Use your electric pressure cooker to make Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Apple Sauce for a quick and easy weeknight meal your family will really enjoy. The slightly-sweet sauce perfectly compliments the juicy pork tenderloin medallions.
Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Apple Sauce Recipe
My favorite cut of pork on the ENTIRE pig is pork tenderloin. If you look in the freezer at my house, you’d see that I’ve got at least 2-3 packages of pork tenderloin in there and that’s the case at all times. Pork tenderloin is absolutely essential for great, easy meals in a flash.
Roast Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes Skillet is a delicious one-pan meal, made especially yummy from lots of BACON. And speaking of bacon, how about Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloins with Peach Glaze? Talk about a fantastic flavor combination for the ole taste buds!
If it’s a pork tenderloin recipe that needs to be a little on the fancy side that you need, please try my Cherry-Pecan Pork Tenderloin Medallions. The recipe could NOT be more easy, yet looks very elegant.
WHAT TO LOVE
- Pork tenderloin is super economical. Because pork tenderloin has no bones, you can eat the entire piece of meat.
- Pork tenderloin is a cut of meat that gets little use on the pig so its very, very tender.
- Because pork tenderloin is a long and slender cut of meat, it cooks incredibly quickly, especially under pressure in the Instant Pot….just two minutes of pressurized cooking with an eight minute rest and it’s DONE!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
- Pork tenderloins
- Your favorite steak seasoning, such as Montreal Steak Seasoning
- Olive oil, for searing the pork
- Flour
- Apple juice
- Apples, I used Honey Crisp
- Dried cranberries
- Brown sugar
- Kosher salt
- Butter
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING INSTANT POT PORK TENDERLOIN
**PRINT THE FULL RECIPE FROM THE RECIPE CARD AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST
Remove the pork tenderloin from refrigeration and unpackage; let the pork rest for 30 minutes on the counter to remove some of the chill from the meat. Season each pork tenderloin with the steak seasoning on all sides.
Using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, add 1 Tbs. oil; when the oil is hot and sizzling, add a pork tenderloin, quickly browning it on all sides. Transfer the tenderloin to a plate and reserve; repeat with the second pork tenderloin.
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the flour to the Instant Pot. Using the sauté setting, cook for 1 minute, stirring the flour occasionally. Whisk in the apple juice, cranberries, brown sugar, and salt, stirring to bring up any browned particles from the bottom of the pot. Add the sliced apples to the pot, then add both of the pork tenderloins, placing them right on top of everything.
Lock the Instant Pot lid into place; choose the High Pressure setting for two minutes, bringing the Instant Pot up to full pressure. When the timer sounds, perform a natural release for 8 minutes. If any pressure remains in the Instant Pot after the 8 minutes, perform a quick release at that point to remove any pressure. **The internal temperature of the pork tenderloins at this point will range from about 135-140 degrees F. Remove both pork tenderloins to a cutting board and tent with foil.
Meanwhile, using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, stir in the butter to the apple mixture contents to make the sauce. **If you peeled the apples, everything will pretty much fall apart as you stir in the butter; sauce will not be completely smooth due to the cranberries, fyi. Or, if you’d like the sauce to be smooth, use an immersion blender to process for a few seconds.
Slice the pork tenderloins into medallions; serve on a bed of the apple sauce, or drizzle the sauce over the top of the pork tenderloin medallions, whichever you prefer. Enjoy!
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WHICH TOOLS ARE HELPFUL FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE?
Instant Pot – An electric pressure cooker is a small appliance WORK HORSE. Every kitchen should have one, especially if you’re like me and believe in batch cooking meat every weekend. I have the 6-quart Instant Pot and also the 8-quart Instant Pot.
Long-handled tongs – a nice pair of long-handled stainless steel tongs is essential when searing off any type of meat. The longer length keeps you from getting burned from any fats that might splatter during the cooking process.
Wooden cutting board – for slicing the pork tenderloins into medallions (and for slicing any other type of meat, as well) you’ll want a large cutting board that has a channel around the edge. The channel is where the juices from the meat can gather, keeping them from running off the cutting board and making a mess.
Chef’s knife – I use my stainless steel Wusthof chef’s knife for slicing meat, but some cooks prefer a good carving knife since the blade is more narrow. **When purchasing good quality knives, know that it’s a great kitchen investment if taken care of properly, good knives are a lifetime purchase.
Instant-Read Meat Thermometer – Any time you are cooking meat or poultry, be sure to use an instant read meat thermometer. It’s easy to use and keeps us from overcooking our proteins. There’s nothing worse than overcooked meat!
WHAT IS THE PERFECT INTERNAL TEMPERATURE FOR PORK? IS IT STILL 160 DEGREES F. AT THE CENTER LIKE IT USED TO BE?
- NOOOO!! The USDA says we can now safely cook all pork just until it’s 140-145 degrees F. at the center as a finished temperature. Pork cooked to this temperature will have a slight pink tinge to the meat and that is perfect! No more gray, overcooked, funky pork – hallelujah!
IS PORK TENDERLOIN THE SAME THING AS PORK LOIN? IF NOT, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Nope. And to learn all the pertinent details and the differences between the two, please read this post. There is a big difference between pork tenderloin and pork loin.
TIPS FOR MAKING PORK TENDERLOIN IN THE INSTANT POT
- Be sure to sear the each pork tenderloin in the hot oil as the recipe directs. This is important because it gives LOTS of added flavor to the pork.
- Remember that when you are searing the pork tenderloins, you aren’t fully cooking them at this point – you’re just getting the exterior of the pork nice and brown. The pork will cook fully at the center during the pressurization process, so don’t worry!
- Trust this recipe. I’ve made it many times and I know it seems odd that the cooking time is only 2 minutes. As the pork rests inside the Instant Pot during the natural pressure release period, it is still continuing to cook and raise in temperature to 140 degrees F. – the perfect internal temperature for beautiful and delicious pink pork!
MORE FAVORITE RECIPES TO ENJOY
- CHEESE AND BACON SKILLET POTATOES
- HAM AND SMOKED GOUDA SLIDERS
- ROAST BEEF WELLINGTON PACKETS WITH CREAM HORSERADISH SAUCE
- OLD FASHIONED HAM SALAD
- AIR FRYER BRATS WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS
Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Apple Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pork tenderloins, approx. 1 lb. each these come 2 per package typically
- 1 tsp. your favorite steak seasoning, such as Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 1-2 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
- 1 cup apple or cranberry juice
- 2 Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 8 slices (may leave the peeling on the apples, if preferred)
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 2 Tbs. packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
Instructions
- Remove the pork tenderloin from refrigeration and unpackage; let the pork rest for 30 minutes on the counter to remove some of the chill from the meat. Season each pork tenderloin with the steak seasoning on all sides.
- Using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, add 1 Tbs. oil; when the oil is hot and sizzling, add a pork tenderloin, quickly browning it on all sides. Transfer the tenderloin to a plate and reserve; repeat with the second pork tenderloin
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the flour to the Instant Pot. Using the sauté setting, cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Whisk in apple juice, cranberries, brown sugar, and salt, stirring to bring up any browned particles from the bottom of the pot. Add the sliced apples to the pot, then add both of the pork tenderloins, placing them right on top of everything.
- Lock the Instant Pot lid into place; choose the High Pressure setting for two minutes (yes, TWO minutes, that's it), bringing the Instant Pot up to full pressure. When the timer sounds, perform a natural release for 8 minutes. (Just walk away and let the pressure come down on it's own for this 8 minute period of time.)If any pressure remains in the Instant Pot after the 8 minutes, perform a quick release at that point to remove any pressure.
- Remove both pork tenderloins to a cutting board and tent with foil. Meanwhile, using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, stir in the butter to the apple mixture contents to make the sauce. **If you peeled the apples, everything will pretty much fall apart as you stir in the butter; sauce will not be completely smooth due to the cranberries, fyi. Or, if you'd like the sauce to be super smooth, use an immersion blender to process for a few seconds.
- Slice the pork tenderloins into medallions; serve on a bed of the apple cranberry sauce, or drizzle the sauce over the top of the pork tenderloin medallions, whichever you prefer. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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CHEF ALLI
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