This Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin is perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or entertaining. The pork is seasoned with a simple mix of spices and slow cooked until it’s tender and juicy.
Crock pot recipes are some of my favorites because you can’t beat the convenience of a make-ahead dinner. My family loves this crock pot pork tenderloin because it’s tender, juicy and flavorful. I love it because it’s so easy!
You’ll need just a handful of simple ingredients to make this slow cooker pork tenderloin, and it starts with a simple seasoning mix that brings savory flavor to the meat. The secret to making the best pork tenderloin in the crock pot is to start by searing the meat on the stove for a caramelized crust. You just can’t beat the flavor that this small step brings! Then we finish cooking the pork in the crockpot until it’s ultra tender and flavorful.
Ingredient Notes
- Pork Tenderloin: This recipe calls for pork tenderloin, which is different than a pork loin (sometimes called a pork roast). A pork tenderloin is long and thin, while a pork loin is larger and wider. Pork tenderloin is a favorite of ours because, as the name suggests, it is very tender after cooking. Often pork tenderloins are sold in a package of 2 (with each tenderloin weighing about 1 pound), which is perfect for this recipe.
- Seasonings: For the seasoning rub, you’ll need brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper. It’s a variation of my favorite Pork Rub – savory and perfectly balanced by the tablespoon of brown sugar.
- Onion: For additional flavor.
- Olive Oil: You’ll need olive oil to brown the pork tenderloin and soften the onions in a skillet before adding them to the slow cooker.
Do You Need to Add Liquid?
You do not need to add any liquid to the crock pot for this recipe. The pork will release moisture as it cooks. As you can see in the photos, there is some liquid in the crock pot after the pork cooks through. I like to serve these juices over the pork. You can also thicken them to make gravy, if desired.
How to Cook Pork Tenderloin in a Crock Pot
Season the pork. Combine the seasonings in a small bowl. Pat the pork tenderloins dry and trim off any silver skin. Then rub the seasonings onto all sides of the meat.
Cook the sliced onions in a skillet on the stove for about 5 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. This step is important for developing flavor. Then transfer the onions to the slow cooker.
Sear the pork tenderloins on all sides until browned. Then place them on top of the onions in the slow cooker.
Cover and slow cook on low for 2-3 hours, or until the pork registers at least 145° F in the center when measured with an instant read thermometer. Then let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
That’s it! The best pork tenderloin, perfect for an easy weeknight dinner and also worthy of serving to dinner guests.
How Long to Cook Pork Tenderloin in a Crock Pot
One pound pork tenderloins will take about 2-3 hours to cook on low in the slow cooker. Since pork tenderloins cook quickly, I recommend cooking on low, not high, so that there is less risk of the meat drying out. This recipe calls for cooking two (one pound each) pork tenderloins. If you are only cooking one tenderloin, it may cook a bit faster. The pork is done when the center registers 145° F on an instant read thermometer.
Recipe Tips & Variations
- Try not to overcook the pork tenderloin, so that it stays tender and juicy. Mine took 2-2.5 hours in the slow cooker on low.
- This recipe is delicious with apples added to it. Sauté them in the pan with the onions so that they start to soften before adding them to the slow cooker. Use a firm variety of apple, such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. You can peel the apples or leave the skins on.
- Make sure you use pork tenderloin, not pork loin. If you have a pork loin, try my Instant Pot Pork Loin or Pork Loin Roast recipes.
What to Serve with Pork Tenderloin
I serve the pork tenderloin with the juices and onions from the crock pot, along with a few simple side dishes:
- Potatoes: We love this pork tenderloin recipe with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes or Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
- Sweet Potatoes: A Baked Sweet Potato or Roasted Sweet Potatoes are really good with pork.
- Green Beans: These Roasted Green Beans with garlic and almonds are my favorite, or try Sautéed Green Beans.
- Salad: This Arugula Salad is simple yet feels fancy.
More Pork Tenderloin Recipes to Love
- Baked Pork Tenderloin – Another winner of a weeknight dinner!
- Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin – If you prefer cooking in the Instant Pot, this is a fantastic recipe. You’ll love the honey garlic sauce!
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin – A delicious Pork Tenderloin Marinade infuses the meat with flavor before it’s cooked on a hot grill.
- Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin – A 30 minute meal!
Did you make this recipe? I’d truly appreciate if you leave a comment and star rating below! Your review will help others who want to try this recipe. Thank you! 💛
Easy Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each
- 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
Instructions
- Combine the brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk or stir to combine.1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Place the pork tenderloins on a plate or cutting board and pat dry with paper towels. Trim off any silver skin. Sprinkle the seasonings over all sides of the pork and gently rub into the meat.2 pork tenderloins
- Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and cook until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer onion to the slow cooker.1 yellow onion
- Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan. Add the seasoned pork tenderloins to the pan. Brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Then transfer the pork to the slow cooker on top of the onions.
- Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, or until pork registers at least 145° F in the center when measured with an instant read thermometer.
- Let pork rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- This recipe can be halved to cook one pork tenderloin instead of two. If you are only cooking one tenderloin, it may cook a bit faster. The pork is done when the center registers 145° F on an instant read thermometer.
- Leftover pork tenderloin can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat it and serve with side dishes, or add BBQ sauce and serve on a burger bun for a delicious pork sandwich.
Can you double the recipe?
Yes, as long as you can fit 4 pork tenderloins in your crockpot. You may have to cook slightly longer since the crockpot will be more full.
Help!
Can I make a lot of this (like 6-7 lbs) the day before serving? How would I do that to prevent drying out, and what’s the best way to reheat at serving time the next day?
Hi Val,
Since each pork tenderloin is typically only about 1 pound, that would be a lot of pork tenderloins to fit in a slow cooker. If you have a large slow cooker, you could probably fit 4 tenderloins (about 4 pounds). You don’t want to overfill the slow cooker or it won’t cook evenly. I usually reheat pork tenderloin in the oven at 350 degrees F. I slice it, add some of the cooking liquid, and then cover the dish to trap the moisture in.
Can I do the prep work with the cooking of the onions and pork and start the crock pot later?
I don’t recommend browning the pork and then cooking it in the slow cooker later (it could be a food safety issue). You can rub the seasoning on the meat ahead of time and slice the onions, then store both in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.
Doesn’t this need any liquid to keep the onions or meat from burning? Also? I have one 2 lb pork loin rather than 2 smaller ones. Same cook time?
No liquid is needed. The meat releases some liquid as it cooks, which is plenty. 🙂 If you have a 2 pound pork loin it will take longer to cook through, probably about 3-4 hours total on low. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Can you freeze any leftovers for later?
I have not tried freezing this but I think it would freeze ok.
Should slow cooker be on Low or High setting?
Cook it on the low setting for 2-3 hours (see step 5 of the recipe). Enjoy!
Love this recipe! Due to serious food allergies I have trouble finding recipes that are easy and everyone can eat. Thrilled to have an easy pork rub recipe and a new way to get a big meal ready without working so hard on it! Thank you!
Kristine, thank you for such a great recipe. This is one of the few times I’ve cooked something that smelled so delicious while cooking, then tasted even better! I cooked it exactly as the recipe called for. My tenderloin was 2.32 lb. I cooked it for 4 hours on low, and it was very moist. My husband says to keep this recipe in our meal rotation.
My family loved it! So simple, yet moist, tender and tasty! Thanks!
What can I use instead of sliced onions? If I sauted dehydrated onions (the only kind of “onion” my husband will eat), could that work? Thanks!
You do not have to eat the onions; they are mainly there to add flavor and moisture, so you can cook the tenderloins on top of the onions but not eat them if you wish. I haven’t used dehydrated onions, but I think that would also work.
Made this tonight and boy was it fabulous. Everyone loved it. Will definitely make it again.
Can I put some potatoes in there too
Hi Terri,
Potatoes won’t cook through by the time the pork is done. I recommend cooking them separately – this Roasted Potatoes recipe is a good one.
What seasoning can I use instead of thyme?
You can use Italian seasoning, dried rosemary or dried oregano. Or you can just leave out the thyme without a substitute and the pork will still be flavorful.
Instead of using my crock pot I baked in a slow oven in a heavy lidded pot. Very delicious.
After I served this recipe for dinner my husband said it was the best pork he had ever eaten! It is so easy to make too.
Cooking later today. Sounds delicious!
Yummmmmmmm! This was amazing! I added mushrooms & sliced apples to the sauce. Also added some smoked paprika to the rub. So flavorful! Will make this often.
All 6 of my family loved this recipe (and that’s hard to do lol) I made it exactly as the directions say and it turned out great! Thank you!
Would it drastically alter the recipe to leave out the brown sugar? I am trying to avoid all sugars….
You can leave out the brown sugar – it will still be delicious!
Awaiting the results. Enjoyed preparing the recipe, looks and smells delicious!.
Love this recipe! So easy and tasty!
I’ve only made pork tenderloin once and I did a crap job of it. Dad gave me a pack of pork tenderloin and so I looked up recipes and yours came along and let me tell you something it was FANTASTIC. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS.
Not a crumb left behind. I made a gravy with the drippings and served it with rice and veggies and I’ll say this, I’ll cook it no other way.
You need to add the juices from searing the pork tenderloin and the onions and even adding a little bit of garlic wouldn’t have hurt also.
Hi Christina,
There are not any juices in the skillet after searing the pork tenderloin and the onions. If there were, I would add them. 🙂
This was SO EASY, didn’t really take any time, and was very delicious. Even the kids loved it!
I am making just one pork loin, weighing one pound. Do I half the cooking time in the crock pot?
Hi Gina,
It might cook just a bit faster, but will still need close to the same cook time as the regular recipe. Enjoy!
Made this exactly per recipe and it was delish. Moist, tender, flavorful and leftovers are going to be great.
If it’s already seasoned can I put in crockpot frozen? If so for how long for 1.25lbs on low?
Hi Lenora,
Unfortunately, it is not safe to cook frozen meat in a crockpot. Since a slow cooker heats up slowly, frozen meats may stay in an unsafe temperature range for too long.
I made it tonight and it was pretty good and tasty! It only took an hour in my crock pot to reach 145 to 150
I’ve made this 4 times now. My family of 5 loves it so much!
Everyone always wants seconds.
Not only is it tasty, it’s also beautiful!
I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying the recipe!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious I would make it again
We’re preparing to be out of our home for 6 to 8 weeks for a remodel. I won’t have a full kitchen. What I’d like to do is prep everything up until the point it goes in the Crock-Pot, and freeze it. So the pork would have the seasonings on it, it would have a sear. But onions would be lightly brown. All of that goes in a freezer bag. Thaws completely in the fridge when I’m ready, and then into the Crock-Pot.
Any thoughts? That should work?
Hi Alethea,
I don’t recommend searing (i.e., partially cooking) the pork and then freezing. It could pose a food safety issue. Instead, you can skip the step of searing the pork and sautéing the onions. Or, try one of my other slow cooker recipes that doesn’t call for pre-cooking and is well suited for a freezer to crockpot meal, such as Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken, Crockpot Sesame Chicken, Crockpot Meatballs, Slow Cooker Chili Mac or Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup.
May i ask if need to put broth while cooking in the crockpot?
No, you don’t need to add any broth.
What can I use as a light gravy or sauce to serve with this? Suggestions ?
I usually just serve it with some of the juices from the slow cooker. If you want to thicken the juices, you could use a similar method to making gravy, first making a roux with butter and flour in a saucepan on the stove, then whisk in the juices from the slow cooker and simmer until thickened.
Hi, would I be able to use the slow cooker function on the multi cooker ( instant pot)
As I don’t have a slow cooker. Thank you
I have found that the Instant Pot slow cooker function doesn’t work nearly as well as a traditional slow cooker for a few reasons: (1) since the Instant Pot has a metal (vs ceramic) pot and the heating element is on the bottom (vs. all around in a slow cooker), the cooking heat isn’t distributed as evenly. (2) There isn’t a simple correspondence between high/low on a slow cooker and the slow cook heat settings on the Instant Pot. The Instant Pot’s slow cook function generally runs about 25-50°F hotter than equivalent settings on traditional slow cookers. This means recipes may cook faster in the Instant Pot, and you might need to reduce cooking times by 30-60 minutes.
If you’d like to try a recipe designed for the Instant Pot, try my Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin. I also have an easy Baked Pork Tenderloin recipe.
Tenderloin is one of the easiest cuts of meat to make. And since it is very tender to begin with I didn’t think using a slow cooker was necessary, but this recipe was so flavorful and if course tender. I added sliced mushrooms and thickened the juices to pour over the sliced meat. Loved it!