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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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Made this tonight after thawing 2 pork loins and having no clue what to do with them. Super accessible ingredients and my fiance even helped me prep. We were amazed at how quickly this cooked and loved the wonderful aromas that filled our apartment from the apples and balsamic. I read some comments before making this and decided to add more apples, which was a good call. This was so delicious!!
Hi Ashley, I’m so happy you and your fiancé enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your nice review, and the tip about the apples!
What if my IP only has the High pressure not Low option as your recipe calls for? How long should I cook before relaeasing the pressure. Thanks.
Just cook for 1 minute. If the tenderloin is larger, do 2 minutes.
This was so good! It was better than a restaurant. My husband said he would be happy to have this recipe every week! The pork was so tender and perfect, and that sauce is pure flavor! Great recipe!
Thanks, Kelly! I’m so happy that you and your husband liked this recipe so much! Thank you for your review!
My mom made this as her first IP recipe. I’ve had a pot for about 6 months, so she was excited to try this out. The pork came out really overcooked and dry. I’ve never cooked anything with only 1/2 cup of liquid, and when I do pork tenderloin, the NR is usually 5-10 minutes. She’s really frustrated now and feels she doesn’t want to use the pot again. 🙁 Any idea what went wrong?
Hi Carolyn. I’m really sorry to read this. You can see how many 5 star reviews this recipe has, and we make it about once a month. Not knowing what exactly she did, it’s hard to say what went wrong. Did she brown it too long (It only needs a little color on all sides)? Did she use LOW pressure? Did she cook for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on size? For the 15 minute Natural Release did she turn off the pot? As for the liquid, 1/2 cup is correct, the apple and onion provide the rest of the liquid with the juices they release. It’s a great recipe, and when followed it turns out every time for us. If she did all of the steps correctly, I can only guess it was a cruddy cut of meat.
Hi. I was thinking about doing this for my daughter’s baby shower. My question: could I make in advance and reheat?
Congratulations, Diane! How exciting! Yes you could, but reheat gradually so the meat doesn’t overcook and the sauce doesn’t reduce too much more. Maybe slice into medallions and mix with the sauce and heat on low, stirring occasionally. Honestly, we have never had any left over! I think it will be fine though.
Found this recipe in a Google search and tried it out last night. My pork tenderloin was 2.8 pounds, so I doubled everything. I was a little skeptical that the meat would be fully cooked with just 2 minutes at low pressure, but my meat thermometer confirmed it. I didn’t notice it in the midst of everything, but my wife said she couldn’t believe how good it smelled while cooking, and the tenderloin itself turned out perfect – super tender yet not falling apart like you sometimes get with an instant pot. The gravy was full of flavors yet not overpowering. We served ours over couscous. I saved the recipe and we will certainly be making this again. Thank you!
Hi Mark! I’m so happy that you and your wife enjoyed this recipe! I like the idea of couscous. Thank you for your review!
This was AMAZING!!! I have never reviewed any recipe but had to with this dish! I havent been so pleased with my cooking lately (although husband and son like it) BUT when I took my first bite it was like a flavor explosion and I felt proud of my cooking for the first time in awhile!! I did make a few minor changes…. I did 1.5 balsamic and 1 apple cider vinegar and I didn’t have thyme or rosemary so I used a little Italian seasoning. Husband said this will have to be made every other week!! My son enjoyed it even without the sauce! Served it wirh sweet potatoes and corn. So so yummy I honestly want to make it again tomorrow!! Oh and husband liked the sauce so much he put it on some brats for work the next day!
Wow Colette! I’m really happy that you had a successful result with this recipe. It’s important to feel good about what you cook, and I’m glad you were proud of this dish! YAY! Thank you so much for taking time to let me know, and write a review. I appreciate it!
thanks so much for the recipe, it gave me the courage to try a small loin in the instant pot. Hard to believe that anyone would cook a tenderloin for 45 minutes. I only did 4 minutes and let it sit for 10 in the pot and then 10 more on a warmed plate. The loin had a hint of pink, just the way I like it. And from that I also tried a piece of beef loin (I live in Oaxaca, Mexico and the meat cuts are different – but loins are pretty easy to notice) Did it a little less and it was wonderful. Our beef here is usually pretty dry but this one was great. I actually served it cool with a mango sauce!
That’s so great, Teri. Thank you for your review!
This is an amazingly good recipe! I doubled the sauce portion last time. We like lots of sauce and it is worth it, especially over mashed potatoes!
I’m so glad to know that, Phil! Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review! We also like lots of the sauce.
I am trying something similar, I purchased a seasoned maple apple tenderloin and will cook it by browning first and testing the 2 min cook time. I will also add apples as per your recipe. Serving with rice and baby Arugula / Kale salad.
Cannot wait till we eat!!!!
Sounds yummy!