I love our applesauce pork tenderloin recipe. It is such a simple pork tenderloin recipe, yet has tons of flavor! You can make this recipe for a Sunday dinner or really any night of the week. There are only a few steps to preparing this tenderloin so even beginners in the kitchen will find this recipe enjoyable. This is just as simple as a slow cooker pork recipe, but this recipe is done in the oven. Since it is made in the oven, this recipe can be whipped up in about under an hour.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our applesauce pork tenderloin, you need the following ingredients:
- Pork tenderloin
- Salt
- Pepper
- Vegetable oil
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Brown sugar
- Dijon mustard
- Honey
- Fresh rosemary
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Our Applesauce Pork Tenderloin Recipe
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350℉.
- Then take out your pork and season it with salt and pepper on all sides.
- Now, in a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, place the pork in the oil and brown the roast on all sides in the skillet. Should take 2-3 minutes on each side. Tip: By searing the meal you are sealing in the moisture of the meat!
- After all the sides have been browned, place the roast on a shallow roasting pan and set it aside for a minute.
- Now, in a small mixing bowl combine the applesauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and honey until it is all well combined.
- Then spread the applesauce mixture over top of the pork tenderloin evenly.
- With the pork prepared, top the pork with the fresh rosemary, place the roasting pan in the oven and bake it for 30 to 40 minutes uncovered.
- If you are unsure if the pork is done, the internal temperature of the meat should read at least 155℉.
- Then remove the pork from the oven and serve with your favorite sides.
Storing and Other Tips
Refrigerate any leftover pork in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave.
I definitely suggest an unsweetened and non-fruit flavored applesauce like strawberry or peaches when making this recipe. We normally just use the plain unsweetened version, but cinnamon applesauce would work wonderfully!
Serving Suggestions
We recommend serving this recipe with our Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes, Oven Baked Green Beans, or our Mom’s Sweet Potatoes. You can find more classic American recipes here.
Enjoy More Delicious Pork Main Dishes
Whether you like your pork cooked in the slow cooker, grill, or Instant Pot, pork is one of the most versatile main dishes. Check out our comprehensive collection of pork main dishes here.
- Dr. Pepper Glazed Ham
- Fiesta Pork Chops and Rice Bake
- Ham and Pineapple Bake
- Homemade Shake And Bake Pork Chops
- Italian Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes
- Maple Pecan Pork Tenderloin
- Oven Baked BBQ Ribs
- Oven Baked Maple Pork Chops
- Oven Baked Sticky Asian Ribs
- Oven Baked Sweet and Sour Pork
- Oven Baked Sweet Pork Chimichanga
- Oven Baked Teriyaki Pork Chops
- Oven Roasted Pork Shoulder
- Pork Chop Casserole With Hashbrowns
- Roasted Ham Shank
- Sheet Pan Garlic Sausage and Vegetables
- Sheet Pan Italian Pork Chops
- Sheet Pan Pork Chops and Potatoes
Applesauce Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 2 pound pork tenderloin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoon honey
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Brown roast on all sides in skillet.
- Place roast in a shallow roasting pan.
- Combine applesauce, brown sugar, mustard, and honey and spread over roast.
- Top with rosemary and bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes (or until a thermometer inserted in tenderloin registers 155℉).
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Love your recipes but I wonder if I could do this in a slow cooker?
I think you could totally make this in the slow cooker. Cook it on low. Check after about 3 hours and see how much longer it would need to cook. The length of cooking time is the only thing we aren’t sure of. Best of luck and let us know how it all turns out!
Hi,
I was wondering if I could make this in the slow cooker??
I’m sure this would work fine in the slow cooker. We have only made it in the oven so we can’t give you exact temps or cooking times.
Delicious! Made this recipe for with a 1 lb pork tenderloin and halved the sauce recipe and it turned out amazing!
Any tips on veggies to go with? Could I cook them with the pork in the sauce for the last few minutes?
You could throw some baby carrots in or cook any veggie as a side dish. If you click on recipe index on our blog main page, and then click on “veggies” a whole bunch of great side dish vegetables will come up. Hope this helps and let us know if there is anything else we can help you with!
This looks so fun! I make a homemade chunky applesauce which I canned from this summer. Do you think that would be ok, or should I puree the chunks out? I have a Ninja slow cooker, which also has an oven option. I’m going to try and make this with the oven option. Wondering about using a chunky applesauce thought.
Thanks!
There is nothing better than homemade chunky applesauce with pork!! I think it’s fine with the chunks. You could even spoon it on after it’s been cooked. Let us know how it all turns out!
I made this with my homemade blackberry applesauce, and it was really good! I bet it would be good with apple butter too! Thanks for the recipe!
My husband loves this so much, it’s definitely one of our go-to recipes!
I love this recipe! I’m not a pork fan but my mom made this and I loved it! As a matter of fact I have this in my oven now. But I do want to comment on Becca, I looked at your website link and this recipe and that one are not the same. Similar, but not the same. Please be kind and don’t negatively comment on a blog that someone puts hard work, time, and pride in. This is a wonderful recipe and I’d like to thank this blog for sharing with all of us.
This sounds delish… but I’m not a fan of rosemary. Is there anything I could substitute it with.
You would be fine leaving it off if you don’t like the taste of rosemary. The applesauce, brown sugar and honey will give it enough flavor.
Hi there! Just curious if you think this would work ok on thick cut pork chops rather than the tenderloin?
This recipe would be tasty with pork chops too. Your cooking time would be reduced. Watch them closely.
This dish looks incredible and will have to be one that I try for the family.
Apple goes so well with pork but combining that during the cooking process is a great idea!
Thanks a lot 🙂
Just made it with mashed potatoes and green beans and pour the sauce over the potatoes super yummy
My kids and husband loved this recipe. We will be making this alot! We used our homemade chunky apple sauce and it was delicous. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I love the recipe and appreciate your grandma for letting you share it! 😘
Agreed!!
I would love to try this recipe but I need nutrition facts. Is there somewhere on your blog I could find them?
Can you make this recipe in an Instant Pot?
Why would you cook a tenderloin 1 1/2 hours????? It only takes 18-20 minutes for a perfectly cooked pork tenderloin. Might you be thinking about a pork loin?
Here is a blog post we did on converting recipes to the instant pot. https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/how-to-convert-recipes-into-instant-pot-recipes/
This is delicious and I’ll certainly make it again. You should look at the baking time, though. Mine took 18 minutes, and would have been burnt solid if I’d left it in for 75 minutes.
I’m planning on making this tonight. You say to cook in a shallow baking pan but I wanted to use my dutch oven. It’s not shallow so would it be a problem? I just want to sear and cook in the same pot. Thanks
Your dutch oven should still work great for this recipe
Making this for my sweet son in law. He loves the combination of pork and applesauce. I’m sure he will love it! He does so much to held me. I’ll make them dinner and Chocolate Pecan Pie for dessert. Thanks for sharing this delicious and easy to prepare recipe.
This was so delicious. Many thanks for a recipe that I really enjoyed, and so did my very picky husband. It is rare that we both agree. But that is another story. 😂
Fantastic!! Made it with North Coast Organic Honeycrisp Applesauce! So good
I have made this several times, both with browning the meat prior to roasting and just skipping that step. I really tasted no difference. We love this recipe both for the yummy taste and how easy it is to prepare. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. It’s truly restaurant quality. Oh, and it’s delicious cold the next day!
I just made this for dinner tonight and had to tell you how great it was. We devoured it! My husband, who doesn’t like pork, said it was one of his favourite meals. This easy recipe is company worthy but mid-week easy. Thank you so much for posting it.
I meant to add in my comment that I used maple syrup in place of honey and it worked beautifully.
My oven is cooking a little low right now, and it took about 40 minutes at 350 setting.
This was a great,simple recipe for moist,tender pork. I used my homemade applesauce which made it even better!
It was simple to prepare but 30 to 40 minutes was not enough cook time. It was closer to 1 hour