Juicy, fall apart tender, Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pork tenderloin in a sweet and savory balsamic sauce – great over rice, on a sandwich, or in a taco!
Want ideas for side recipes? Try my 1 Hour Buttermilk Dinner Rolls, Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes, and Best Simple Tossed Green Salad.
Heavens to betsy THIS PORK.
I think I’ve mentioned one or twenty seven times that my husband travels a bit for work. When he is out of town I miss him (of course) and I’m always ridiculously butterflies-in-stomach-like-a-schoolgirl excited for him to get home (naturally), but when I make really awesome dishes while he is out of town, I just die waiting for him to get home to try it out. I love to make a dish and have my official taste-tester right there to give the thumbs up. When I have to wait a couple of days it just kills me. Because that “mmmmmmm – wife, this is so good!!” that he blurts out between mouthfuls of yumminess is what I live for when it comes to cooking.
This honey balsamic pork? Yeah it happened while he was out of town. In fact he is still out of town. But I couldn’t wait to share it with you. I already know he is going to send me a text as soon as this recipe is published saying “wife! I haven’t tried that pork… You make all the good stuff when I’m not home!” It’s so not true. I make the good stuff when he is home.
And when he is not home.
Though I miss him dearly, the deliciousness must go on.
This recipe is so SO easy to make, and I know you’re going to love that as much as I do. You just whisk together the sauce ingredients, pour it over the pork, and let your slow cooker work it’s slow cookery magic all day while you are at work or running errands or staying busy with some other sort of craziness. Then you come back, shred that beautiful pork, and devour the goodness. And if you’re feelin’ real wild, you can add just one more step in there before shredding the pork. It only takes a few extra minutes but it will thicken up that sauce just a bit so it “sticks” to the meat a little more. It’s delicious either way so one way or the other, make. this. pork.
Like yesterday.
What people are saying about this Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
“WOW..I’ve just cooked this down under in Perth Australia. Nine hours in the slow cooker but was it so worth it !incredibly juicy pork with such a mouthwatering balance of flavours. All the ingredients go so well together,every mouthful is a joy and I’m not even a huge fan of pork! Used fresh garlic instead and served with crusty rolls. #newfavouritedish” – Phil
“Love this website, wingers chicken, baked sweet and spicy chicken, and THIS. PORK. The recipes are very easy and come out perfectly each time and they are a crowd pleaser!!! I’ve sent the link to your website to many people who are probably making the honey balsamic slow cooker pork this weekend! Thank you for the slow cookery deliciousness.” – Brooke
“Made this over the weekend to use for lunches through the week–it was fantastic! After about 7 hours the slow cooker, I didn’t need to shred the meat as it had completely fallen apart! I put it on hoagie buns for sandwiches with potato chips on the side. Would be a great meal to serve at a get together!” – Cassie
“I made this today and it was SOOO GOOD! My boyfriend devoured it and wanted more of it lol. Seriously the best recipe I have made from Pinterest. Thank you so much for sharing it! (:” – Brianna
- Try this Best Baked Pork Tenderloin next! (seriously though, just check out the reviews.)
Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin - (between 1-3 pounds)
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
- Whisk together vinegar, water, and next six ingredients.
- Add pork to your slow cooker. Pour sauce over pork. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low 8 hours.
- Shred pork with two forks and serve now OR follow the next (optional) step.
- BEFORE SHREDDING MEAT: Use a small strainer or a spoon to discard excess fat from the liquid in the slow cooker. Transfer as much liquid from the slow cooker as possible to a medium sauce pan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Whisk together cold water and corn starch and stir into boiling sauce. Reduce to simmer and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened. Shred pork, pour sauce over the top and serve.
Would this recipe work with a pork loin??
Hi Amanda- pork loins tend to be much larger/thicker because of the way that they are cut. I don’t typically recommend substituting either one for the other because they tend to need to be cooked differently.
This recipe has become a favorite. As someone else mentioned, good vinegar is key and I’m luck to have a vinegar and olive oil skip just a block or two from where I work. Experimenting withflavored vinegar is fun. I also will grab a pre-marinated tenderloin FROM THE store (raspberry chipotle is a favorite) and combine it with a plain tenderloin for extra flavor. I freeze the leftovers and discovered that it makes incredible soup, of all things. I just dumped together canned tomatoes, baked beans, frozen corn and chicken broth and it was surprisingly good.
How lucky are you to work so close to that shop?! Wow! Your ideas sounds great! Raspberry chipotle- yes, please! Thanks for sharing your idea for the soup! Way to go!
So I made this today and when it was done I thought why not shred it in my mixer like I do chicken. Haha well it Made the meat little tiny shreds. It tasted great but I didn T know how to serve it once i RUINED it. I realized I bought some dinner rolls for thanksgiving so I Put the bottoms in a baking dish, piled on the meat and provolone cheese, Put the tops on, brused with melted butter and baked them. Soooo good but next time I’ll do it like your recipe lol THANKS for the blog!
Oh no!!! I swear this is totally something I would do ha – you’re not alone! You definitely pulled it off though!
I love this recipe…I make it probably once a month and is a family fav. I add a little crushed red pepper to put a little heat with the sweet.
It was cruel having to smell this cooking all day because it smelled SO AMAZING. The flavor was equally fantastic and it was a snap to make. Served mine on Hawaiian rolls with a salad on the side. Perfect!
Thanks for the recipe! I’m going to try this weekend. Does it have to be tenderloin or can it be pork shoulder or butt etc? Also do I need to increase the ingredients if I want to make with a 4 pound piece of pork?
Thank you!
I was extremely pessimistic when I read about this recipe. I refused to believe that a recipe with THAT MUCH balsamic vinegar in it could possibly be any good.
HOLY CR*P was I wrong.
I cannot live without this recipe in my life.
I use two pork tenderloins to make it so I have a TON of food and I use if for burritos, huervos rancheros, asian noodle bowls and steamed pork buns. ALL WITH THE TWO TENDERLOINS.
I was so stupid.
I now make this once a month, and have done so since I discovered your recipe on pinterest last year.
A HUGE NOTE:
It really matters what type of balsamic you use! I buy ‘the good stuff’ and it’s incredible. I ran out last month and in a pinch I bought a bottle of the only kind that Wal-Mart had for about $4 (Canada). It was so bad.
It ruined the recipe. Stick with the good stuff!
I wonder what this would be like with other tasty balsamics, like the Fig one… mmmmm
Hi Joe! Thanks for your comment! 🙂 I love to hear that you’ve been making this recipe for a while. It’s one of my faves!
I made this for dinner in the oven at 275° for about 6-7 hrs and included the final step. It turned out excellent! I was worried because of the strong vinegar smell while cooking but the flavor was great. I made sandwiches but maybe next time over mashed potatoes? Will definitely make again.
Made this for dinner tonight paired with sweet potato fries and Hawaiian cole slaw. Love your recipe and this will be a go to meal when I need the crock pot to do the work! Thanks for sharing.
Definitely try next step because no sauce remain on my pork
Can this meal be frozen and reheated?
No!
Because of the high vinegar content of this recipe it can’t reach a low enough freezing point to make the food safe.
I know this ’cause I tried and ended up with a useless bag of ‘meat gel’ because it got super cold but not cold enough to freeze 😛 lol
Can you shred tenderloin?
What do you serve with this deliciousness??
Sara, check out my comment below to see all the great stuff I make with this! But if you want to keep it simple: Scoop this recipe with sauce into a large bowl with Udon noodles and shredded carrots. Super easy, healthy and so good.
Made this once with one tenderloin and it was of course delicious. Making it again tomorrow but want to use 3 tenderloins – so should I just triple the recipe? Thanks!
I made this today and it was SOOO GOOD! My boyfriend devoured it and wanted more of it lol. Seriously the best recipe I have made from Pinterest. Thank you so much for sharing it! (: