This slow cooker pork tenderloin is one of the most delicious yet easy dishes you can make. You put the ingredients in the pot, turn it on, and let it do the work for you.

If you’re in a hurry to get to the recipe, click on the jump-to-recipe button below the title. That will take you to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Crock Pot Tenderloin Pork

Now back to whether or not pork tenderloin cooked a Crock Pot is good. The short answer: Yes! In fact it’s one of the easiest ways to prepare this delicious cut of pork.

You can also use an Instant Pot to cook a pork tenderloin. I put the basic directions below. It’s faster, but I still prefer cooking a tenderloin in my slow cooker because a slow cooked tenderloin maintains some of its firmness for slicing.

Ingredients

You only need a few ingredients, besides the pork tenderloin. You might have most of them in your fridge or pantry.

Here are the ingredients I used for this recipe:

• One 2-pound pork tenderloin
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 6 ounces barbecue sauce
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Sometimes I add either Tabasco or sriracha sauce. But the barbecue sauce I used had all the spice I wanted.

If you want to add vegetables, some good ones are carrots, green beans, onions, corn, and potatoes. You can actually add whatever you want.

Directions

First, I always spray the interior of my slow cooker pot with nonstick spray. That saves a ton of cleanup time.

Second, place the pork tenderloin in the center of the pot. This one was a little bit long, so I curled it around on one end.

Next, sprinkle salt and pepper over the pork. If you’re cutting back on sodium, you can skip the salt.

The black pepper gives it a little kick that adds flavor. Or you can use cayenne pepper if everyone can handle the heat.

Then, spoon the minced garlic over the tenderloin. Do your best to distribute it evenly, but it doesn’t have to be perfect.

You can use fresh garlic cloves. This time, I used minced garlic from a jar. In fact, I find myself using that more and more. It tastes good, and it does a great job of adding flavor without the extra step. I’m a big believer of saving as much time as possible.

Sprinkle the onions over the pork. I used frozen onions. But when I chop a fresh onion, I like them diced really small. You can cut them as small as you want.

Next, pour the barbecue sauce over the pork. Be careful not to knock off the onions and garlic.

Finally, pour the small amount of broth on each side of the pork tenderloin. This helps to keep it from drying out while it’s cooking.

I used chicken broth, but you can use whatever kind of broth you have on hand. You can also make broth by mixing a bouillon cube or crystals with water.

Turn the heat to low and cook for 5 hours. Or you can cook it on high for 2-3 hours. When you cook pork, you want an internal temperature of 145 degrees F

After it’s done, carefully remove the barbecue pork tenderloin from the slow cooker pot and put it on a plate.

Let it rest for about 15 minutes before you slice it. If it falls apart while you’re removing it, that’s fine. It still tastes wonderful.

An Instant Pot pork tenderloin recipe is basically the same. However, you’ll need to add another cup of broth and cut the cooking time to 5 or 10 minutes, depending on the size of the meat. You’ll need to do a slow release for 5 minutes, but it’s a very quick process.

If you prefer not to use barbecue sauce, you can also make a pork tenderloin with cream of mushroom soup. It’s up to you whether or not to add the onions and garlic. I do, but that’s because we like a lot of flavors they provide.

Another sauce that’s good is teriyaki sauce. Sometimes I purchase it in a bottle, but I also like the homemade version.

Tips

If you follow the directions above or in the recipe card below, your pork tenderloin will turn out great. Here are some tips to make it perfect:

• Season the pork before cooking it.
• Don’t overcook the pork tenderloin, or it will come out dry.
• Allow the pork to rest for at least 10 minutes before you slice it. This allows the juices to settle.

More Recipes

This pork tenderloin is delicious when served with these honey mustard roasted potatoes. You can also serve this BLT salad on the side.

Instead of bread, try these corn fritters from the Back to My Southern Roots blog. They’ll add another level of wow to your meal.

For dessert, try this 2-ingredient cherry chocolate cake. You’ll be amazed by how easy it is to make, yet it’s so delicious!

Choose Pork

When I want a flavorful main dish, I often choose pork. First of all, it’s delicious because it’s so easy to season the way we like it. Second, it’s filling. And third, it goes with all of our favorite side dishes.

Please feel free to share!