Pork may have a bad reputation for being tricky to cook without drying out. But our easy Honey Mustard Pork Loin Roast proves how juicy, tender, and succulent it can be!
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Pork Loin Recipe
- Pork Loin Roast Recipe Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Cook Pork Loin Roast
- Pork Loin Recipe Tips
- How to Serve Pork Loin
- How to Store and Reheat Pork Loin
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Favorite Pork Recipes
- Honey Mustard Pork Loin Roast Recipe
This recipe is…
Pork has a reputation of being tricky to cook. And it’s not unfounded: when overcooked, the meat can turn tough and dry out.
But we promise you, this pork loin is unlike any pork roast you’ve ever had! It’s tender, juicy, flavorful, and completely craveable thanks to a few special tricks we share with you below. Drizzled and dunked in our sweet-and-tangy honey mustard dressing, it’s a recipe you’ll want to return to again and again.
And while this roast is impressive enough to serve guests, it actually just takes 15 minutes of prep – making it easy enough for a weeknight. Serve it alongside roasted potatoes, TK, and TK for a homey, warming, and totally delicious meal!
Why You’ll Love This Pork Loin Recipe
- Juicy, tender results every time!
- Only 15 minutes of prep – then pop the roast in the oven
- Impressive enough for a dinner party, yet easy enough for a weeknight
Pork Loin Roast Recipe Ingredients
Just a few ingredients are needed here, some of which you likely already have in your kitchen! Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Pork Loin Roast – to start, you’ll need to grab 1 (2½ to 3-pound) center-cut boneless pork loin roast.
- Seasoning – to season your roast, you’ll need a ½ tablespoon of sea salt, a ½ teaspoon of black pepper, and a ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Honey Mustard – to really make a flavorful pork roast, we’ll use 1 batch of this *delicious* (and super easy-to-make) honey mustard dressing.
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – we’ll use 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil to brown our onion and garlic which will really help to build flavor!
- Onion – you’ll also need to grab 1 onion, and cut it into 6 wedges.
- Garlic – 4–5 cloves of garlic will do nicely here.
- Chicken Broth – a ½ cup of chicken broth goes into the pot just before baking!
- Fresh Thyme – 4 sprigs of fresh thyme add a really nice herby flavor!
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
Want to mix things up a bit? Here are a few easy ways to customize this recipe:
- Cut of pork – we call for a 2.5- or 3-pound center cut boneless pork loin roast here since it has a good amount of fat that helps keep the roast juicy and delicious. But you could also two pork tenderloins totaling roughly the same weight.
- Swap the herbs – pork and fresh thyme pair beautifully. But you could use dried thyme, fresh parsley, or rosemary instead. A sprinkle of herbes de Provence would be magical too!
- Upgrade your onions – humble yellow or white onions are delicious here. But if you’ve got shallots (a fancier, more delicate, pinkish-purple member of the allium family) on hand, feel free to use those instead.
How to Cook Pork Loin Roast
With just 15 minutes of hands-on cooking time, this pork roast is super easy to throw together! Here’s how you’ll do it.
Step 1: Make the honey mustard: In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar. While constantly whisking the dijon and honey mixture, slowly pour in the olive oil and whisk to combine.
Step 2: Sear the onion wedges and whole garlic cloves for 3-4 minutes per side (until browned) in a large, oven-safe pot, then remove from the pan.
Step 3: Season the pork loin with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then brush one-third of the honey mustard dressing.
Step 4: Brown the roast for 5-6 minutes on one side, flip, and add the onions and garlic back to the pan along with the broth and thyme sprigs. (You don’t have to brown the other side because it’ll brown on its own in the oven.)
Place the lid on the pot, and bake the roast at 325°F for 1 hour.
Remove the roast from the oven, and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing. Then, serve the roast with additional honey mustard dressing for dipping.
Pork Loin Recipe Tips
Sear the pork – this adds a ton of flavor and is essential in a really delicious finished product!
Use a dutch oven/enameled cast iron pot – this helps lock in moisture and create juicier pork. If you don’t have a dutch oven or enameled cast iron pot, though, don’t worry! It’ll still be really yummy!
Use an in-oven thermometer – this is *key* for pork! Pork is really easy to overcook, so an in-oven thermometer is the best way to make sure that it doesn’t dry out.
Don’t skip the honey mustard glaze – pork loin doesn’t have tons of flavor on its own, so the honey mustard glaze is a really great addition here!
How to Serve Pork Loin
Transfer the pork from the oven to a cutting board or serving platter. Then let the roast sit for 15 minutes to let the juices redistribute.
Then cut the roast into slices and serve it warm, drizzled with honey mustard dressing – and with more sauce served on the side.
How to Store and Reheat Pork Loin
Refrigerate the pork in an airtight container: It’ll stay good for about 5 days.
If you’re looking for a longer-term storage solution, you can absolutely freeze your leftover pork roast in an airtight container. To reheat, simply let it thaw in the fridge and either reheat it in the microwave (if you froze your pork loin in slices), or pop it in the oven at 325°F until warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Great question! Pork loin and pork tenderloin may sound similar, but they’re actually quite different. Here’s a quick breakdown of the two:
Pork loin – typically a larger cut of meat that is usually sold as a 2-5 pound roast. It is fattier than pork tenderloin and can come as either boneless pork loin or bone-in.
Pork tenderloin – a smaller cut of meat that usually weighs around one pound. The tenderloin is from a muscle that runs along the spine of the pig and isn’t used for movement, and because of this, it tends to be much more tender than other cuts of meat. Pork tenderloin is also a lean cut of meat and has a very mild flavor.
We prefer cooking pork loin for a longer time (25-30 minutes per pound) at a lower temperature (325°F) to keep it extra juicy and tender.
Pork needs to be cooked to 140-145°F (the best way to measure this is using a meat thermometer like this one) and when finished, the pork should be light pink in color.
You can! To cook pork loin using the slow cooker method, you’ll just cook the pork roast for 4-6 hours on low. Do note that if you got this route, your pork will shred instead of slice.
We do! We choose to cover our pork while baking because trapping all of the heat in the pot leads to juicer pork.
More Favorite Pork Recipes
If you tried this recipe for Honey Mustard Pork Loin Roast, or any other recipe on the Fed & Fit website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝comments below!
Honey Mustard Pork Loin Roast
Ingredients
For the Honey Mustard
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Pork Loin
- 1, 2.5-3 pound center cut boneless pork loin roast
- 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F.
- Make the honey mustard: In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar. While constantly whisking the dijon and honey mixture, slowly pour in the olive oil and whisk to combine.
- Heat olive oil a large, oven-safe lidded pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and whole garlic cloves and cook 3-4 minutes per side until browned and remove from the pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Season pork liberally with the salt mixture then brush with 1/3rd of the honey mustard dressing. Brown 5-6 minutes on one side, then flip. Add the onions and garlic back to the pan, along with the broth and thyme sprigs. Spoon another few scoops of honey mustard dressing back on top of the pork roast.
- Place the lid on the pot and bake at 325 F until a thermometer inserted into the center of the pork registers 145 F, or about 1 hour.
- Remove the roast from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing, then serve with additional honey mustard dressing for dipping.
Nutrition
Very nice meal. I did use white wine but stuck to your recipe and it was very tasty.
Aww yay! So happy you enjoyed it, Roberta!
Cassy,
Can you give us a Freezer dinner crockpot version recipe for this?
Thanks!
Kimberly
Hi Cassy,
Can you give us a crock pot version with the cook times and any thing else we’d need to cook in the crock pot?
Thanks soo much!
Kimberly
Hi Amie,
Can you please tell me how you made the crockpot version? I was hoping to do the same, but I don’t know how long to cook in a crock pot and if there are any things I need to do?
Thanks very much!
Kim
I made this last night and it was excellent! It was my first time making a pork roast – my husband was impressed! And also, we loved the honey mustard dressing!
This was so awesome! My son went back for seconds! So easy to make.
I’ve made this by the recipe and made a crockpot version! Both were delicious. By far the most flavorful pork roast that I’ve made!
Do you mince the garlic? Can’t wait to try this 🙂
Made this tonight (but cooked in a crockpot on high for 4 hours) and it was SO good!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was so easy and a huge hit – I’m already looking forward to leftovers! This is another F&F recipe going on regular rotation at our house and the dressing will be a refrigerator staple!
So glad you liked it!!
Made this tonight and it was a huge success! The honey mustard dressing is amazing! My husband who normally doesn’t love pork dishes said that this needed to be something that I make again.
That’s fantastic! So glad y’all liked it!
Can this recipe be done in an instant pot?
It could, but I would be worried the pork may dry out since pork loin is a lower fat cut of meat. If using an Instant Pot I’d go for a fattier cut of like pork shoulder and use the instructions found on this recipe but use the honey mustard to coat the pork before browning and add the onions and garlic, and only 1/2 cup of broth!