Perfectly Moist Pork Loin
Perfectly Moist Pork Loin is the ULTIMATE “set it and forget it” recipe! It’s easy to prep, easy to cook, tastes delicious & your house will smell amazing!!
Do you have reluctant pork eaters in your family? We definitely did. My boys wouldn’t eat any kind of pork that wasn’t smothered in BBQ sauce (like these Honey BBQ Pork Chops – a family favorite!). That was until we crafted up this Perfectly Moist Pork Loin recipe.
Now my family is requesting pork nearly every week (without any BBQ sauce in sight). When I say this easy pork loin is moist, I mean it. It is tasty, juicy, and tender pork. It’s the perfect main dish for your hungry family!
PERFECTLY MOIST PORK LOIN
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Pork. It can be SO SO good, or it can be SO SO meh. It really does take a good recipe in order to cook up a pork loin that isn’t dry, tasteless, and tough. Believe me, I have cooked plenty of bland pork roasts in my day (and my fair share of dry pork chops too).
Things have changed here in the Real Housemoms kitchen though – pork is no longer bland and boring. Pork is my favorite meat to cook with. My husband loves it, my kids beg for it, and I love how simple it really can be!
I love that this pork loin roast recipe is a no-frills meal that will please even the pickiest of eaters. The flavor palate is simple – garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Who knew that those few ingredients could work so beautifully together and create a family-friendly meal? All it takes is some sprinkling of the seasoning and a few hours in the oven and you’ve got yourself a huge hit!
Perfectly Moist Pork Loin is a family favorite for all seasons. In the fall we love the classic combination of pork and apples, so I’ll cook up a pork loin and serve it with my famous Baked Apples.
In the cold winter months, it pairs beautifully with some warm, creamy mashed potatoes (you have to try these Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes).
And as the weather starts to warm up in the spring and summer, I serve pork loin roast with some chilled pasta salads – this Pesto Pasta Salad fits the bill perfectly!
Ingredients for Perfectly Moist Pork Loin
- Boneless pork loin roast
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
As someone who never really cooked with pork (because I simply couldn’t get it to taste good!), I was a little overwhelmed when I was in the grocery store trying to buy meat. There are SO MANY different cuts of pork. You’ve got pork chops, pork loin, pork tenderloin (yes, they are different, who knew?!)… it can definitely be intimidating when trying to pick out the right cut!
For this recipe, you’ll want to purchase a pork LOIN. Not chops, not tenderloin. You’ll know a pork loin from the other cuts of meat because it is wide enough to cut large slices from and it has a thick layer of fat on the top.
This layer of fat is actually integral to the cooking process because it helps to keep the juices inside the meat. That’s what makes it so moist!
How to Cook Pork Loin
- Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F. You will eventually lower the temperature of the oven, but you start it higher to give the outside of the pork loin a little extra heat to really trap in the moisture!
- Next, rub all sides of the pork with the seasonings (onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and olive oil). You can put them on individually or mix up a little dry rub for yourself in a small bowl. I personally like having it all mixed together before putting it on the meat. That way I know it’s being evenly rubbed throughout the entire roast!
- THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART!!! Place your pork loin fat side up in your roasting pan. By having the fat on top, you’re allowing the fat layer to baste the roast as it cooks. This is the step that keeps the pork from becoming dry and tough!
- Cook the pork loin for 10 minutes in the 400-degree oven. This will help to create a kind of “crust” on the meat to help keep the juices inside.
- Next, lower your oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to cook your roast for about 20 minutes per pound of meat. Yes, it takes some time. But believe me, it’s worth the wait!
- Once the pork loin has reached an internal temperature of 155 degrees F (for medium-well), pull it out of the oven. Then, cover the roasted pork loin loosely with a piece of foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes. This is yet another very important step in order to keep the juices inside the meat where you want them to stay!! Patience is a virtue 🙂
Every time I make this pork loin roast recipe, I find that my family gravitates towards the kitchen basically begging for dinner to be ready. There’s something about the long roasting time that makes the smell of delicious pork waft throughout the entire house. My oldest son always says that those last 10 minutes of “rest” time for the meat feels like an eternity!
How Long to Cook Pork Loin
This recipe takes a bit of time to cook. It’s not one of those “30-minute meals,” but that cooking time is what helps to make it truly the perfect pork loin.
- You’ll need 10 minutes to oven sear the roast, and then about 20 minutes of cooking time per pound of meat.
So you’ll definitely want to plan ahead. This is not a last-minute recipe.
One great thing about this recipe is that it is very hands-off in terms of prep work. Just a quick dry rub and pop it in the oven! So, if you’ve got time on your hands, but also want to be productive in other places around the house, this is the pork loin recipe for you!
More fo my family’s favorite easy meals!
- Grilled Pork Chops with Peach Salsa
- Best Classic Meatloaf
- BBQ Pork Loin Tacos
- Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quesadillas
- Crock Pot Pulled Pork
- more MAIN DISH recipes
Tools used to make this Perfectly Moist Pork Loin recipe
Roasting Pan: while this isn’t a pan that gets daily use in our house. When I pull it out, you know we’re going to have a great meal. Every kitchen should have a reliable roasting pan!
Meat Thermometer: I love this tool because it takes the guesswork out of cooking meat. Just stick it into the middle of your pork loin and see if you’ve reached the correct internal temperature. No need to cut into the roast, lose some juices, just to find out it needs more cooking time!
*This post originally posted on 09/03/2013.
Perfectly Moist Pork Loin
Ingredients
- 4 pounds pork loin roast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Rub entire pork roast with olive oil. Then rub with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powders on all sides.
- Place pork in roasting pan fat side up.
- Cook for 10 minutes.
- Lower heat to 350 degrees F and cook for 20 per pound until the internal temperature reads 155 degrees F (medium-well)
- Remove pan from oven, and put a piece of foil loosely on top of the roast. Let meat rest for 10 minutes.
- Transfer roast to a cutting board to slice for serving.
Video
Nutrition
Can I make this the day before and heat?
Hey Turid! Yes! Just keep it covered so it won’t lose any moisture.
Hi, thanks for this recipe which I’m excited to try!
You mentioned the seasoning being a dry rub but that olive oil is also used so I just wondered do you put the oil on first followed by the seasoning or seasoning first followed by the oil?
Thanks 😊
Hey Charlotte! I actually like mixing them all together and rubbing in on at the same time. Hope this helps!
Do you put a rack in your roasting pan when you cook the pork
Hey Joe, yes put the rack inside the roasting pan for cooking.
Delicious! I’ve tried several recipes for pork loin. This is by far the best yet. Thanks!
Would the cooking time change when cooking two loin roasts side by side in the oven? I am cooking two 6lb roasts. Glenda
Yes Glenda, your two roasts would take longer that this recipe suggests. Use the rule of 20 minutes per pound or until the internal temp reads 145.
Outstanding!! I am an at home dad, post brain injury, always looking for new recipes. This was so easy, and my family loved it!!Thank you do much
Absolutely delicious! I quit making pork loins years ago because they were always soooooo dry. My husband found a Chinese recipe on YouTube that he wanted to try and found a pork loin at a great price, well he only used half of the loin (2.5 lbs) which lef me with the other 2.5 lbs to use. I did my search and found this recipe exactly as written except for adjusting the measurements for a smaller roast, and I never had a more juicy, tender and delicious roast then this. Definitely a keeper! Now I will be on the hunt for when the meat is on sale and stocking up. Thank you for such a great recipe.
OMG! This is the FIRST reply I’ve made on a recipe, but this was, BY FAR, THE BEST PORK LOIN I’ve ever tasted! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Whenever I share it, I will give you and realhousemoms.com credit!
I fixed this and it was awesome.. shared what I cooked with my Pastor and he raved about it. Thanks again
I have to say that I am incredibly impressed with this insanely simple recipe. Why, you ask? Because this is the very first time in my 30ish years of cooking that what I cooked came out looking like the picture (like exactly!) and tasting as it’s described!
It’s so deeeeeeelicious and I don’t normally enjoy loin because of it’s tendency to be dry. This was not.
Wonderful…. it worked perfectly!! I am not fond of a lot of pepper so I will decrease it next time. I fried up some apples in butter with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Then fried up some cabbage. It was delicious 😋
I will definitely use less pepper next time.
When using salt, just table salt,kosher,or sea salt?
Hey Debbie, I just use regular table salt.
I followed your instructions 100% and although it was easy, instead of “perfectly moist” it came out somewhat dry.
If you do not have a roasting pan, can this be made just on a cookie sheet or glass pan?
Yes Danielle! You can totally use one of those!
Roasted an 11 lb boneless pork loin.Came out great.Just 2 comments that may be useful:
*Using a 20 minute per lb for larger/longer pork loins is way too long.Im glad I put a meat probe in it with alarm to keep an eye on.Was done way before the 3 1/2 hours mark, closer to 2 hours to get to 145 degrees.Other recipes mention 10 min per lb on 8lb and larger pork loins.
*Montreal Steak seasoning has most of the ingredients listed for rub.Just a little shortcut.
Awesome recipe.Was very moist when done.Thanks for this easy,tasty,recipe.
Aubrey, Aubrey, Aubrey … I almost cried when I sliced into this gorgeous pork loin and JUICES actually trickled out! I’ve been on a long and frustrating quest to find a pork loin recipe that didn’t taste like compact sawdust, under the assumption that if it cooked in a crockpot it had to be moist, right? Wrong. So get this: my son Googled “how to cook a moist pork loin” for me and yours was the first image. Happy to say my quest is over now that I found yours. My family absolutely loved it and I cannot thank you enough!
My pork loin is 2 lbs. Should I cut all rub and olive oil ingrediants in half
Hey Warren, yes I would cut the rub and oil in half.
This pork loin recipe is the BEST! Everyone in my family loved it!!!
WOW! this was a homerun! I usually don’t buy this particular cut of meat because it comes out dry and tasteless, but your recipe made it that amazing. Thank you
Haven’t tried the recipe yet but I’ll give it five stars for now. I need to do more research into whether the meat should be cooked directly out of the refrigerator or allowed to come to room temp first. In my experience for large pieces like this the latter gives much more even results which means you don’t have a dryer overcooked section around the outside in order to get the interior to the right temp.
The best Pork roast I ever made! Even the very picky eaters in my family devoured it! Thank you for such an easy meal! We will be eating this again very soon.