Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Tenderloin — 🐷🍴🙌🏻 Pork tenderloin is coated in a sweet and tart cranberry glaze before being slow cooked to TENDER and JUICY perfection! The whole berry cranberry sauce in the glaze adds so much texture and FLAVOR! Serve this EASY Crockpot recipe for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or for an elegant tasting meal during the holiday season. Tip – This is a great recipe to use up leftover cranberry sauce you have on hand!
Table of Contents
- Simple Holiday Pork Tenderloin Recipe
- Ingredients for Crock Pot Cranberry Pork Tenderloin
- Substitution Ideas
- How to Make Cranberry Pork Tenderloin in a Crockpot
- Recipe FAQs
- Storage Instructions
- What to Serve with Cranberry Pork Tenderloin
- Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Tenderloin Recipe
- More Crockpot Holiday Recipes:
Simple Holiday Pork Tenderloin Recipe
This moist and tender cranberry glazed pork tenderloin is a no-frills, “set it and forget it” entree that can be made using canned cranberry sauce (or homemade, or whatever you have on hand) and a few choice pantry staples that I bet you already have on hand.
The recipe is as simple as placing two pork tenderloins into your Crock–Pot, whisking together cranberry sauce along with garlic, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, a few seasonings, and pouring it over the meat. That’s it!
The resulting dish is a bit tangy and tart from the cranberries, but there’s a touch of sweetness from the brown sugar and from the sugars in the cranberry sauce. The mustard and seasonings balance out the sweetness well to create a scrumptious pork tenderloin.
The cranberry sauce mixture that the pork slow cooks in keeps the lean cut of pork (which can be prone to drying out) nice and juicy.
If you’re looking for an alternative to your usual Roast Turkey or Pineapple Glazed Ham this holiday season, make this slow cooked pork tenderloin glazed with cranberry sauce. You’ll free up valuable oven space and reduce your time spent in the kitchen!
Ingredients for Crock Pot Cranberry Pork Tenderloin
You’ll need a handful of basic ingredients to make the Crockpot cranberry glazed pork tenderloin. Gather the following:
- Boneless pork tenderloins – you’ll need 3 to 3.5 pounds total
- Whole berry cranberry sauce – store bought or homemade; jellied cranberry sauce (no chunks of berries) can be used for a smoother texture. Use whatever leftover cranberry sauce you have on hand!
- Garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- Brown sugar
- Dijon mustard
- Minced dried onion
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- Ground thyme
- Fresh parsley; optional for garnishing or try fresh rosemary
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Cranberry Pork Tenderloin in a Crockpot
Slow cooking the pork tenderloin with a cranberry sauce glaze couldn’t be simpler! The total prep time for the cranberry sauce pork tenderloin is 10 minutes, if that, and then it just needs to slow cook until tender. No need to sear pork separately in a skillet, either.
Follow these steps:
- Place tenderloins in the bottom of your Crock-Pot insert.
- Mix together all the remaining ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Pour the cranberry mixture over the pork tenderloins.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 2.5 to 3 hours, or until done.
- Let the tenderloins rest for 10 minutes, covered loosely with foil, before slicing and serving your roast pork.
- Optional: To thicken the juices to create a gravy, whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and combine with the juices. Cook on high for 20-30 minutes, uncovered, OR add all ingredients to a small saucepan over medium heat and boil until thickened, likely less than 5 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
NO, they are two different cuts of pork and cannot be interchanged.
I prefer cooking my cranberry pork tenderloin on LOW for 4 to 6 hours. Note that the exact cook time will depend on the size of your tenderloins. Since it’s an incredibly lean cut of meat, cooking it on low allows the pork to fully tenderize. But if you’re in a rush you can cook the pork tenderloin on high for 2 ½ to 3 hours. Make sure to check the internal temperature with a thermometer so you don’t needlessly overcook it (nor undercook it).
Pork tenderloin needs to reach an internal temperature of 145ºF before it’s safe to consume, as measured by an instant-read thermometer or laser. However, provided that you are RESTING the meat as I have instructed for 10-15 minutes, it’s likely fine you pull the pork from the Crockpot when the temp is at 135-140F, and it will come up to 145F as it rests.
Using a meat thermometer is highly recommended to test the doneness of the pork tenderloins. I suggest pulling the tenderloins out of the Crockpot once they reach an internal temperature of 135-140ºF. The internal temperature will rise the final 5ºF as it rests for 10 minutes on your counter. Pulling the pork tenderloins out early and letting the carry-over heat from the Crockpot finish “cooking” them will prevent them from overcooking and drying out.
Keeping the tenderloins covered with the cranberry sauce mixture will also help. If desired, you can baste some of the sauce over the top of the pork tenderloins a couple times during the slow cooking process.
Yes! Follow the cooking instructions in my Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin with Vegetables recipe, but pair it with the cranberry glaze from this recipe. You’ll need to add the vegetables to the Crockpot before adding the pork tenderloin. Hearty root veggies like potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, and the like are recommended since they need (and can stand up to) a 4-6 hour cook time. Make sure to cut them in 1-inch chunks, give or take. Vegetables that are too large may not fully cook through otherwise.
Of course! Try using my Apple Cranberry Sauce, Red Wine Cranberry Sauce, or Cranberry Currant Sauce instead of canned whole berry cranberry sauce.
I made this recipe in my 6-quart Crockpot, but you can use anything larger than a 5-quart Crockpot. Sizing up is always fine, such as a 7-quart slow cooker, but do NOT use a smaller Crockpot or the ingredients won’t all fit comfortably and the meat won’t cook correctly.
What to Serve with Cranberry Pork Tenderloin
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Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Tenderloin
Equipment
- 1 6-quart slow cooker OR
Ingredients
- 2 boneless pork tenderloins, about 3 to 3.5 pounds total (a good rule of thumb is figure about 1/2 pound pork per person, approximately)
- 14 ounces whole berry cranberry sauce, (from one can; can be whole berry or jellied; or use homemade cranberry sauce – about 1 3/4 cups, leftover cranberry sauce is great here)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed (granulated sugar and/or dark brown sugar may be substituted)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons minced dried onion
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground thyme, or to taste
- Fresh parsley, optional; finely minced; for garnishing
Instructions
- Trim any fat from the pork tenderloins, if desired. Spray a 6 to 7-quart slow cooker basin with cooking spray and place the tenderloins in it; set aside momentarily.
- To a medium bowl, add all remaining ingredients (except the parsley), stir to combine, and I recommend tasting the mixture now. Tips – If desired, add more salt, pepper, Dijon, sugar, etc. as desired to taste. You can also add orange or lemon zest, a couple tablespoons of orange juice or lemon juice, a bit of orange marmalade, rosemary sprigs; there are lots of flavor variations; see blog post as well for ideas.
- Evenly pour the cranberry sauce mixture over the pork.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for about 4-6 hours, OR cook on HIGH for about 2 1/2-3 hours. If desired, you can baste some of the cranberry sauce mixture over the pork as it cooks, although it's not obligatory. Cooking Tips – All slow cookers vary in their heat output, as do all kitchens in their ambient temperature, as well as the exact thickness of the pork, and so forth. Cook until done, whatever that means given your circumstances. Pork is done when it reaches 145F, as measured by a thermometer. Resting (mandatory) – However, in order to avoid DRY pork, I suggest pulling the pork from the slow cooker when the temp reaches 135-140F, set it on a plate, cover it with foil, and allow the meat to rest for 10-15 minutes, at which point the internal temp will come up to 145F (safe to consume), the natural juices will redistribute, and you'll have perfectly cooked, juicy pork tenderloins.
- Optionally garnish with parsley, slice, and serve.
- Optional: If you’d like to thicken the juices from the slow cooker, whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water, add it to the juices in the bottom of the slow cooker, and cook on high for 20-30 minutes uncovered, or until thickened as desired. A quicker way to do this (because the slow cooker, is slow), is to transfer it all (the juices + the cornstarch/water) to a medium saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat, and cook until the desired consistency is reached; whisk frequently. It will likely not take more than 5-7 minutes for it to thicken up nicely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Crockpot Holiday Recipes:
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Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs — The EASIEST holiday appetizer that’s made with just 3 INGREDIENTS! People adore these saucy meatballs loaded with FLAVOR! A perfect appetizer for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s celebrations and holiday parties.
Is so very good….. sauce is fantastic!
Keeper!
Thanks, Dana, and glad this is a keeper for you!
This is a keeper! I highly recommend doubling the sauce. I made it exactly as the recipe is written. I used homemade cranberry sauce as well. I’ll be freezing cranberries so we can have this later this year.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Susie, and I’m glad this is a keeper for you and that you’re even freezing cranberries to make cranberry sauce to make this again during the year!
Easy and tasty. Thanks for the ideas of additional items that could add to the sauce. I used a glug of balsamic glaze, sprinkle of dried rosemary and orange zest. And while you have the warning that all cookers are different, I figured cooking at low and checking at 3 hours would be soon enough but it was done! So I would just reiterate the warning to check early and keep an eye on it. Thanks again for another delicious recipe.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Renee, and I’m glad this was a winner! I loveeee balsamic glaze, so that would have been a winner for me. And yes, always check early and often with slow cookers. They can really vary.