An easy and healthy slow cooker pork tenderloin recipe with Asian vibes and a ginger glaze that gets caramelized under the broiler. Bring on the crusty topping.Â
Today Charlotte was dropped off at home from a playdate at a friend’s, and as we’re eating lunch she says, “Mom, you never got dressed!”
“What! Yes I did!”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I took a shower! I put on makeup!”
“Well you look the same.”
THANKS A LOT CHARLOTTE. Sometimes living with a 3-year-old is all you need to keep your ego in check. Although to be fair, I probably needed an ego check after The Autograph Incident.
Also, to be even more fair, I’m sick right now, so when I say “I got dressed” I mean that I got out of the shower and put on a whole different pair of yoga pants. Here I come, world.
One time my sister-in-law Sandi didn’t have her usual glasses on, and one of her kids asked why she had to wear them all the time. She explained that she has an astigmatism that makes it impossible to wear contacts. Her son replied, “Well that’s too bad. You look better without them.” Â ZING. For the record, Sandi, I like your glasses.
Have you guys tried out my Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Tenderloin? It’s a reader favorite here on the blog. It’s a slow cooker, no-fail kind of recipe. I make it all the time, especially when we are having company for dinner. It’s so easy yet seems impressive.
I wanted to change it up, so I made this version to go with the Asian Cauliflower “Rice” I posted on Wednesday. I’m really loving the addition of ginger to the glaze. It’s just as easy as the original recipe, only a few more spices called for in the rub.  A healthy entree for all us healthy people in healthy January!
 Do you guys give up? Or are you thirsty for more?
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Asian Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Glaze (Slow Cooker)
Ingredients
For the rub:
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon powdered cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 pounds pork tenderloin
For the glaze:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup rice vinegar, or white
- ½ cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
- fresh cilantro, to garnish
- lime wedges, to garnish
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, powdered ginger, cinnamon, garlic, cloves, black pepper, and crushed red pepper.
- Place the tenderloins in the slow cooker. Rub the seasonings over the pork, including the bottom.
- Pour ½ cup water in the slow cooker, on the edge or in the middle so that you don't wash off all the spices you just rubbed on.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours, then preheat your broiler.
- While the pork is finishing up in the slow cooker and your broiler heats up, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, cornstarch, rice vinegar, COLD water, and soy sauce in a small saucepan.
- Set over medium heat and stir until mixture thickens, about 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in minced ginger.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray.
- Remove the pork from the crock pot (discard the liquid) and place on the lined baking sheet. Brush a generous amount of the glaze on the pork.
- Put your oven rack as high as it will go, and broil the pork for 1 or 2 minutes, until bubbly and caramelized. Don't walk away! Repeat 2 to 3 more times until it is as crusty as you want it. I wouldn't go many more times than this though, or your pork will dry out.
- Serve with remaining glaze on the side, and garnish with lime and cilantro. I love to serve this pork with Asian Cauliflower "Rice."
Notes
Nutrition
Before broiling, after broiling. Gingery crust. It’s a happy thing.
This pork is great served with rice or potatoes, but I particularly love eating it with this Asian Cauliflower “Rice”:
Today’s recipe is adapted from this AMAZING Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Tenderloin:
Cuban Mojo-Marinated Pork: << have you seen the movie Chef? This is the recipe for the meat in the Cubanos.
Here’s another Asian-inspired recipe I posted last summer– you can bake it in the oven if your grill isn’t out. Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Peanut Lime Sauce:
BBQ Pork Tenderloin Wraps: (this is a fabulous 45 minute meal)
Pork tenderloins from around the world:
Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Garlic Balsamic Crusted Pork Tenderloin from Lauren Kelly Nutrition
Roasted Chili Maple Pork Tenderloin from Aggie’s Kitchen
This recipe looks amazing! I want to make it for a progressive Christmas diner next week…..could I complete everything through step #7 and then finish it up once we arrive here with guests?Â
Hi Ren! Absolutely, what a great idea. Since the slow cooker will have your pork already cooked and your glaze will be finished, it should only take a couple minutes to finish it off under the broiler. Enjoy your progressive dinner, and Merry Christmas!
This was wonderful! We were painting outside and every time someone came into the house I was asked again what time dinner was because it smelled incredible. lol. I doubled the glaze so we had some extra on the side for anyone who wanted more…..and everyone did take more. Both the seasonings and the glaze were perfect. This was a huge hit at my house. It was simple to make, the aroma was amazing, and it was tender and delish. Thanks for sharing this great winner.
If this had more stars, I’d give it more!! Karen, WOW! This is amazing. Fork tender, juicy, pork flavor comes through and isn’t overpowered by the sauce. I’ve never had pork this good! That being said, I learned some things about slow cooking a mild little piece of meat like pork tenderloin. Mine came in one piece, wider than most, but not thicker, and only 1# 11 oz. Because I was unsure how to gauge the time with this odd piece of meat, at 3 hours I cracked the lid enough to insert an instant probe and it shot up to 165 degrees. I suspect it was even higher but I didn’t wait. I pulled it out and set it on the counter with a foil cover. It took me another hour to get the rest of the meal together and broil the glaze. That crockpot of mine is cooking way too hot. It explains a lot of tough outcomes. My suggestion; get a instant probe and always use it. The glaze didn’t get that nice crust, but it was bubbling, and I was afraid to do more with my quite-done meat, and it still tasted great. It made more than twice what i needed and it will be great for dipping with spring rolls. What a winner!
Great idea Jan! Using a meat thermometer is always the smart thing. Thanks for sharing all your tips, so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I’m going to try this recipe, but my husband is obsessed with everything he eats being covered with sauce or gravy. Do you have any suggestions on a sauce I could make that would match this recipe? Maybe just make an extra batch of the glaze and use that?
Hey Allison! Yes that’s exactly what I would do! You might even be able to just 1 and 1/2 the sauce, it makes quite a bit and you don’t need to use quite all of it for the broiling step. Enjoy!
I would like to mention that I had a LOT of sauce left over, I wouldn’t make a second batch.
This recipe is just delicious!  I used pork country style ribs and it came out perfect, tender and juicy.  The glaze  was wonderful and I’ll make it again.
Great idea using ribs Elaine! Love that switch! Thanks for coming back to review :)
Made this for dinner tonight. Smelled heavenly all day……when it time to dish up with rice and broccoli I found it to be too ‘gingery’ ….I did add 1/4 tsp. Chinese 5 spice because I had it already…maybe that is what tipped the scale for me? The boys in my house liked it and wanted to add to the rotation…. We will see……
Made this with WW point values in mind. Used Lakanto monkfruit golden sweetener in place of brown sugar and made 1/2 of the glaze. It was plenty to glaze the meat and was amazing.
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it – thank you!
Holy moly, Karen I’m new to cooking pork tenderloin. I blame my mom, since she never made it while I was growing up. I loved how it turned out and how easy it was. The flavor was amazing! I especially liked the little kick of ginger in the sauce. I’m going to share the recipe with my mom and have her make it too.
I’m so glad you liked it Esther! I never had pork tenderloin growing up either! Maybe it wasn’t as available when we were growing up?? I’m always shocked when my mom casually mentions things like, “I never had an avocado until I was over 40” like whaaat haha. Definitely share the recipe with your mom! Thanks so much for reviewing!
Hi,
This looks great…one problem, I don’t have a crock pot, how would I cook this otherwise?
Thanks!
Hi Susanna! I haven’t tried this in the oven, I would look up a recipe for oven baked tenderloin and follow those instructions with these ingredients. Enjoy!
Honestly advise anyone against cooking a lean meat like tenderloin in a slow cooker for hours on end.
I knew it was a bad idea but was heartened by all the positive comments and reviews for this recipe so gave it a go anyway. The result was a falling apart tender but inedibly dry meat. I followed the instructions to a tee and mine looked identical to the photos.
My mum is terrified of food poisoning so always eats overdone meat. I threw it her way and she enjoyed it.
Kat, I’ve had the same tough outcome, but this time I checked it an hour before the suggested finish time and found out it was already past 165. I learned my crockpot is cooking way too hot. You might want to check yours.