This Honey Mustard Pork Loin Roast is on a mission to win back a great reputation for pork dinners. It’s FULL of flavor and results in tender pork that the family will love.
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This recipe is…
I 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 I’m sharing with you today!
Now, let’s talk about pork for a hot minute. Sometimes (nobody’s pointing any fingers here), pork can be dry. It can be dry, bland, and when you eat it, you think “YEP, this is protein.” If you’ve had too many sad pork meals in the past, rest assured that this one will win you back over. Best combo ever? This honey mustard pork loin (that features the creamiest homemade honey mustard sauce), roasted potatoes, and your favorite green veggie!
What is the difference between pork loin and pork tenderloin?
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.
Ingredients
Just a few ingredients are needed here, some of which you likely already have in your kitchen! Here’s what you’ll need:
- 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!
How to Cook Pork Loin in the Oven
With just 20 minutes of hands-on cooking time, this pork roast is super easy to throw together! Here’s how you’ll do it:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Brown the onions and garlic – 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.
- Season the pork – Season the pork loin with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then brush one-third of the honey mustard dressing.
- Sear the pork – 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!
- Bake – place the lid on the pot, and bake the roast at 325°F for 1 hour.
- Let the pork rest + serve – 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!
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 Store, Freeze, and Reheat Leftovers
To store your leftover pork roast, simply put it into an airtight container in the fridge! It’ll stay good for about 5 days this way. 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 pop 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
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 do this, 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
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
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!