Instant Pot Garlic Pork Tenderloin and Mashed Potatoes–tender slices of seasoned pork with creamy mashed potatoes and gravy. All made in one pot, your Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Garlic Pork Tenderloin and Mashed Potatoes
Pork tenderloin is a fancy-ish meal that is super easy to make and hard to mess up. The pork is tender and seasoned well and cooks fairly quickly in your electric pressure cooker. Make sure to pick up a pork tenderloin at the grocery store and not pork loin or pork sirloin. Pork tenderloin is long and skinny. Many times they’ll be more than one in a package. When I bought mine I thought it was one 2-pound piece of meat but when I opened it it was two 1-pound pieces.
Open the package of pork tenderloin and blot it well with some paper towels. This step is important so the browning can take place. After you rub a few seasonings into the tenderloin brown the pork for a couple minutes on each side to really seal in the flavor. It’s totally worth the extra step. While the pork is browning you can prepare your potatoes (if you want them). This recipe is cool because the pork and mashed potatoes are made in the same pot at the same time! The potatoes cook on the bottom and the pork is laid on the potatoes and cooked on top. Plus when the pork and potatoes are done cooking you can make a gravy with the remaining drippings. Yum!
If you’ve never made or tried pork tenderloin try it out this weekend! It will become a family dinner staple.
More Instant Pot recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Gravy
Instant Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Instant Pot Garlic Mushroom Chicken
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Garlic Pork Tenderloin and Mashed Potatoes I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
Instant Pot Garlic Pork Tenderloin and Mashed Potatoes
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 46 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 (1 pound) pork tenderloins (I bought a package that had two little tenderloins in it–so 2 pounds total)
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 3 pounds russet potatoes
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼–½ cup milk
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch + 4 Tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Open the package of pork tenderloin. Set the pork on a cutting board and blot it with a paper towel to absorb any moisture. If needed, cut the pork tenderloins in half (crosswise) so that it will fit inside your Instant Pot.
- Combine the kosher salt, pepper and Italian in a small bowl. Rub the seasonings all over the pork evenly.
- Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté setting. When the display says HOT add in the oil. Swirl around the oil. Place the pork into the bottom of the pot, you might have to arrange it to all fit. Let the pork sit for 3 minutes and then flip it to the other side and brown it for 3 minutes on the other side (skip to the next step while waiting). Use tongs to remove the pork from the pot and place it back on the cutting board. Pat the minced garlic evenly over the surface of the tenderloins.
- While the pork is browning prepare your potatoes. Wash and peel the potatoes (I usually just leave the peels on) and cut them into 1-inch cubes.
- Pour the water into the bottom of the pot and scrape off any brown bits that remain. Add in the potatoes in an even layer. Place the pork tenderloins on top of the potatoes. You may have to arrange them to fit.
- Cover you pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes on high pressure. When the time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Open the pot and move the pork to a platter. The pork needs to be at least 145 degrees F in the middle. I use a digital thermometer*. Let the pork sit for 5 minutes before slicing it.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes. Place them in a bowl. Use a masher to mash them. Stir in the butter and milk and then salt and pepper to taste.
- Use the liquid in the Instant Pot to make gravy. Turn the Instant Pot to sauté setting. In a small bowl stir together the corn starch and the cold water until completely smooth. Stir the mixture into the pot and whisk until the gravy is thick. Salt and pepper the gravy to taste.
- Serve the sliced pork loin with the mashed potatoes and gravy. Enjoy!
Notes
If you just want the pork tenderloin and don’t want the potatoes: Place the pork on a trivet instead of the potatoes. Pour 1 ½ cups of water in the bottom of the pot. Deglaze the pot with the water. Keep the cooking time the same.
This recipe is gluten free.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Category: Pork
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I saw your note about being careful to buy pork tenderloin instead of pork loin. Unfortunately, my Instacart shop was not so cautious! Is there any way this recipe can be salvaged with the wrong cut of meat??
I would use this recipe instead! it’s so good: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-pork-loin-with-honey-butter-garlic-sauce/
Or you could follow the cooking directions from that recipe but use the ingredients from the garlic pork recipe.
Thanks!
Are there crockpot instructions for this recipe, too?
Hi Mary, I haven’t tried this one in the crockpot yet! I need to!
Sounds delish! Could you do this recipe with turkey breast tenderloins?
I’m not totally sure…I bet you could. I think you’d need to increase the cooking time though. How thick is the meat?
Am I reading the cook time correctly of 5 minutes then rest??? If that is correct, why are some recipes for pork roast 5 minutes and others 90 minutes??
Hi David, yes you are reading right! For this particular recipe the pork is browned first on each side for 3 minutes. So that cuts the cooking time down a bit. Plus pork tenderloins are those long, skinny and lean cuts of meat so they cook quickly. Pressure cooking is based on how thick the food is. So with a big hunk of pork butt that would take much much longer. Plus pork shoulder is fattier and has more collagen in it so it takes a lot longer to break down. Hope this helps! Make sure you get a pork tenderloin for this recipe, not pork loin.
Making right now! Can’t wait to taste it!
Hope you like it!
How would I alter this for an 8 quart?
I would keep the recipe the same. With 2 cups of water, it should come to pressure no problem.
This was very good. I used a single 1.3 lb tenderloin and used one cup of chicken stock instead of water. Everything else I did exactly as written. I’ve made a few pork tenderloin recipes in the instant pot and this is the first one that I feel has the cook time spot on to get a tenderloin that’s perfectly done. I can’t wait to serve this the next time we have company! They’ll be so impressed get it was so simple to put together. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
So happy to hear this Melissa! Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂
Thank you! Mine turned out so well the first time, I’m using this recipe again today!
GREAT!
When setting the pork on top of the potatoes, do you use the trivet? Or do you set it directly on top?
I did not use a trivet.
Sounds awesome! I will definitely try this. What change would I have to make if I wanted to add carrots or beans?
I would add some cut up carrots or green beans on top of the roast. I bet it would be great!
This recipe was super awesome! I loved how easy it was to cook potatoes and the pork together, so many times I want mashed potatoes but cooking it separately feels like a chore! Next time I make it I’m goi g to try to add a little more depth of flavor to the pork, needs beef broth maybe instead of water when cooking it, maybe a couple extra spices but wow it was so delicious. Will become a regular meal for sure!!
★★★★★
Yes the beef broth would be great! I’ll also try that next time.
This is a great way to cook pork tenderloin. Tons of flavor! The whole family loved it. I only had 3 potatoes and that was plenty. Also made enough for a couple lunches!
★★★★★
Nice! I love leftovers 🙂
B/c I’m single, I have the 3 qt. Mini Instant Pot. Concerned I made a mistake getting this one b/c I never see recipes for it or how to reduce recipes for the 6 qt. to 3 qt.
Please read this article. I think it will really help you! https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-halve-instant-pot-recipes/
Can I make this with just one pork tenderloin? If so, do I cut everything except the water in half? Thank you!
yes that’s right.
First time cooking ork tenderloin. Opened to season and find its in 2 pieces. Do I cook them on top of one another as pkged?
If you can, spread them out a bit.
I want to make this using 1 pound pork tenderloin without potatoes. I plan to use my 3 quart IP. I know I can decrease the water to 1 cup and adjust seasoning but not sure how much cook time to add due to smaller IP reaching pressure more quickly. What do you recommend?
I would add a couple of minutes.
Can this be made with same cook times if frozen when you place it in the IP?
You’ll need to increase the cooking time. I would try 12 minutes and check for doneness with a thermometer.
Just purchased an 8 qt ip and would like to cook 4 tenderloins on Saturday night.Do I need to increase water and time to cook them? Thank you for your help.
I would read this article. It will be helpful to you: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/
I made this last night for the first time (just the pork, we opted for roasted sweet potatoes) My guests loved it and my 7 year old loved it. He told me it was the best “Chicken” I ever made!! 🙂 He ate every bite – we will definitely make this again! And yes, I told him it was pork.
This web site has been such a help as I get to learn about using an InstaPot! Thank you.
★★★★★
Thanks Joyce! I’m glad he liked the chicken 🙂