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
This is the best thing ever ! Made it this morning exactly as recipe says, perfect !
(Can someone tell me if I should have removed skin prior to cooking it didn’t crisp up and by looking at photos shown it would appear that skin has been removed
Thanks for your help
Ray
I am going to try this for tomorrow night. I have never made a pork loin roast that was tender and juicy. I will follow this recipe completely, praying that my company will be completely satisfied… Thank you so much for sharing
I’m a House Dad and a very novice cook. I usually stay clear of any thing that I can easily ruin, like over cooking meat to the point that its trying chew leather.
I followed this recipe to a tee! Used a thermometer as instructed and I cooked the most awesome pork loin ever. The spice rub was perfect.
Thank you for an awesome recipe. I’ll be cooking pork loin much more often now.
John
I followed the directions precisely, and it turned out great! Whole family loved it, thank you!
Can I nake this with a pre-sliced Pork loin?
Perfect. My first time using the convection roast setting on the new oven, which called for either a lower cooking temp or a 25% shorter cooking time. I adjusted accordingly and the 4 pound roast was done in 60 minutes. As the meat rested, I deglazed the pan, and I’ll have gravy for leftovers tomorrow. Served it up with whipped sweet potatoes, applesauce, rolls and lemon meringue pie.
Excellent! I added more spices to mine but it is still so moist. 😍 Great recipe
since it is just my wife and I and a small roast I cut the season to 1 tsp and followed it the rest of the way. It was real good we had it with a bake potato.
I made this tonight and it was the most delicious pork loin I have ever made! We all loved it and I will be making it this way again.
Thanks!!
This is perfect!! My husband says I have to make all pork loins this way from now on. Even my picky eater kid likes it!
Hi trying to get a reply to this question
Should I have removed the skin prior to cooking as it didn’t crisp up and all photos look like skin was probably removed prior to cooking
Ray
Hi Ray Pork loins do not have skin. Are you sure you had a pork loin?
There isn’t skin on a pork loin. There is a fat cap, and that should be left on while baking to keep the loin juicy.
I’ve made this before and it was delicious. This time I’m making two 2.5 lb loins in same roasting pan since the market only has smaller loins. So should I cook as if I’m cooking a 5kb loin?
no……use the minutes per lb. for only one roast, or it will be overcooked.
Nope, technically you’re still cooking a 2.5# loin
Made this recipe last night and it was awesome. A few things I did differently with a 2 pound pork loin,
Roasted the pork in a corning ware 4qt Dutch Oven with a lid.
Layered the bottom with carrots, potatoes, onions, placed the pork on top of veggies, added chicken broth (14.5 oz) and 4 pieces of bacon across the pork.
Rubbed the pork with Grill Mates Montreal Steak in place of salt and pepper.
Roasting temperature was perfect, 10 minutes @ 400 then 350 for 20 minutes per pound.
What can I say, just plain delicious, tender and flavorful. It’s my new go to recipe!!!!!!!
This turned out perfect! I only had a 2 lb roast but I kept the dry ingredient measurements the same…except a little less pepper due to one of my children. Will definitely use this recipe for all future pork loin roasts!
First time for cooking Pork Loin. This recipe is so easy! The Pork Loin turned out juicy and flavorful. Will be cooking Pork Loin more often. Thanks for posting the recipe ❤️
Hi, would you advise rubbing it with spices a night before baking and letting it sit in the fridge overnight? thanks
I use this recipe all the time now. It’s the reason I buy pork loin. Absolutely fantastic. Thank you!
Hi Alan can’t find any reference to this in the recipe
Did you remove the skin ? I didn’t and it didn’t crisp up
Looking at the photos it would appear that it’s removed prior to cooking
Have tried to email Aubrey keeps getting blocked
Regards
Ray
Hi Alan did you remove the skin prior to cooking there is no mention of this in the recipe yet looking at the picture this would appear so
Can’t email Aubrey as keep being blocked
Thanks for your response
Ray
Hi Ray,
This is a late reply but In response to your question, the skin doesn’t get removed. It actually helps keep the loin juicy and the seasoning on top gets a nice somewhat crispy top during roasting. I’ve cooked many pork loin roasts and in all the recipes, the fat cap stays on. Hope this helps you for your future roasting.
I have 4 pork loins that I want to roast. Each are approximately 2 lbs each. How long will that take to roast?
Follow the recipe and you will have an awesome meal. Love this pork loin.
Hi recipe never it but should skin have been removed
This recipe is a definite keeper! I had trouble finding a recipe that worked well for me when cooking pork loin but this one gets nothing but compliments. I followed the recipe exactly as written adjusting spices to accommodate the size of my pork loin.