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Instant Pot Balsamic Apple Pork Tenderloin is a quick cooking meal that has an amazing sweet and tangy flavored sauce to go on the pork medallions. The delicious balsamic apple gravy is lightly spiced and makes this pressure cooker pork tenderloin a great dinner idea.
Instant Pot Balsamic Apple Pork Tenderloin
I have seen many cook times for pork tenderloin in the pressure cooker, but I feel my method yields the most tender and moist tenderloin. This pressure cooker pork tenderloin recipe is one of the top 3 most loved recipes by my readers!
One of my favorite cuts of pork is the tenderloin. I have always loved those little medallions, so tender, covered with an amazing sauce! Such a versatile little pork roast.
A pressure cooker pork tenderloin can easily be overcooked, so I developed this recipe to give a tender and juicy result.
I’m always looking for smaller meals with great flavor to make. Since I am a cook and develop recipes, smaller meals are easier said than done!
It’s important to note that there is a difference between pork tenderloin and pork loin. You can tell it’s a tenderloin because it is long, thin, and tubular in shape, and usually weighs 1 lb to 2 lbs on average. A pork loin roast is flatter, rectangular, and wider.
This recipe for Instant Pot Balsamic Apple Pork Tenderloin uses the long, thin, tubular cut and cooks very quickly. After it cooks you cut it into medallions and drench them in this incredible sauce!
The apple and honey in this Instant Pot Balsamic Apple Pork Tenderloin recipe add the sweetness to the sauce. This is a great way to use up any apples that are too ripe to eat, or too mealy. Ever bite into a mealy apple? Not a fan. But I am a fan of cooking with them!
Fruit and pork go very well together, especially apples and pork. Check out my Instant Pot Autumn Apple Pork Chops.
Making a pork tenderloin in the Instant Pot is easy and the sauce is delicious!
Instant Pot Balsamic Apple Pork Tenderloin is a very nice meal for when you have company over, or for a nice “date night” in, or even just to treat yourself, as you should!
Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Instant Pot Autumn Apple Pork Chops
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)
Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Instant Pot Balsamic Apple Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Cooking Oil, neutral, such as canola or sunflower
- 1 ½ lbs Pork Tenderloin* (not loin roast)
- 1 small Onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 2 ½ Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (good quality vinegar makes a big difference)
- ½ cup Apple Juice or Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 2 Apples, chopped (any variety)
- ½ teaspoon Coarse Salt, or ¼ tsp table salt
- 1 sprig Rosemary, about a 3" sprig
- 3 sprigs Thyme, fresh
To Finish
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 2 ½ teaspoons Corn Starch
Instructions
- Turn on pot to Sauté function (Normal/Med heat). When the display reads Hot, add the oil.
- Place the tenderloin in the pot and let it cook for 2-4 minutes (depending on thickness), undisturbed, Then flip it over and do the same on that side. Brown all sides.
- Remove the tenderloin to a plate. Set aside.
- Add the onion and cook until tender, stirring frequently, deglazing the pot (scraping up all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pot). You might need to add a small splash of the broth to help loosen the fond (brown bits).
- Add the garlic. Stir.
- Add the balsamic vinegar. Stir.
- Add the juice/broth, apple, salt, rosemary, and thyme. Stir well.
- Add the tenderloin back in and nestle it down into the broth mixture.
- Put the lid on the pot and lock it in place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Cancel the Sauté function.
- Press Pressure Cook (Manual) and adjust the pressure to Low Pressure, then the + or - to choose 2 minutes (smaller tenderloins use 1 minute).
- When the cooking cycle ends, Turn the pot off or unplug it (so the warming doesn't get activated) and let the pot sit for 15 minutes (natural release). Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to release the remaining pressure/steam (there may not be any, and that's okay).
- When the pin in the lid drops, open the lid and use a meat thermometer to take the internal temperature of the tenderloin. If it reads 137°F or more, you are good to remove the tenderloin to a plate and cover with foil to rest (it will continue to cook and heat to the desired 145°F temp).
- If the tenderloin isn't up to temp, Remove the tenderloin and complete the next 3 steps. Then add tenderloin to mixture and let it cook for a few minutes, turning once. Check temperature again before removing and covering with foil. Then proceed to adding the corn starch, etc.
- Turn the Sauté function back on.
- Add the honey and stir well to incorporate.
- Add the butter and stir.
- Cook for about 5 minutes to let the mixture reduce a little and the flavors concentrate.
- Scoop out about ⅓ cup of the liquid into a cup and whisk in the corn starch. Pour mixture into the simmering sauce and stir well to thicken.
- Turn off the pot.
- Slice the tenderloin into medallions and serve with a generous portion of the balsamic-apple sauce.
- Garnish if desired (photo shows thyme and pomegranate arils).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Resources to Make Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin recipe and more
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This was fabulous! I should of cooked PT only for one minute, I was very skeptical but I PC for 2 minutes! Too much as I had small pork tenderloins! I didn’t even add the sauce Part. The apple/balsamic sauce was sweet enough so I added the cornstarch once the sauté button was activated! It turned out super delicious M!!
Hi Nettie! I’m happy you liked this recipe! Yes, people are surprised at the cook time for a pork tenderloin! So you will know for next time. Just consider the weight/thickness. Thank you for writing a review!
Hahha ? I lost how many Mmmm…’s my husband made!! It’s a keeper!
That’s awesome, Nettie! Thank you for letting me know!
My grandmother’s name was Nettie and I’ve never seen her name anywhere else until now. She was lovely and we miss her. I’m so glad I saw your comment. 🙂
This was gourmet! I was so impressed that I got such a nice meal on the table on a TUESDAY night — usually the only day I pull that off is a Sunday. I did one package with the two loins — it was enough to feed our family of 6 with a couple slices leftover. Wish I had made more sauce – it was a hit. I didn’t even have a fresh apple so I used some dehydrated apple slices I had. I imagine the flavor would have been even better with fresh. This was a print and add to the recipe book kind of recipe for me. It was delicious. I served with mashed potatoes, sliced carrots, and broccoli. Again, for a midweek meal, this was a home run! Now I just need to learn how to pot-in-pot cook those things so I don’t have the IP going and two pots on the stove. I’m still a novice!
Hi Gina! I am so happy that you liked this recipe! And yes, fresh apples are so good in it, and they will give you a bit more sauce. You can always toss in an extra, too! If you chop some potatoes up and toss them on top of the meat (Or put a trivet or steamer on the meat and put the potatoes on top of that), you can fish them out with a slotted spoon and mash them in a bowl. Just don’t cut them too large (also red potatoes may need a longer cook time, so I like to use gold or russet). Thank you for your nice review, I appreciate it very much!
I have a 3.5lb pork loin, how should.i adjust the time and recipe? Just double it?
Hi Joe, It’s the thickness (diameter) that will determine the cook time. If it is long and thin, cut in half crossways and keep time the same. If it is thicker and shorter, then try doubling the cook time, but not the natural release time.
Made this tonight and it was perfect! Even my kids (6, 4, 3 and 1.5) loved it!! Thanks so much for this supper win 🙂
Hi Leanna, how awesome that your kids liked this! Thank you for your review!
Hi Sandy!
I’m looking at making this recipe tomorrow but with a couple of pork loin instead of a tenderloin. What would you recommend as a cooking time for a pork loin instead?
I would say it depends on the size, but start at 40 minutes, with a 10 minute NPR. I did one at 60 minutes and I felt it was overcooked. You can always add time if you need to. I can’t remember what size mine was. 2 to 3 pounds, most likely.
Hi Sandy,
I am interested in making this tonight. I don’t have an instant pot but a pressure cooker. How would I adjust the time if any?
Hi Elizabeth! With a stove top cooker remove the pot from the heat as soon as high pressure is reached, then allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. This is for a 1lb to 1.5lb tenderloin. Internal temp should be 140 before it rests. Then 145. If you find it isn’t done, just simmer it for a few minutes in the sauce, adding a little apple juice, or broth if it gets too thick. I hope that helps! Thank you for the question. Let me know how you like it!
Sandy, this was lovely. My question is related to the sauce. My apples were still decent sized chunks so the sauce was chunky, not smooth like yours. Should I have peeled the apple? It was also really thick and didn’t need any cornstarch. I thought about using an immersion blender but we didn’t care it was chunky and just went with it. Ideas?
Hi Jaxi! I’m glad you liked the recipe. For the apples, I would cut them thinner, as pressure cooking time is all about the thickness/density of the food that is being cooked. You can use a regular potato masher to mash them up so you retain some texture. I often leave my peels on! Your choice. Thank you for your feedback and question!
Hi! I was wondering how to adjust the recipe if my tenderloin is frozen ? Will it still work?
Hi Brianna, most recipes say to keep the same time with frozen meat. I have tested this and found that on some cuts it is good to add a little time. For this recipe I would add 1 minute.
What if you just wanted to do a 2 or 3 lb of pork in the pot could you just add water and seasoning and potatoes and carrots
Hi Marie, you could certainly add the veggies, though the cook time will be a little longer with a larger cut of meat. In that case, cut the veggies larger so they don’t get mushy. If you are going to cook something other than an actual tenderloin, the cook time will be different. For instance, a pork butt (shoulder) will take much longer as it has connective tissues to break down.
2 minutes? Is that a typo? Most other recipes call for 15+. I’m excited to think of a recipe that’s ready so fast.
Hi Margaret! Nope, not a typo. If we are cooking a pork tenderloin, not a loin roast, then it cooks fast! I have seen people overcook these delicate little cuts of meat, and it’s a shame! The meat is still cooking during the natural release phase, so it gets plenty of cook time. I have cooked very small (under 1 pound pork tenderloins) for 1 minute! They are tender and sliceable, as this is not the fall apart cut of meat. I hope you try it! Just go by the size for your cook time, and make sure it’s a tenderloin!
This was exquisite. My perfectionist husband was so impressed that the pork was perfectly cooked (after 2 minutes on low pressure), and that it tasted perfect, as well. I wanted more pork and apple sauce, so I used two small tenderloins, added 5 small Macintosh apples instead of one, used a large onion instead of a small, and 3 garlic gloves. I substituted maybe 1/2 teaspoon each dried Thyme and Rosemary for fresh sprigs, and chose Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar from the farmers market. I skipped entirely the finishing sauce. Next time I would increase the apple sauce again, because we couldn’t get enough of it. Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m looking forward to trying more from this site.
Hi Mickey! Thank you for the glowing review! The recipe is good as is, but your adaptations really sound amazing. Gourmet! I’ll have to try that strawberry balsamic vinegar, it sounds delish!
I have 4 pork tenderloins totaling 4.7 lbs. May I cook them all at the same time? Would you increase cooking time if doing them all together>? And, would you maybe, double the sauce? Thanks! I’d like to make this tonight for company.
Hi Jan, I would double the sauce, and as long as each tenderloin is similar in size, the time should be the same.
Hi, could u use apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider.
I think that would be a lot of vinegar, with the balsamic. Maybe use a little ACV with some water.
I made it tonight and had some carambola (star fruit) from the yard, so I subbed 1 of them for 1 apple for more depth of flavor. Also used Pork loin pieces (about 8oz each) and PC for 3 minutes.
Finished with sliced carambola as sauce was very dark. I will use white balsamic next time so not so muddy looking.