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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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Followed recipe exactly. Perfect! Forwarded to my Instant pot friends and posted photo on Instagram! Loved loved loved it!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked this recipe, Kerry! I appreciate you sharing it, too! Thank you for your review!
I made this dish for a family dinner of 8 and everyone had seconds. I had a approx 6 1/2 lbs Tenderloin. I took off the fat before I seared it. My cooking time I adjusted to 7mins The tenderloin was cut into two pieces the bigger one’s temp was 145 with a wee bit pink at one end, the smaller was 165. They were both still juicy and tender. the topping/gravey I made with both gala apples and apricots 4 each cut into small pieces …..delicious
I loved the recipe. I used fresh thyme from my garden and followed all other instructions exactly with the exception of the pressure time. I needed to pressure for a lot longer due to the fact that we prefer our pork more well done and no pink whatsoever. The apple-balsamic sauce was delicious and I’ll definitely make this recipe again.
That’s great, Linda! Remember that you can use a meat thermometer to get your perfect “doneness.” Thank you for your review!
This recipe is delicious exactly as it is! My picky hubby gobbled it up and wants me to make again. Now…I wonder if adding a handful of craisins would work?
Thanks for sharing. ?
Yay! Thank you for the review, Laura! I’m happy to know that this recipe is hubby approved! Craisins are good in so many things!
I added dried cranberries and it was delicious!! I also doubled the sauce recipe, it was so so good, thank you so much for sharing it!
Awesome, Terri! Thank you for your review!
Made this tonight and it was amazing! Husband and 8 year old both loved it as well! I used a piece of tenderloin that was 500g (just over 1lb) so put it in for 1 minute as recipe suggests. Was a bit stressed that it may be undercooked, since the pressure pin dropped after about 7 mins of NPR, but it was cooked perfectly!! Used half balsamic vinegar and half balsamic fig reduction. Used my immersion blender to make sauce a bit smoother and it was thick enough that I didn’t even need to add the corn starch. We ate the left over sauce with a spoon it was so good!! Will definitely make this again!!
Awesome, Thank you for your review! I’m so glad you liked it.
Are all those complicated steps really necessary?
The reason I got an instant pot is so I can just put a bunch of things in it and press a button and come back when it’s done.
Well, every recipe is different. I have some dump and push start recipes, and some that require cooking/browning. It’s cooking, so there are steps to take.
I made this tonight with Apple cider vinegar and it was delicious!! Glad I found this recipe!! Thanks
I just used this recipe with a tenderloin I acquired from a feral hog recently. I will absolutely use it again. Great mix of flavors!
Wow Drew! That’s amazing! I bet that fresh pork is so good! I am really glad that you liked this recipe! Thank you for your review!
Trying your recipe for the first time….I had to alter it by using southern peach vinegar instead. Also added apple juice like recommend and I put potatoes and apples in for more flavor instead of pamagrant
This was a fantastic meal. My tenderloin was 2 lbs 3 oz so I cooked on low pressure at 3 minutes instead of 2. Followed the recipe as written. Hubby said it was a 10! This is a keeper. Thank you so much!
Hi, that’s so wonderful! I’m so glad that you and your husband liked this recipe! Thank you for your kind review!