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.
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Nutrition
Yum! Roast was moist and flavorful! I’ve used this method of starting roast at a higher temperature for beef roasts, but not for pork. Now, it will be my only method. Along with the pork, I served roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions. Easy clean up and the kitchen smells so delicious.
Was the best roast pork I’ve had! Since there’s only 2 of us, my pork loin roast was about 2 lbs, so seasoned and cooked it accordingly, was quick, tasty and moist!!
FINALLY found the recipe I’ll use from this point forward…after trying lots of others! Our 4.6 lb pork loin was done to perfection.
Thanks so much!
I followed the recipe to the tee and it came out PERFECT ❤️
Are you suppose to cover the roast well it cooks?
Hey Jenna, don’t cover the roast until its done cooking. The layer of fat on the top helps seal in the juices.
Made it. Huge hit with the family. Added a red wine, porcini mushroom demi glas.
I used your recipe for 65# of pork loin for a church dinner, served 125 people and had lots of left overs! It was truly a hit and I was asked for the recipe many times. I added a little crushed rosemary which is kind of my pork “signature”, but couldn’t have done it without your recipe! Thank you!
Did you use roasting rack or put roast directly in pan?
Hey Linda, I would use the rack.
My go to recipe every time:) My husband n family members love it !! 5* **** all the way
I followed this recipe exactly – the result is moist, but not tender. Can I cook it longer to achieve that?
Hey, Aubrey! I really enjoyed how incredibly moist this pork loin turned out. My family loved it, too. The only thing I didn’t like was the amount of black pepper in the recipe. It was a little heavy for us. However, we’ll just cut it back next time. This was fantastic!! 😋 We made it with oven baked potatoes….and then I burned the veggies. 😳😬
Superb! So many highly rated recipes include comments about how the home cooks have drastically altered the recipe. I followed this one to a tee and it was PERFECT! An amazing new years special treat.
Perfection. My 4 pound roast took exactly 1 hour and 20 minutes to cook.
I made this roast today and followed the directions. It was perfect – tender and moist. I added a bit of water to the pan to have enough gravy, which was delicious. This is my new and favorite way to make pork roast!
I was alone for New Year’s day this year so bought a 2.75. Lb pork loin and then found this recipe. I added a bit of minced garlic to the rub and cooked for a total of 70 mins, upping the temp to 370 for the last 30 mins to provide enough temp for cornbread to share the oven. It was awesome! Juicy with a crisp fat top. . Thanks so much for the recipe.
Best pork ever made…finally not dry. This is probably the last pork loin recipe I’ll ever need. Thanks!
Very easy and simple recipe. This is the first time I’ve ever cooked a pork loin and the results were amazing! Very moist and delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Very quick and easy. So good.
Put some short grain rice (Nishiki) in a big bowl; top rice with a desired amount of Sriracha. Make very thin slices of this pork roast, and then slice again into chopstick-sized slices. Top the rice and Sriracha with the thin pieces of pork roast. This meal became one of my favorite donburi dishes ever. My entire family love it and have not stopped asking for it again and again. We sometimes add a layer of lima beans between the pork and the rice, which is so much better than it may sound. Thank you, Aubry!
Do you cover it to cook or cook it uncovered?