We absolutely love this Garlic Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin. 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.
Recipe: $10.98 | Per Serving: $2.20 | Servings: 5
This pork roast recipe is a delicious and flavorful recipe that's perfect for special occasions or a Sunday family dinner.
The combination of savory garlic and sweet brown sugar creates a delightful crust that adds depth and richness to the tender pork. This dish has a delightful balance of flavors and textures, making it a true crowd-pleaser.
The preparation of this pork roast is relatively simple, yet the results are nothing short of impressive. 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.
The tender, succulent pork with its sweet and savory crust is sure to delight your taste buds and leave your guests impressed with your culinary skills.
If you like pork roasts, make sure to check out my Air Fryer Pork Loin Roast and Honey Mustard Pork Shoulder Roast.
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🍯 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.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
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.
Honey- You will need some honey or agave to sweeten and thicken the glaze.
Brown sugar- For added flavor depth, use brown sugar. This will give us a wonderful caramelized crust around the pork.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🔪 Instructions for Garlic Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425F degrees.
Step 2: Line a baking dish with parchment paper (optional) and then place your roast fat side up in the middle.
Step 3: Rub kosher salt and minced garlic over the roast.
Step 4: Place the roast in the oven and bake at 425F for 20 minutes.
Step 5: Turn the heat down to 325F degrees and cook until the pork's internal temperature is 100 degrees (about 45min-1hour).
Step 6: In a small saucepot on the stove, combine brown sugar, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and honey.
Step 7: 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.
Step 8: 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.
Step 9: Place it back in the oven to finish cooking.
Step 10: 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.
Step 11: Slice your pork and serve.
Enjoy!
🍴 Recipe Tips
- Garlic Options- For this recipe, I prefer using jarred minced garlic, but fresh garlic works too.
- Parchment Paper Hack- To streamline cleanup, line your baking dish with parchment paper, creating a sling to cover the sides and bottom. This prevents the brown sugar from hardening and simplifies cleanup significantly.
- Thick Glaze for Flavor- The brown sugar glaze for the pork roast is thick and paste-like, ensuring it adheres well to the roast. While it will dissolve and collect at the bottom of the pan, it creates the desired crust on the roast.
- Prepare for Juices- After properly resting your pork roast, expect some juices to escape and create a mess. Keep a kitchen towel handy for quick cleanup during and after cooking.
🥗 Side Dishes
Our favorite sides include steamed broccoli, baked beans, Cast Iron Green Beans, Creamy Garlic Red Skin Mashed Potatoes, and salads (including past salads like our Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad).
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
Optimal Cooking Duration- Plan for approximately 2 hours of cooking time for a pork roast similar in size to mine. However, the key is ensuring the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 145 degrees F for safe consumption.
Quick Dinner Option- If you're pressed for time, you can raise the oven temperature to 350F after applying the glaze. Be vigilant to prevent the glaze from burning. Temperatures higher than this risk drying out the roast and blackening the crust.
💭 Recipe 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 Delicious Main Dish Recipes
If you tried this Garlic Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Garlic Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pound pork roast (bone in or boneless) ($9.76)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (not table salt!) ($0.01)
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic ($0.40)
- 1 cup brown sugar ($0.44)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes ($0.08)
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar ($0.05)
- 1 Tablespoon honey or agave ($0.24)
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.
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