This bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin is one of those miracle recipes that just happens to only require 4 ingredients: pork, bacon, honey and olive oil. Just sear the pork, then roll up in bacon, drizzle with honey and bake. It’s easy as one-two-three (four)!

Brushing honey onto Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin

Four magic words: Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin: It’s one of those gem recipes that is so good and yet so easy that you almost don’t need a recipe. You literally just sear the pork, wrap in bacon, brush with honey and then roast.

(I wish more recipes were this quick and easy to write out! )

Besides the tiny number of ingredients, the other big thing this has going for it is that the bacon keeps the pork really juicy. Pork tenderloin is extremely lean – in fact it’s slightly leaner than chicken breast even. Did you know that? There’s a bit of food trivia for you!

So by wrapping it with bacon, the pork is protected which helps keep it extra moist when roasting. Plus, the fat from the bacon bastes the pork as it roasts which also adds to the juiciness.

Freshly made Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin

Close up of slices of Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin

What you need for Bacon-Wrapped Pork

Here’s the only things you need!

Ingredients in Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin

(OK, ok … So salt and pepper make six ingredients in total. Free pass, I say! )

Pork tenderloin – Also called pork fillet, this is a lean and tender cut of meat. When cooked properly, it’s juicy and succulent. Tenderloins range in size from small ones around 300g (10oz) to very large ones weighing up to 700g (1.4lb). (Not found in Australia, but I’ve seen ones this large overseas!) An average size is around 450 – 500g (16oz – 1 lb) each.
Bacon – Use streaky bacon strips that are long enough to wrap around the pork. You’ll need anywhere between 7 to 10 pieces, enough for a slight overlap between each strip. The exact number depends on the width of the bacon and the size of your pork tenderloin.
Honey – For the glaze. Combined with the bacon fat and salt, it transforms into a savoury, sticky and delicious coating that requires no other additions!
Oil, salt and pepper – For seasoning and searing the pork.

How to make Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

I said you pretty much don’t even need a recipe. But here are the steps anyway. I would never leave you hanging out to dry!

Season and tuck – Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper, then tuck the thin tail end of the fillet under so the pork is more even thickness and fits into a skillet.
Brown pork – Sear the pork over high heat in a little oil until browned all over, around 5 minutes. This is to give the pork a head start before we finish it in the oven. If we don’t do this, we end up with a thick band of overcooked pork surrounding the just-done centre. Pre-searing gives us an evenly cooked finish.
Wrap in bacon – Lay bacon strips vertically on a work surface, with each piece overlapping slightly. Take the pork from pan (let it cool a little so you can handle). Place the pork on top of the bacon, at the end closest to you. Use a long knife to fold the bacon over the pork and roll the pork so it’s wrapped in the bacon.
Seam side down – Roll the fillet over so it’s sitting seam side down. This helps the bacon stays in place. Now slide the knife under the pork, lift it and transfer back to the skillet (heat off, it’s now our baking dish).

Drizzle with honey – To be honest, I don’t measure! I just eye ball it and squeeze it straight from the bottle onto the pork. Then roughly spread it with a spoon or brush – no need for completely coverage here because it mostly melts off during the baking. The glossy, deeply bronzed glaze is from brushing the bacon with the pan juices later.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
Baste – Remove from the oven and baste the bacon using the juices in the pan. There will be a decent amount of syrupy glaze pooled in the pan. Basting with it will make the bacon a beautiful deep bronze colour.
Bake further 5 minutes (total bake time for 25 minutes) or until the internal temperature is 65°C (149°F). This yields medium doneness, which will have the faintest blush of pink inside with beautifully juicy flesh. To cook fully with no pink at all, just take it to 68°C (155°F) or so – around 3 more minutes baking time.

Rest for 5 minutes, then baste one last time before slicing. Serve with remaining pan juices!

Slices of Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin on mashed potato

What to serve with Bacon-Wrapped Pork

A starchy sidekick is called for here, to scoop up the residual bacon juices. Think: mashed potato, or creamy mashed cauliflower for the carb-conscious. Otherwise any standard plate-mopping companions from the bread family: crusty bread, hot flatbreads (this no-yeast one is a great easy one, otherwise, hot naan would be lip smackingly good too).

As for a salad, the plate above features a modest effort involving just a handful of leafy mixed greens tossed with my everyday simple Salad Dressing. If you wanted to make more of an effort and to try something a little different, here are a few suggestions:

Ottolenghi’s Green Bean Salad

Tomato Salad with Basil

Close up of a refreshing Cucumber Salad with a tasty Herb & Garlic Dressing

Cucumber Salad with Herb Garlic Vinaigrette

Close up photo of Panzanella Italian tomato and bread salad

Panzanella (Italian tomato & bread salad)

Blood Orange Salad

The Garden Salad

Close up of sweet potato salad with baby spinach, feta, almonds, red onion, wild rice drizzled with a Honey Lemon Dressing

Wickedly Delish Sweet Potato Salad

Close up of forkful of Green Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Feta

Side Salads

– Nagi x

PS I just realised this is pork-on-pork. Is that a faux pas, like denim on denim??

Watch how to make it

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Recipe video above. Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin is one of those incredible miracle recipes that just happens to only require 4 ingredients – pork, bacon, honey and olive oil. Just sear the pork, then roll up in bacon, drizzle with honey and bake!

Had one too many sad, dried out roast pork tenderloins? This happens because this cut has almost no fat. By wrapping it in bacon, it not only protects the pork but the bacon juices bastes the pork, helping it stay nice and juicy!

Course Pork, Roasted

Cuisine Western

Keyword bacon wrapped pork

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings

Calories 511cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

8 to 10 slices of streaky bacon , long enough to wrap around the pork 1 1/2 times.
1 lb / 500g pork tenderloin , at room temperature
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (honey works better, it’s thicker)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
Lay out bacon: Lay the bacon strips vertically on a board, slightly overlapping (see photo in post). There should be enough bacon so when rolled will wrap the length of the pork.
Season the pork with salt and pepper. Tuck the thin end of the fillet under so the pork is roughly the same thickness from end to end.
Brown pork: Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Sear the pork on all sides until nicely browned. (Don’t worry about cooking through, it will go in the oven.) Turn off heat, remove pork and allow to cool enough to handle.
Wrap pork in bacon: Place pork on the arranged bacon at the end closest to you. Use a long knife to lift the bacon under the pork and roll the pork so the bacon wraps around the fillet. Finish with the bacon seam side down.
Honey: Use the knife to transfer back into the skillet. Drizzle over honey and brush all over.
Bake 25 minutes: Transfer skillet to oven for 25 minutes and roast pork until the internal temperature is 65°C / 149°F. (Note 1) Baste with pan juices at the 20 minute mark, mopping up plenty of the honey and juices pooled in the pan (this will make bacon deep golden).
Rest 5 minutes: Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Baste once more just before serving. To serve, cut into thick slices. Serve with remaining pan juices.

Notes

1. Pork tenderloin (aka pork fillet) preparation – If you see a thin transparent membrane on the meat (known as silver skin), it is best to trim that off before cooking. Some butchers already trim it off. If you forget to, it’s not a big deal however as it’s so thin it does not go tough. Trimming excess fat is optional.

Pork tenderloin cook times – These are cook time guides for the recommended internal temperature of 65°C (149°F) which is medium (ie. a faint blush of pink and optimum juiciness). Pork tenderloin weight (time is total oven time):

300g (10oz): 20 minutes
400g (14oz): 25 minutes
500g (1lb): 28 minutes

If you prefer no pink centre at all, increase the cook times by 3 minutes and target an internal temperature 68°C (155°F) or so.

Note: This recipe takes longer to bake than the usual baked tenderloin recipes (like this one with Creamy Mustard Sauce) because of the bacon layer.

2. HOW TO MAKE AHEAD: Assemble pork wrapped in bacon per recipe. Take out of the fridge 1 hour prior. Top with honey and roast per recipe.

3. Nutrition assuming 4 servings. The calories per servings can be reduced to 305 calories by using Lean Turkey Bacon instead of streaky bacon.