Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Tenderloin – a sugary tangy twist on a classic piece of pork that you can start after lunch and enjoy for dinner
This has become one of my favorite slow cooker recipes.
And I use my slow cooker a lot. Umm, a lot a lot. Like I’m posting 2 back-to-back slow cooker recipes because my slow cooker is my new best friend.
Well that is life now, lots of freezer meals and using my slow cooker all the time. Hey, it works and it keeps things sane at night as we are settling into the schedule of things starting when I pick Autumn up by 5, Price getting home around 6.15 and a whole mess of things like taking care of the dog and baby, eating, pumping, cleaning, showers, and next day prep before going to bed before 10-10.30.
So this recipe was great before but now it’s even better because of how it makes things easy for dinner on the weekend and how we get to enjoy the leftovers during the week.
Plus, once you make something that is so good it’s hard to shake. It’s just that the layers of flavor on the pork tenderloin is so dang good. The combination of the spicy, savory, sweet, and salty flavors just work so well. Well, I’ve tweaked it enough to find the perfect combination at this point.
This pork tenderloin recipe is the 2nd to last post missing from my Sprint Cup Snacks series. When I was trying to think of yet another recipe to signify Virginia for the last race held there I was starting to get stumped. Seriously NASCAR, 4 races in Virgina?!?! Trying to kill me?!?! ha! Well, the Ham and Cheese Sliders I shared for the first race held at Martinsville Speedway were a HUGE hit. One of the most popular posts from last year. So I was thinking along those lines and ended up with another pork recipe to share.
I hope that you’ll try this recipe and fall in love with it as much as I have.
Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 1/2- 3 lbs of pork tenderloins
Process
- Combine the garlic, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, balsamic vinegar, water, and pepper together.
- Place the pork tenderloins into a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Then pour the mixture over the pork tenderloins.
- Cook on high for 4 hours. Flip the pork half way through the cooking process (but if you’re not around it’s not a big deal). Remove from slow cooker and enjoy!
I just love slow cooker recipes! So easy when you have a 14 month old running around everywhere! 🙂
slow cookers are just the best!
If I cooked it on low how long should I cook it for? Thanks, looks great. I can’t wait to try it.
I would do it for 8 hours but I’d expect that the texture might be different than in the pictures since that is cooked for a shorter period of time. It might be even more shreddable than photographed but still really tasty!
How did you get the crust on the meat?
I cook the pork tenderloin on high for 4 hours. As well, the pork isn’t completely covered so it’s not swimming in the sauce so the sauce that has been poured over it is allowed to crust up. I hope that helps!
Just found this on Pinterest. I have a roast beef balsamic slow-cooker recipe that is sooooo good I’ve made it 3 times already. This pork version sounds amazing!
Donna, Could you share your roast beef balsamic recipe? Thank you!
Hi Beth –
Here it is:
Balsamic Roast Beef Recipe
Author: Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
• 1 3-4 pound boneless roast beef (chuck or round roast)
• 1 cup beef broth
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
Instructions
1. Place roast beef into the insert of your slow cooker. In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together all remaining ingredients. Pour over roast beef and set the timer for your slow cooker. (4 hours on High or 6-8 hours on Low)
2. Once roast beef has cooked, remove from slow cooker with tongs into a serving dish. Break apart lightly with two forks and then ladle about ¼ – ½ cup of gravy over roast beef.
3. Store remaining gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for another use.
Notes
If you prefer a more pronounced flavor, once the roast beef has been removed, use a fat separator on the gravy and then pour the gravy into a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until the gravy has reduced by half.
I am not a fan of balsamic, can something else be used in its place??
hmm… I’d probably try some chicken stock and some red wine. you’d want something with a bit of body then- maybe a pinot? maybe add a bit of soy to boost the flavors a bit.
interesting question! I’d have to try it myself to figure it out
I have a pork roast recipe that uses apple cider vinegar. Might try that. My
Can’t wait to try this!
Would this work well as a freezer meal??
I think so! I divide it up into dinner portions and then freeze each one so it makes for a quick dinner while prepping the sides.
I’m thinking of putting it all in a ziploc and putting in the crock pot in the morning. Thoughts??
Would you take the meat out of the ziplock when putting it in the crock pot? I’ve never used a liner or anything like that so I don’t know how that would work but I think you can totally make it tonight so it’s prepped in the morning and then just dump it all in there in the morning.
This sounds amazing! Just put in the crock pot…..I will let know how it turns out!! If you don’t already use, try the crock pot liners, they make clean up a breeze!!!!! Someone just turned me on to them!!
ooo I should totally give those crock pot liners a try one day. Great idea.
It would be a whole lot cheaper to use a tougher cut of pork, and the slow cooking will tenderize even the toughest cut. A cheaper cut will also have a little more fat to keep the meat moist. With a tenderloin, it is too easy to overcook it in a slow cooker, and dry it out. Save the tenderloin for oven roasting, and be very careful to not overcook it, by using a meat thermometer and cooking it to an internal temperature of no more than 140 (yes, pork tenderloin is perfectly safe cooked to 140).
very true. This can be adapted to be used with other cuts of pork. I would just increase the amount of the marinade so that it would properly coat/cover the meat so it would not dry out either.
I think I just got the tenderloin on sale so I used it.
Gonna for sure try this
I made this today. Yum
Glad you gave it a try and enjoyed it!
Omg..this sounds wonderful! Slow holiday at work so I’m playing on Pinterest and found this. Thanks!
it’s really, really good. I hope you try it and enjoy!