This bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin is life-changing. The bacon adds flavor and fat to the lean pork, making it juicy and flavorful.
It's such an easy recipe, yet it looks so impressive! The leftovers are excellent, so you can double the recipe to ensure tasty leftovers, as I often do.
Bacon really does make everything better! This roasted pork tenderloin is delicious, but adding bacon takes it to the next level.
Pork tenderloin is lean and can dry easily. Wrapping the pork in bacon enhances its flavor and helps it remain juicy.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Oil spray: Used to grease the roasting rack.
- Honey: You can use a sugar-free syrup instead.
- Mustard: I use Dijon mustard. It's creamier and less vinegary than yellow mustard.
- Seasonings: I keep it simple and use kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Pork tenderloin: I usually get a piece that weighs around 1.25 pounds.
- Bacon strips: Pick medium bacon slices - not thick or thin.
Variations
- The best way to vary this recipe is to add more spices. You can add ½ teaspoon of any of the following: onion powder, paprika, or dried thyme.
- If you like spicy food, add a tablespoon of sriracha or any other hot sauce to the honey-mustard mixture. You can also use hot mustard instead of Dijon.
Instructions
Despite the impressive presentation, this is an easy recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
Start by mixing the honey-mustard glaze. Divide it into two portions. You want to separate the portion you'll spread on the cooked meat from the portion you'll spread on the raw meat.
Next, season the pork with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and wrap it in bacon.
Brush the top and sides of the pork with half the glaze.
Place it on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire rack.
Roast the pork to medium doneness. This should take about 40 minutes in a 450°F oven. Loosely cover it with foil after the first 30 minutes to protect the top from burning.
Let the pork rest, then brush it with the remaining glaze, slice, and serve.
Expert Tips
Cook to Medium
I cook the pork to 145°F, which is medium doneness. In 2011, the USDA lowered its safe temperature for whole cuts of pork from 160°F to 145°F, with a 3-minute rest period. So, thankfully, we can now cook whole cuts of pork to a wonderfully juicy, slightly pink medium temperature.
Adjust the Baking Time
I typically use a 1.25-pound pork tenderloin in this recipe. If yours is bigger - they can sometimes be as big as 1.5 pounds - roast it for 5-10 minutes longer and check with a thermometer to make sure it's done.
The Bacon Keeps Juices In
Pork tenderloins often come in packages of two, so I sometimes prepare one of them as a simple, roasted tenderloin and wrap the other in bacon. I bake them both in the same 450°F oven, removing the unwrapped one 10-15 minutes sooner.
The photo below shows how well the bacon works at keeping the juices inside the meat compared with the unwrapped tenderloin. This is one of the reasons bacon-wrapped tenderloin is so incredibly juicy!
The Bacon Increases the Baking Time
A roasted pork tenderloin takes 20-30 minutes to bake in a 450°F oven. When wrapped in bacon, it takes around 40 minutes. See the photo below - after 30 minutes, the pork has reached an internal temperature of around 130°F:
Loosely cover it with foil at this point to protect the bacon from burning, and return it to the oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F - this should take around ten more minutes:
Recipe FAQs
Yes! As explained above, it is now considered acceptable to cook whole cuts of pork to an internal temperature of 145°F, which means the meat will be slightly pink. Ground pork, however, should be cooked to 160ºF.
Since I cook it in a hot oven (450ºF), I find it best to loosely cover the pork with foil after the first 30 minutes to protect the top and prevent it from burning.
Wrapping it in bacon is a great way to keep it juicy! The bacon helps keep the juices in and adds extra fat to the lean tenderloin.
That's unnecessary. After 30-40 minutes in a 450°F oven, the bacon should be nicely browned.
Serving Suggestions
Since I cook it in a 450ºF oven, I like to serve bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with a side dish I can cook in the same oven, such as:
- Avocado fries
- Roasted peppers
- Carrot chips
- Roasted zucchini
- Eggplant chips
- Roasted okra
- Roasted broccoli, as shown in the photo below:
As shown in the image below, I cook the pork and broccoli in the same oven, placing the broccoli in the oven for the last 20 minutes of cooking the pork:
Storing Leftovers
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave at 50% power. If you haven't sliced them and would like to crisp up the bacon, reheat them in a 350°F oven until heated through.
The leftovers shown in the photo below were reheated in a 350°F oven with leftover roasted Brussels sprouts, then served together:
They were a little more cooked than freshly baked tenderloin, but they were still delicious and not dry at all.
More Pork Recipes
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Recipe Card
Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- Oil spray - for the pan
- 2 tablespoons honey - or sugar-free syrup
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 pork tenderloin - 1¼ pounds
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ½ teaspoon of any other salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 bacon strips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450°F. Line a roasting pan or a rimmed baking sheet with foil and fit it with a greased roasting rack.
- In a small bowl, mix together the honey and Dijon mustard. Divide the mixture into two equal portions. Set aside.
- Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder all over the pork.
- Wrap the tenderloin with the bacon strips, wrapping each bacon slice crosswise around a section of the pork and securing the end by tucking it underneath.
- Brush the top and sides of the tenderloin with half of the honey-Dijon glaze.
- Place the wrapped and glazed pork on the prepared roasting rack and place it in the hot oven.
- Roast the pork until the bacon is nicely browned, for about 30 minutes. Check its internal temperature - it will likely be undercooked at this point.
- Cover the tenderloin loosely with foil to prevent the bacon from burning. Return it to the oven for about 10 more minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers an internal temperature of 145°F.
- Remove the tenderloin from the oven. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
- Brush the pork with the remaining honey-Dijon glaze, slice, and serve.
Video
Notes
- In 2011, the USDA lowered its safe temperature for whole cuts of pork from 160°F to 145°F, with a 3-minute rest period. So we can now cook whole cuts of pork to a wonderfully juicy, slightly pink medium temperature.
- I typically use a 1.25-pound pork tenderloin in this recipe. If yours is bigger - they can sometimes be as big as 1.5 pounds - roast it for 5-10 minutes longer and check with a thermometer to make sure it's done.
- Oven temperatures and pork tenderloin sizes vary. The only way to know for sure when the tenderloin is done is by using an instant-read thermometer. This will ensure you don't undercook or overcook the pork.
- You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave at 50% power. If you'd like to crisp up the bacon, reheat the leftovers in a 350°F oven until heated through.
Nutrition per Serving
Disclaimers
Cup measurements refer to the standard American cup, which is 240 milliliters. Most of my recipes are low-carb (or keto) and gluten-free, but some are not. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate, and the carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them. Please read these Terms of Use carefully before using any of my recipes.
Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 
Roberta
I used 4 tenderloins 1.25 lb each. Smells delicious, however, after 30 min, internal temo was 165-170. Maybe reducing tem from 450 to 400 or lower?
Vered DeLeeuw
Hi Roberta,
Thanks for the feedback! Oven temperatures vary. For your oven, reducing the temperature to 400°F sounds like a great solution. Alternatively, roast at 450°F for just 20 minutes and check the temperature.
Jessica Bradley
One of the best tenderloin recipes I have ever tried! we raise our own pigs for meat, so have cooked it many ways. I have cooked it wrapped in bacon before and it was good, but the honey and mustard sauce makes this great! Everyone enjoyed it, from the kid, to the teen, to the hubby!
Thank you.
Vered DeLeeuw
I'm so glad this recipe was a success, Jessica! Thank you for trying this recipe and for taking the time to leave your feedback. I appreciate it.
Cindy D
I made this for dinner last night. My spouse said it was the best pork tenderloin I had ever cooked. I did not change the recipe ingredients; however, I did use a meat thermometer. The total cook time was not 40 minutes. It was 20 minutes, plus the 15 minute rest.
Vered DeLeeuw
I'm so glad you and your spouse enjoyed this recipe, Cindy! Thank you for the feedback about the cooking time. Ovens vary, and the size of the pork tenderloin also plays a role. The best way to know when the pork is done is to do what you did and use an instant-read thermometer.