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 has a sweet and tangy burst of flavor. The apple balsamic sauce is accented with fresh rosemary and thyme. A dish you can serve to company, or enjoy on a weeknight.
- 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
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 2 ½ teaspoons Corn Starch
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Turn on pot to Sauté function (Normal/Med heat). When the display reads Hot, add the oil.
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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.
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Remove the tenderloin to a plate. Set aside.
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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).
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Add the garlic. Stir.
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Add the balsamic vinegar. Stir.
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Add the juice/broth, apple, salt, rosemary, and thyme. Stir well.
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Add the tenderloin back in and nestle it down into the broth mixture.
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Put the lid on the pot and lock it in place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Cancel the Sauté function.
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Press Pressure Cook (Manual) and adjust the pressure to Low Pressure, then the + or - to choose 2 minutes (smaller tenderloins use 1 minute).
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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).
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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).
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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.
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Turn the Sauté function back on.
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Add the honey and stir well to incorporate.
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Add the butter and stir.
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Cook for about 5 minutes to let the mixture reduce a little and the flavors concentrate.
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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.
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Turn off the pot.
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Slice the tenderloin into medallions and serve with a generous portion of the balsamic-apple sauce.
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Garnish if desired (photo shows thyme and pomegranate arils).
*If you have a smaller tenderloin, say 1 pound, you will only cook for 1 minute instead of 2. Same natural release time. Please use a meat thermometer, they are so handy!
Resources to Make Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin recipe and more
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Fran
Finally a recipe for the instapot we loved! Thank you. I have not liked any recipes ttied so far, then I found this recipe! I had lots of pork tenderloin yet it all went! my son kept saying he loved it!
I put potatoes on top to steam, then added some of the sauce to them when I smashed them. Fantastic. This will be made often. Thank you again!
Sandy
Thank you, Fran! I'm so glad you and your son enjoyed this recipe!
Monica
I'm going to be making this tonight for dinner. I have 2x1 lb. tenderloins which are about 2.75"-3.00" wide and about 1.5" tall. How long should I sear each side of the tenderloin? (I assume when you say to brown all sides you mean all 4 sides) Also I'd like to throw in some carrots, parsnips, baby potatoes and butternut squash. How large or small should I cut them, how much of them should I add, and how long should I cook everything for? Thanks and hope to hear from you soon! 🙂
Sandy
I would sear each side for just a minute or two, until you get some color on it. Cut the veggies larger than bite sized as they will still be cooking during the natural release time. Add as much as you want. Cook for 1 minute with a 15 minute natural release. If the veggies need more time, remove the meat to rest and put the lid back on and let the veggies continue to cook in the carryover heat.
Melissa
Can I do this recipe with pork chops instead? How would i adjust the cook time?
Sandy
Sure, I would bump the cook time up to 6 minutes. If the chops are thick, 8 minutes.
Tina
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I just bought my Instant Pot last week. My first meal was amazing stew from an online recipe. But today! I made your pork tenderloin recipe! Amazing! I have heard so often about pork and apples...this was my first time and we loved it. I had quite a bit of pork tenderloin, say 2 strips about 2.2 lbs each. I followed recipe, but because of the amount of pork, I added 3 tbsp. of balsamic, 3 apples, 2 - 200 ml apple juice boxes, 4 cloves of garlic...I pressure cooked 3 minutes, 15 npr, then moved pork to a plate and covered with foil...then followed the rest of the recipe. It was soo good! Thank you again! Love my new instant pot experience.
Sandy
That's wonderful! I'm glad you liked this flavor combo! Look for my Autumn Apple Pork Chops recipe, I think you will like that one, to! Thank you for your review!
Karleen Gill
Fantastic! I used a semi-frozen 1.5 pound tenderloin, which cooked perfectly in 2 minutes under high pressure. The apple balsamic sauce was outstanding. This was my first InstaPot meal, andit was a hit. Thanks!
Sandy
Hi Karleen! Awesome! I'm so happy you liked this recipe! Thank you for your review!
Darlene
Our 2nd dish made with our instant pot and THIS WAS OUTRAGEOUSLY DELICIOUS! Thank you for the recipe and YES 2 MINUTES is all it needed. Bookmarked and shared it with friends! Thank you!!!
Sandy
That's awesome, Darlene! I'm so happy you liked it! Thank you so much for your review!
Ashley Valla
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!!
Sandy
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!