together easily and flawlessly, making it perfect for a Lazy Sunday Dinner Idea.
- It's frugal. Pork roast is often pretty cheap and because you can use almost any cut of pork roast (shoulder, tenderloin, etc) you can make this recipe fit into almost any budget.
- The leftovers taste great! My husband likes to slice the roasts thin and eat them with mayo as a sandwich, but I find that they're great just reheated on a plate.
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🥘 Ingredients
Minced garlic- You will need some minced garlic. You can use the store-bought stuff from the jar or minced fresh garlic. Note that freshly minced garlic may turn blue or green when cooking -because of science.
4lb Pork roast- You can use a bone-in or out pork roast. Pork loin works well too! I've made this recipe from everything from a pork shoulder to a pork loin, and the results are always great.
Red pepper flakes- Add in a little kick of heat with some red pepper flakes.
Honey- You will need some honey or agave to sweeten and thicken the glaze.
Apple cider vinegar- This helps to add a little acid to the mix and tones down the sweetness.
Brown sugar- For added flavor depth, use brown sugar. This will give us a wonderful caramelized crust around the pork.
Kosher salt- Using salt will help to enhance the flavors and tenderize the meat.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make garlic and brown sugar crusted pork roast with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425F degrees.
Line a baking dish with parchment paper (optional) and then place your roast fat side up in the middle.
Rub kosher salt and minced garlic over the roast.
Place the roast in the oven and bake at 425F for 20 minutes.
Turn the heat down to 325F degrees and cook until the pork's internal temperature is 100 degrees (about 45min-1hour).
In a small saucepot on the stove, combine brown sugar, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and honey.
Stir and let simmer over medium heat until for about 1-2 minutes. Don't let it boil. We just want the sugar to dissolve a little bit.
Pull the roast from the oven and cover it in this glaze.
It may be paste-like and this is okay. Just coat the outside of the pork as well as you can.
Place it back in the oven to finish cooking.
When the pork roast reaches 145F degrees, it's safe to remove it from the oven. Let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing- preferably, let it wait 10 minutes.
Slice your pork and serve.
Enjoy!
🍴 Recipe Tips
I like to use the jarred minced garlic stuff for this recipe, but you can use fresh.
Use parchment paper! If you line your baking dish with parchment paper, and create a little sling with it so that the sides and bottom are covered, you're clean up time will be significantly reduced! Without it the brown sugar hardens and becomes a bit of a pain to clean.
The brown sugar glaze for this pork roast is thick and paste-like. This is to get it to stick to the roast better. It will dissolve and end up at the bottom of the pan, but not before it has a chance to create that crust we want.
Also, even after properly resting your pork roast, expect some juices to run wild and create a mess. Having a kitchen towel handy is ideal and recommended.
🥗 Side Dishes
Our favorite sides include steamed broccoli, baked beans, Cast Iron Green Beans, mashed potatoes, and salads. The flavors pair well with just about anything, but picking food with a more subtle flavor can really help to make it the star of the plate.
⏲️ Cooking Time
Your pork roast will cook for about 2 hours if similar in size to mine. The time isn't as important as making sure it reaches a minimum of 145 degrees F.
If you're in a hurry to get dinner on the table, you can increase the temperature of the oven to 350F after the glaze has been added, but keep a watchful eye so that the glaze doesn't burn. Any temp higher than that will cause your roast to dry out and the crust to blacken.
💭 FAQs
I've been using this same recipe for years and have tried it with almost every roast-like cut of pork. Each one turns out great, including pork tenderloin. For this recipe, I chose to use a 4lb bone-in pork sirloin roast.
Oh, the magic of science! Fresh garlic often turns greenish-blue when baked. It's in no way unsafe to eat, but it is a cool reaction! Having your oven too high of a temperature for too long may also result in the garlic turning black.
Food health regulators have determined that eating pork that still has some pink to it is completely safe as long as it reaches a minimum of 145F degrees.
Consider it the medium-rare area and 160 being the well done. Your pork is safe and not too over or undercooked as long as you're somewhere in that realm.
More Tasty Main Dish Dinner Recipes to Try!
📖 Recipe
Garlic and Brown Sugar Crusted Pork Roast
Equipment
- Oven safe meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 pound Pork roast (bone in or boneless) ($7.76)
- 2 Tablespoons Minced garlic ($0.36)
- 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes ($0.10)
- 1 Tablespoon Honey or Agave ($0.14)
- 1 cup Brown sugar ($0.35)
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt ($0.20)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Apple cider vinegar ($0.10)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F degrees.
- Line baking dish with parchment paper and place roast fat side up in the middle.
- Rub the kosher salt and minced garlic all over the over the roast. Cover the tops and sides with it.
- Bake at 425F for 20 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to 325F degrees. When the pork reaches 100F degrees begin making the glaze.
- In a small saucepot on the stove combine the brown sugar, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and honey. Stir and let simmer over medium heat until for about 1-2 minutes. Don't let it boil, we just let the sugar dissolve a bit. It will be thick and paste-like.
- Pull the roast from the oven and cover it in this glaze. Rub it over the tops and sides with a pastry brush or spoon. Try to get in the nooks and crannies.
- Put it back in the oven to finish cooking.
- When the pork roast reaches 145F degrees, it's safe to remove from the oven. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
- Slice your pork and serve.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- I like to use the jarred minced garlic stuff for this recipe, but you can use fresh.
- Use parchment paper! If you line your baking dish with parchment paper, and create a little sling with it so that the sides and bottom are covered, you're clean up time will be significantly reduced! Without it the brown sugar hardens and becomes a bit of a pain to clean.
- The brown sugar glaze for this pork roast is thick and paste-like. This is to get it to stick to the roast better. It will dissolve and end up at the bottom of the pan, but not before it has a chance to create that crust we want.
- It can be messy to cut. After properly resting your pork roast, expect some juices to run wild and create a mess. Having a kitchen towel handy is ideal and recommended.
Side Dish Ideas
- Our favorite sides include steamed broccoli, baked beans, Cast Iron Green Beans, mashed potatoes, and salads. The flavors pair well with just about anything, but picking food with a more subtle flavor can really help to make it the star of the plate.
Tips for Success
- You can use different pork roast varieties. I've been using this same recipe for years and have tried it with almost every roast-like cut of pork. Each one turns out great, including pork tenderloin. I chose to use a 4lb bone-in pork sirloin roast for this recipe.
- Baking time. Your pork roast will cook for about 2 hours if similar in size to mine. The time isn't as important as making sure it reaches a minimum of 145 degrees F.
- Speeding up the process. If you're in a hurry to get dinner on the table, you can increase the temp of the oven to 350F after the glaze has been added, but keep a watchful eye so that the glaze doesn't burn. Any temp higher than that will cause your roast to dry out and the crust to blacken.
- The garlic may change color. Fresh garlic often turns greenish blue when baked. It's in no way unsafe to eat, but it is a cool reaction! Having your oven too high of a temperature for too long may also turn the garlic black.
- The ideal pork roast internal temperature is between 145 degrees F and 160 degrees F. 145F is closer to "medium-rare" and may still have a pink hue to it while 160F is more "well-done" but not overcooked and dried out.
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