One of my favorite cuts of meat to feed my family is pork tenderloin. Not only is it inexpensive and versatile, but pork tenderloin truly rivals filet mignon in the fork-tender department, especially when grilled.
That said, Grilled Pork Tenderloin is a slam dunk, home run — what other sports analogies can I throw out there — touchdown (!!) in the unbelievably juicy and delicious department. Best of all, this pork tenderloin recipe is FOOL PROOF and cooks in less than 15 minutes!
Easy Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Grilled pork tenderloin — how do I love thee? Let me count the ways! It is…
- Fool proof. Whether you have a gas grill or charcoal grill, are an experienced griller or grilling newbie — this recipe just WORKS. Every time. Seared and sizzling outsides, juicy and tender insides.
- Fork tender. When I was growing up, pork roast had to be cooked to 160 degrees, aka shoe leather. The USDA has since updated their guidelines and pork tenderloin only needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees, ie juicy, tender, and mouthwatering.
- Affordable. My grocery store sells pork tenderloin for $3.99/lb and I can comfortably feed my family of 5 with ~1-1/2lbs. This makes for a relatively inexpensive dinner option when paired with grilled veggies like asparagus or zucchini.
- Easy! No need to marinate the pork tenderloin first, simply season with your favorite seasonings then slap it on the grill. I actually much prefer a dry rub seasoning vs marinade with brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup for example, because you don’t run into the risk of burning the marinade on the grill. If you want to add sweetness, add it in the form of a sauce when serving the grilled pork tenderloin.
Pork Tenderloin vs Pork Loin
I think it’s very important to note that pork TENDERLOIN is not the same thing as pork LOIN.
- Pork tenderloin: this lean cut of meat comes from the muscle that runs alongside the backbone of the animal.
- Pork loin: this cut is larger and from the back of the animal. It’s commonly slow cooked as a whole roast in the oven.
That said, while you can grill pork loin, it would need to be grilled at a lower temperature and for much longer than pork tenderloin due to the fact that it’s a much larger and thicker cut of meat.
The Secret to Perfect Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Are you ready for this?! The secret to achieving juicy, perfectly-grilled pork tenderloin is two zone grilling. That means that once your grill is nice and hot you’ll scoot the hot coals over to one side of the grill if using a charcoal grill, or turn half the burners to low if using a gas grill, to create a direct heat side and indirect heat side.
First, sear the outsides of the pork tenderloin on the direct heat side of the grill then move it to the indirect heat side of the grill to finish cooking through.
That’s it! I’ll show you how below. :)
Tips for Perfect Grilled Pork Tenderloin
- Prep the grill. Make sure your grill is screaming hot before cooking. I heat mine to between 450 and 500 degrees before creating the two heat zones.
- Keep the lid closed. This is soooo important! Keep the grill lid closed between flipping the pork tenderloin. The indirect heat side of the grill relies on the direct heat side to create an oven-like atmosphere inside the grill. If the lid stays open, you’ll lose all your heat.
- Use a digital thermometer. Although it’s on the spendy side, we love this digital thermometer and have used the same one for years. It’s really held up and is incredibly accurate.
- Let the meat rest. This is another Top Tip for perfect grilled pork tenderloin — let the meat rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing into it otherwise the juices will run out everywhere and you’ll have dry pork.
I like to slice the grilled pork into 1/2″ thick slices and truly they’re fork-tender. If we’re making pork sandwiches, I’ll slice the tenderloin into really thin slices then pile them onto buns. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this recipe — try it once, and you’ll make it again, and again, and again!
(Looking for more grilling recipes? Try my Perfect Grilled Steak, Grilled Chicken Salad, or Sweet Chili Coconut-Lime Grilled Chicken!)
How to Grill Pork Tenderloin
Step 1: Prepare the Pork Tenderloin
Start by trimming a 1-1/2lb pork tenderloin of any silver skin or membranes then brush it all over with extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil and sprinkle on your desired seasonings.
I typically go with my homemade seasoned salt which contains garlic and onion powders, salt, and paprika, plus pepper, though you can use whatever seasonings you like.
Step 2: Prepare the Grill
Heat your grill until it reaches between 450 and 500 degrees. If you’re using a gas grill, that’s all burners blazing! This could take up to 10 minutes.
This is an XL Big Green Egg and we use their natural hardwood charcoal.
Step 3: Prepare the Two Zones
Once the grill is hot, scoot the charcoal over to one side of the grill if using a charcoal grill.
If using a gas grill, turn half or one third of the burners (depending on how many burners you’ve got) to low.
Step 4: Grill the Pork Tenderloin
- Place the pork tenderloin on the direct heat side of the grill then grill for 1-1/2 minutes on all four sides (envision the pork tenderloin as being rectangular and not circular) keeping the lid closed between turning.
- Move the tenderloin to the indirect heat side of the grill then grill for 4 minutes on each of the 2 larger sides (you will sear on 4 sides in step 1 above, but 2 sides will end up being fatter/flatter) or until an instant read thermometer or meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the tenderloin reads 145 degrees. Again, keep the lid closed between flipping.
How Long Does it Take to Grill the Pork Tenderloin?
Between the searing step which takes 6 minutes total (1-1/2 minutes on each of the four sides), and the indirect cooking step which takes 8 minutes (4 minutes on each of the larger two sides), you should have perfectly grilled pork tenderloin in 14 minutes!
Step 5: Let the Pork Tenderloin Rest
Remove the pork tenderloin from the grill then place it on a platter or cutting board (something with a lip to catch any juices that naturally seep out) and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
I usually use that time to grill sliced zucchini, asparagus, or corn on the cob. Thanks to the grill — dinner’s done! I call dish duty!
Serve the grilled pork tenderloin with BBQ sauce, Bachan’s Japanese BBQ Sauce, chimichurri sauce, or…ketchup if you’re my 6 year old. ;)
Storage Tips
Store any leftover pork tenderloin in an airtight container or wrapped in foil in the fridge for 3-4 days. It is truly delicious cold, and so I usually eat the slices right out of the refrigerator. Otherwise you can reheat in the Air Fryer or microwave.
Chop leftover grilled pork tenderloin then add to Easy Fried Rice, Thai Crunch Salad, Cauliflower Fried Rice, BBQ Cheddar Quesadillas, or even enchiladas. It can really replace chicken as a protein in most any meal.
However you serve it, I hope you LOVE this easy, delicious, economical, fool-proof grilled pork tenderloin recipe! Enjoy!
What to Serve with Grilled Pork Tenderloin
- Napa Sweet Corn Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Marinated Vegetable Salad
- The BEST Pasta Salad
- Judy’s Baked Beans
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Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Description
Grilled pork tenderloin cooks in just 15 minutes! This easy, healthy grilling recipe is fork-tender, full of sizzling flavor, and fool proof.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2lb pork tenderloin (NOT pork loin), trimmed
- extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
- seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, steak rub, etc.
Directions
- Heat grill on high until it reaches between 450-500 degrees then create two heat zones — a direct heat side, and an indirect heat side. If using a charcoal grill, scoot the charcoal over to one side of the grill. If using a gas grill, turn half or 1/3 of the burners to low. Read post above in its entirety for tips on two zone grilling.
- Rub or brush the pork tenderloin all over with oil then season with desired seasonings. Add pork to the direct heat side of the grill then grill for 1-1/2 minutes on all four sides (envision the pork tenderloin as being rectangular vs circular) for a total of 6 minutes. Keep the lid closed between flipping.
- Move the pork tenderloin to the indirect heat side of the grill then grill for 4 minutes on each of the two larger sides, for a total of 8 more minutes, or until an instant read thermometer or meat thermometer reads 145 degrees. Keep the lid closed between flipping.
- Let pork rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Leave a comment and star rating if you loved the recipe! Thank you for considering!
Notes
- I don't recommend marinating the pork in anything containing sugars (honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, etc) as it will burn while searing the outside of the pork.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
Do you shut the high burners off after you move the tenderloin to the low burners?
Leave those on – they’ll keep the grill hot like an oven – just make sure to keep the lid closed in between flipping.
I just wanted to say, that this is the ONLY way I cook a tenderloin anymore! Found this recipe last year, and I love it! It was the name of your site that first caught my eye, I’m from Cedar Falls, but have been living in Overland Park for 20 years. We love our tenderloin here, especially sliced thin with barbecue sauce! Yum!
Thanks so muchfor a perfect, and perfectly easy reciepe!!!
Fabulous!! I’m so glad to hear you love this recipe, Peg!!
I first tried the grilled pork tenderloin in the fall of 2019. It was a huge hit with my entire family. The grandkids loved it. I have lost count of the number of tenderloins we have grilled since then. We even had it for Thanksgiving 2020 with dressing. No turkey for us. So easy and so yummy!!
Love hearing that, Debbie!! Good enough to swap for turkey – so great!
Today was my first time grilling a pork tenderloin and the results using these instructions were FANTASTIC! Everyone agreed that the pork was just perfect – thank you!
Woo!! So glad it was a success for you, Kathy!!
After the cooking time specified the internal temp was way off. Only 90 F.
And no, this wasn’t a loin. Kept the lid closed between flips (read around 400 F in the grill). Meal timing is way off now. Mine looks thicker than the photo but it’s 1.5 lbs.
Be careful with the tenderloin recipe. I timed it exactly per the recipe and it was very raw. Needed about double the time on the grill.
First recipe on our new bbq and it was deliciousssss! For sure will be keeping this for another time. Thank you from Quebec.
Wohoo!! Glad to hear it was ah it, Jonathan!
Followed the directions to a T. The middle is still cold. Hasn’t moved the meat thermometer one little bit.
It sounds like you used a pork loin instead of a tenderloin which is much much thicker than a tenderloin.
First time since I fell love in love with Food Network stars a few decades ago that I found a chef who can time a recipe perfectly! My tenderloin was the best EVER! Thank you
Woo!! So happy to hear that, Dianne! Thanks so much for the recipe review and rating!
This recipe was great! Best tenderloin I’ve ever grilled, thanks for the instructions :)
Thrilled to hear it, Greg!! Thanks so much for your review and recipe rating. :)
My mother was a talented baker. Cook: not so much. She cooked pork until it was white and dry. I experimented with this recipe because I KNEW there had to be a better way to cook pork. This is now my “go to” recipe! The spice mix is great and the meat is moist. Best of all — it’s QUICK!!! Thank you so much!
I NEVER leave reviews but I absolutely had to on this one…this was the best pork tenderloin I have ever had in my life!! So juicy and tender that I didn’t even need to cut it with a knife, just the fork…literally melted in my mouth. AMAZING!! Thank you for this recipe and I will never cook pork tenderloin any other way!!
SO thrilled to hear that, Ian! Thanks so much for your review and recipe rating! :)
The grilled pork tenderloin was a hit. My husband followed directions exactly and used an instant read thermometer. We let it rest about 15 minutes before cutting. So juicy! I served it with some chimichurri sauce, but it really didn’t need any sauce. Thanks for the recipe!
We made this today using some jerk seasoning and it worked perfectly! I never cared for the texture of pork tenderloin when we’ve cooked it before. I guess I always found it bland and mushy. This method made it moist and gave it a great meaty texture. As a plus, it was very quick and easy. Thanks for a new recipe that’s so adaptable.
I always come back to this at the beginning of grilling season to remind myself of the times for turning. Delicious! Always comes out perfect!
This is the best pork tenderloin I’ve ever eaten. Used my choices is seasonings and otherwise followed the recipe. Couldn’t have been easier or quicker. So tender and juicy and full of flavor.
I thought you were making one of my go to pork tenderloin recipes, but it wasn’t, so thought I would share the easiet most delicious sauce for your grilled pork tenderloin. In a small sauce pan combine a pack of fresh blueberries, 1/4 balsamic vinegar, quarter cup of orange juice. Bring to a boil and then let simmer while the pork tenderloin cooks and then rests. Sometime you have to turn off burner early, but usually it all come together at the same time.
When the pork is seared at the high heat for 1 1/2 minutes, is that a total of 1 1/2 minutes or per side for a total of 6 minutes?
You got it!
Made this with a Chimichurri sauce and homemade sweet potato fries, YUM!
I made the pork tenderloin last night with creamed dill baby potatoes and it was to die for ? will definitely be making it again ?