Easy and incredibly delicious one pan roasted pork tenderloin and apples with garlic brown sugar glaze is ready in less than 30 minutes and has wonderful fall flavors the whole family will love!
You will go crazy for my other pork recipes like this! Try this popular Best Baked Pork Tenderloin, Slow Cooker Kalua Pork, Oven Baked Pork Chops and Brussels Sprouts, Instant Pot Balsamic Pork Tenderloin, and Island Glazed Pork Tenderloin.
Here’s Why This Recipe Works
The perfect fall meal — Don’t get me wrong, I’d eat this meal any time, but it always seems to call to me as soon as the weather starts getting even the tiniest bit cooler. The warm apples, the brown sugar, and the apples — they all scream comfort food.
One pan — Easy to make, easy to cook, easy to clean up — that’s the brilliance of a one-pan meal.
Quick & easy — Make this pork and apples dish in one pan with just 7 ingredients and in less than 30 minutes! It doesn’t get any better than that, truly. Plus, your kitchen will smell heavenly all night long.
Delicious — Not only is this pork with apples easy but it’s also seriously tasty. The pork is juicy and flavorful, thanks to the quick brown sugar and garlic mixture rubbed on the pork before browning. But then, it gets even better when you pair that juicy pork with tender, crunchy apples. (My mouth is watering, is yours?)
Ingredients
Pork Tenderloin — I haven’t tried to make this with another cut of pork other than pork tenderloin but I imagine it would be good with boneless pork chops as well!
Salt & Pepper — Add salt and pepper to your liking. Freshly ground is best but use whatever you have.
Oil — Use a low smoke-point oil like coconut or peanut oil. Or go olive oil and start off cooking low and slow before turning the stove up.
Brown Sugar — Use brown sugar to caramelize on top of the pork chops. I use dark brown but light brown would work too.
Dijon Mustard — Add a slightly tangy taste with a bit of Dijon. Not a mustard fan? You can leave this out.
Garlic — Mince a few cloves of garlic or use the jarred kind or whatever you have on hand. You may think garlic and apples together doesn’t work but it does work when you add the pork with apples. Pinky swear.
Apple Juice — Add more apple flavor, sweetness, and get a good sauce going by adding a quality apple juice to the pork glaze.
Medium Apples — I go for granny smith apples when I want a little tart flavor, or honeycrisp when I want to go a little sweeter. Any apples will work though in this pork and apples dish. Slice the apples into wedges. I prefer to take the skin off but you can leave it on if you like.
Here’s How You Make It
Make the most tender, juicy pork and apple sauce in just a few simple steps! (Note: If your pork loin is larger than 1 /12-3 lbs, you may need to allow for extra cooking time.)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (not pictured)
- Season the pork with salt and pepper on all sides. (photo 1)
- Next, drizzle the oil into a large skillet and bring the temperature on the burner up to medium heat.
- Next, in a bowl, stir together the brown sugar, mustard, garlic, and apple juice. Rub this mixture over the pork using your fingers to get it on all sides. (photos 2-4)
- Sear the pork in the preheated, oiled pan and allow to cook on all sides for 2-3 minutes, turning to ensure the pork cooks evenly. (photos 5-6)
- Add the apples to the pan and transfer the pan to the preheated oven. Cook until tender and the pork is white all the way through (no pink at all should be seen). (photos 7-8)
- Serve the pork with apples and glaze with a good crusty bread, some mashed potatoes, or even over rice. (not pictured)
If your glaze seems too runny, you can thicken it up by mixing together 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 1 teaspoon of water and stirring it together in a little bowl. Once the ingredients are incorporated, add the slurry to the pork glaze and stir to thicken it up, then add it to the pan.
Pan-searing is a way to cook meat at a high temperature so it “sears” the outside to create a crust (which is helped along deliciously by the brown sugar and apple sauce in this pork and apples dish). Pan-searing helps create a nice crust on the outside while locking in lots of moisture and juiceness on the inside. It’s used often with bigger cuts of meat like pork tenderloin, though you can also pan-sear some heartier vegetables, like cauliflower, cabbage, zucchini, or broccoli.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Serve with some greens like roasted vegetables or a side salad as well as some bread or another grain or roll for a complete meal.
- This pork and apples recipe will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, though the apples will start to get soggy.
- To reheat, microwave for about 30 seconds at a time or till just heated through. Be careful to not overcook it or the meat will get chewy.
- Pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, when a meat thermometer is used.
More Skillet Recipes
- One Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice
- French Onion Chicken
- One Pan Garlic Herb Chicken and Asparagus
- Creamy Mushroom Garlic Chicken
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
One Pan Brown Sugar Pork & Apples
Ingredients
- 1 ½-3 pounds pork tenderloin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons apple juice
- 2 medium apples - sliced into wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Season pork with salt and pepper on all sides. Drizzle oil into a large, oven-safe skillet and bring to medium heat on the stove.
- Stir together brown sugar, dijon mustard, garlic, and apple juice. Rub mixture all over pork using your fingertips.
- Cook pork in preheated and oiled pan, turning every 2-3 minutes to ensure even cooking. After about 10 minutes, add apples.
- Transfer skillet to preheated oven and cook until tender and pork is white through the middle (about 10-15 minutes). *There shouldn't be any pink left in the middle.
- Slice pork tenderloin into 1-inch sections and serve immediately. Garnish with fresh parsley or thyme if desired. Enjoy!
Do you pre-slice the pork tenderloin after application of the rub?
No, I do not. I cut it after it was cooked.
Lovely dish… simple but delicious
Really great. I had pineapple juice so I replaced that for apple juice. It was fantastic just the same.
Delicious simple and quick! The only change I would make is cook it until there is still some light pink color in the center and then remove it from the heat and let it set for 5 minutes or so before cutting into it. The meat will retain enough heat to gently keep cooking on its own and the texture of the meat will be better and juicy!
I cooked this today, October ‘23, and the family loved it!
The meat took longer than stated to cook through (almost another 15 minutes). I may have been overcautious by using a lower heat to cook it. I also used tenderloin which stayed soft and succulent. Whilst resting the meat, I deglazed the pan with some Calvados – I left the apples in the pan at the same time and the resulting sauce was fab. We ate this with a sliced potato and cream bake and runner beans. A delicious recipe, thank you!