This easy, all-in-one instant pot pork tenderloin recipe delivers a perfectly cooked, seasoned pork tenderloin alongside a delicious apple and sweet potato puree.
Pork tenderloin is a lean cut of pork that when cooked with care, results in a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cut of meat.
But because pork tenderloin is such a delicate cut of meat that can easily overcook, I was hesitant to try cooking it in the Instant Pot. After all, I love my recipes for Baked Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Pork Tenderloin--why mess with perfection?
But after many requests from YOU, I have perfected the timing for cooking pork tenderloin in the Instant Pot and the results are quite spectacular.
Seasoned with garlic and cooked in apple cider, the pork tenderloin absorbs so much flavor, while cooking to the perfect temperature.
And while delicious served as an entree all on its own, I love to cook apples and sweet potatoes along with the pork, which results in a delicious, easy, one-pot meal that everyone loves.
Key Ingredients
- Pork Tenderloin: Be sure to use pork tenderloin not pork loin. The typical size of pork tenderloin is between 1.25 and 1.5 pounds.
- Apple Cider: Apple cider or apple juice is the perfect cooking liquid for pork tenderloin. It will help to season and sweeten the pork. Just be sure to NOT use apple cider vinegar--vinegar would ruin this meal.
- Garlic and Onions: For additional flavor and savoriness to the overall dish.
- Sweet Potato and Apple Mash: This is completely optional, but does make for a nice all-in-one meal. Just be sure to use an apple variety that holds up well to cooking like Gala, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith.
How To Make Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
- Turn the Instant Pot to Saute, add in oil, and let heat for 2-3 minutes.
- While the Instant Pot is heating, trim the silverskin if necessary from the pork and season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Once the Instant Pot is heated, add the seasoned pork to the inner pot and sear the pork on each side, 2-3 minutes per side, or until just golden.
- Remove the pork tenderloin to a plate. Turn the Instant Pot OFF.
- Add the apple juice to the inner pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. This will prevent a burn notice.
- Add the cubed sweet potatoes, apples, and onions to the inner pot, if using.
- Nestle the seared pork on top of the potatoes or in the apple juice.
- Place the lid on the inner pot and set the cooking time for 3 minutes on high pressure.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release for 10 minutes. This will prevent the pork from being tough!
- Remove the pork tenderloin from the instant pot and place it on a cutting board to rest.
- Strain off the apples, sweet potatoes, and onions and place them into a blender or a large mixing bowl and add in ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Mash or blend to desired consistency, adding additional cooking liquid as needed.
Cooking Frozen Pork Tenderloin
You can prepare frozen pork tenderloin in the Instant Pot. There are just a few things to keep in mind.
- You will not be able to sear the pork, so the meat will be a bit more gray and soft after cooking.
- You will need to cook the frozen pork tenderloin for 12 minutes on high pressure instead of 3 minutes.
- Cut the sweet potatoes and apples into larger (2-inch) chunks to account for the longer cook time.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Simply omit the sweet potatoes, onions, and apples from the recipe. Season, sear, and cook the pork tenderloin in apple juice as the recipe states.
No. You can serve sweet potatoes, apples, and onions on the side of the pork tenderloin. I just find that the mash is more kid-friendly.
Pork tenderloin is a very lean cut of meat and therefore only needs to be cooked in a couple of minutes. Cooking longer than the suggested times will result in an overcooked piece of meat that will likely be dry and tough. This method for cooking pork tenderloin at 3 minutes on high pressure will result in pork tenderloin at 150-155 degrees--which in my book is perfect. The pork tenderloin will be juicy, and slightly pink, but warm all the way through.
Searing meat seals in the juices of the meat and gives the meat a bit of texture. It is not a necessary step, but it will elevate the flavor of the pork tenderloin, significantly. If you opt to skip searing the pork, cook for 4 minutes under high pressure.
YES! If you would like to prepare 2 pork tenderloins instead of just 1, simply sear both tenderloins in batches and cook on high pressure for 3 minutes as instructed. If you would like to double the sweet potato and apple mixture, reduce the cooking time to 2 minutes to account for the extra time it will take for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
More Instant Pot Pork Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe for Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin, be sure to leave a comment and review below.
Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pound pork tenderloin
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper divided
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 cup apple cider or apple juice (NOT APPLE CIDER VINEGAR!!!!)
- 3 large sweet potatoes peeled and cubed into ½ inch cubes
- 1 large apple cubed
- 1 large sweet onion cubed
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
Instructions
- Season pork tenderloin with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Turn the instant pot to saute function. Once the pressure cooker is heated, pour in 2 teaspoons oil. Sear tenderloin on each side until just browned--about 1 minute per side. Remove pork from the instant pot.
- Pour apple cider or juice into inner pot and scrape up any browned bits of bottom of instant pot.
- Add in diced sweet potatoes, onions, apples, garlic, and remaining salt and pepper. Place the pork tenderloin back into the pressure cooker on top of vegetables.
- Secure lid on instant pot and turn vent knob to sealed.
- Cook on high pressure:4 minutes for 165 degrees3 minutes for 155 degrees2 minutes for 145 degrees
- Allow pressure to release for 10 minutes and then do a quick release. Remove pork from instant pot and place on cutting board to slice.
- While pork is resting on cutting board, use a hand held-immersion blender or a potato masher, to combine the sweet potatoes, apples and onions until smooth. (Remove ½ cup cooking liquid if you would like a thicker mash.)
- Serve pork alongside the sweet potato apple puree.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Sweet Potato Mash: There will be a lot of cooking liquid, feel free to remove ½ cup with a ladle or measuring cup before blending up the sweet potatoes and apples, for a thicker sweet potato mash. You can also opt to serve the apples, onions and sweet potatoes whole instead of serving it as a mash.
- Apple Cider: Feel free to use apple juice in place of apple cider. But DO NOT USE APPLE CIDER VINEGAR--this recipe is for apple cider or apple juice. Vinegar will ruin your dish.
- Pork Tenderloin without Sweet Potatoes and Apples: Sear the pork tenderloin as directed, and then add in apple cider to the Instant Pot and scrape up any browned bits from bottom of inner pot. Add in the onions and garlic and place tenderloin back in pressure cooker and cook as directed.
- Frozen Pork Tenderloin: skip Searing Pork Tenderloin and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. If you want to add in sweet potatoes and apples, cut them into 2 inch chunks to account for the longer cook time.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2018 but was updated in 2021 with step-by-step process shots.
Dini
My first time cooking pork tenderloin in the IP, and it came out really well! Perfectly seasoned and delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!
Kristen Chidsey
That is wonderful to hear Dini! I am so glad you enjoyed this meal.
Andrea
So this is my first ever Instapot recipe, of course there’s potential for user error but honestly I didn’t understand what the purpose is sweet potato mixture was. It came out so mushy so it didn’t not feel like a mashed sweet potato side. It was like a baby food purée that we ended up using more of a sauce on the pork. You couldn’t really eat it as a side dish. Not sure if there something we could’ve done different with this more like mashed potatoes
Kristen Chidsey
I am so happy you tried out your Instant Pot, but I wish you would have enjoyed your first recipe more. You may have missed my tip that said
There will be a lot of cooking liquid, feel free to remove 1/2 cup with a ladle or measuring cup before blending up the sweet potatoes and apples. I did add it right to that step in the directions now to help people in the future, so it is not overlooked. In the future, I would ladle out some excess liquid before blending or or even omit apples (which give off a lot of liquid), that will really help to thicken your sweet potato mash.
Cheryl
Looking forward to trying this! If my pork loin is larger (for example: 2 3/4 pounds), I suspect the cooking time would go up. How do I figure out how to adjust the time? It is a thawed pork loin.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Cheryl! This recipe is for a pork tenderloin. For pork loin, you need to cook on high pressure for 20 minutes per pound. I would also just cook in apple juice/cider and cook the sweet potatoes and apples after you remove the pork from the pressure cooker, if not they will be very over cooked! After removing the pork loin, drain off all but 1 cup cooking juices/liquid and add in chunks sweet potatoes,onions, and apples (apples optional). Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and then let pressure release 5 minutes. Puree sweet potatoes, slice up pork and serve! Enjoy!
Sarah
Hi Kristen! For the pork loin (mine is "bone-in") would you increase the initial searing time as well?
Thanks in advance!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Sarah! Just sear just to get the pork loin brown. For pork loin, you can skip the searing if you like, as it absorbs the cooking liquid as it cooks.
Laura
Best tenderloin recipe EVER!!! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!! My family gobbled it down!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY!!! So glad this hit the spot for you and your family Laura!
Amanda
To make this pork only no veggies, would you just sear the meat and then pressure cook for 4 min? What about pressure release?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Amanda, yes that would be correct. Sear the meat and then cook for 4 minutes on pressure. You want pressure to release for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Jason
You actually mean apple cider not apple cider vinegar?
Kristen Chidsey
The recipe states apple cider not apple cider vinegar 🙂 Vinegar would be disastrous.
Jason
Ok thank you!
Lori
How disastrous? 🤦🏼♀️ Unedible?
Kristen Chidsey
Well, the meat may still be edible, but the mash would be pretty tart.
Alicia
Could I do the same thing with a pork roast? Would I adjust the cooking time? Trying to use what I have in the freezer. 😊
Kristen Chidsey
I love that you are using what you have on hand Alicia! For pork roast it is 20 minutes per pound if fresh or 30 if frozen. The only issue is that the sweet potatoes and apples would be WAY overcooked and a mushy mess at that time. I would season the pork loin and place in apple cider/juice and cook on high pressure for 20 min per pound. Let natural release. Remove pork roast to cutting board to rest and then add in cubed apples & sweet potatoes to liquid in instant pot. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes (it will come to pressure quicker with warmer liquid so you need a longer cook time for potatoes then if starting from a cold Instant Pot. Then you can mash the potatoes and apples and serve with a pork roast. I hope you enjoy!
Eileen Doucet
You said we could cook the tenderloin from frozen. If I did that, what size cut would you suggest on the sweet potatoes and apples? Surely they would need to be a bit larger if they cooked for 12 minutes instead of 3 minutes.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Eileen! You can cut your potatoes into larger chunks for sure, but since this is all pureed, it does not make that much of a difference for this recipe. Enjoy!
Cindy
When it states Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes if you want your pork cooked to 165, 3 minutes, if you want your pork cooked to 155, and 2 minutes, if you want your pork cooked to 145 degrees. Does that mean to use Pressure Cook, not MEAT/STEW?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Cindy! Yes, all my recipes are written to be cooked on PRESSURE COOK on high pressure unless stated otherwise. But the meat and stew button is just a preset on high pressure cook as well--really a useless function. You can read more info about Instant Pot Functions to help explain here : https://amindfullmom.com/instant-pot-functions/
Hope that helps 🙂
Sarah
Is it 7 minutes pressure cooking or 2-4 minutes?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi there! Sorry for any confusion, I would cook for 2-4 minutes. 4 minutes for well done, and 3 minutes for medium well. 2 minutes for medium.
Kristin Hirahatake
Delicious flavors, however the tenderloin was way over cooked. I did 2 minutes plus the 10 min slow release and the internal temp showed over 180! I followed the recipe exactly, any thoughts?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kristin! I am glad you enjoyed the flavor. Can I ask how big your tenderloin was? That may have affected cook time.
Hillary
Can you make this and freeze it to enjoy later?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Hilary! You can freeze this meal to enjoy later, but pork tenderloin is never as good reheated, as it dries out easily. To freeze, I would freeze sweet potato puree and pork separately. I would also slice the pork, so that it will not take as long to reheat. When you want to eat the leftovers, defrost in fridge. Place pork on baking sheet and broil until just warm. Microwave sweet potatoes and enjoy!
Patricia S Dayton
This recipe looks delicious! I'm just wondering what you drizzled over the sliced pork in the photo that accompanies the recipe. I would like mine to be as good as yours ;-). Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Patricia, I actually used a bit of apple cider mixed with some soy sauce for color--a food styling trick 😉 And then sprinkled fresh parsley over it.
Carol Dreiss
How do I make this without a Instant pot or pressure cooker? Can I just make This in the oven?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Carol. You can make this in a slow cooker or you can roast your Pork Tenderloin (season well with salt and pepper) along side chunks of potatoes, apple, and onions. I would cut your sweet potatoes very small and roast tenderloin in oven at 400 degrees until it reads 150-155 degrees (about 20 minutes.)
You may also want to try my Slow Cooker Pork and Apple Recipe
Melissa Sperka
Love this taste of fall!
Kristen Chidsey
Thank you so much Melissa! <3
Aysegul
It Looks delicious thanks for sharing
Kristen Chidsey
It is delicious! I hope you enjoy!
Heather
The mashed sweet potatoes and apple is brilliant! Such a great recipe!!
Kristen Chidsey
Thank you so much Heather! We enjoy that combo so much!
Lissa
We tried this tonight with a bigger loin. We added 3 minutes to the cook time and it turned out perfect! Big hit, juicy and well seasoned. We also increased the other items and had the perfect amount of liquid at the end. Garlic +apple+sweet potato is delight for our mouths. Keeping this one in the arsenal. Thank you!!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Lissa!