The combination of brown sugar, garlic, and seasonings gives an ordinary pork loin a punch of sweet yet savory flavor in easy Brown Sugar Glazed Pork.
Jump to RecipePork is such a great meat to work with because it is pretty easy to cook, and very versatile. My recipe for Brown Sugar Glazed Pork originally came from one of
Brown sugar with some garlic and spices really adds a sweet yet savory taste to a regular pork loin. And cooking it on the stovetop is quick and easy, with very little cleanup involved.
I like to make some sauteed veggies as a side with this. The leftover glaze from the pork tastes really good on the vegetables! It’s also great with some homemade mashed potatoes.
One-pan meals are the best. I don’t like cleaning dishes, and this doesn’t make much of a mess.
Step by Step
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tbsp pepper
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/4 tbsp onion powder
- 1/4 tbsp cilantro
- 1/4 tbsp dill
- 1/4 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1 pork tenderloin
- 2 tbsp butter
Preparation
Start by using a garlic press to crush 3 cloves of garlic and put it in a medium mixing bowl. If you don’t have a garlic press, you can dice it up by hand as well. Add your brown sugar and seasonings to the bowl with the garlic and stir it up until it’s well blended.
Open your pork loin and slice it at a slight angle into pieces that are about 1 inch thick. The number of pieces you have will depend on the size of pork you have. So focus more on making them all fairly even in size so they cook the same.
Place each piece of pork into the brown sugar mixture. Press it down so that the mixture really sticks to the meat. Flip it over and do the same for the other side as well. Make sure that the pork has a decent amount of brown sugar on it.
Transfer it to a large frying pan while you continue with each piece. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and set the heat to medium. Swirl it around to make sure that the butter coats the entire pan. Cook the pork for about 5-6 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Make sure to flip it at least once.
The pork will shrink a little as it cooks, and the brown sugar will start to make a glaze in the pan. This is what I use to then coat the pork when I serve it. Use any leftover glaze to go on top of some vegetables such as some baby carrots.
Recipe
Originally Published On: July 24, 2017
Last Updated On: March 15, 2020
Brown Sugar Glazed Pork
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tbsp pepper
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/4 tbsp onion powder
- 1/4 tbsp cilantro
- 1/4 tbsp dill
- 1/4 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1 pork tenderloin
- 2 tbsp butter
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar with the rest of the seasonings
- Cut the pork tenderloin into 1-inch slices
- Place each piece of pork in the bowl and press into the mixture on both sides
- In a large frying pan, over medium heat, melt the butter and swirl to coat
- Add the pork and cook 5 – 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
We only eat chicken and pork (meat wise) so new recipes are always welcomed. I like that it simple and fairly quick to make – thanks for sharing, this will be part of this week’s new meals!
Chicken and pork are favorites here too. This is fairly easy to make, I hope you enjoy it!
I actually don’t eat pork, but I feel like this would taste good on chicken or tofu, too! Thanks for sharing!
I haven’t tried it on chicken before, but I bet it would be good! I’ll have to try that one day.
This pork recipe looks so great, the glaze looks delicious! I don’t normally cook pork on the stove top, so I am intrigued to give this a try.
This was the first time I had ever done it on the stovetop as well!
This looks like a quick and delicious weeknight meal! Love the combination of brown sugar and garlic.
It’s perfect for a good meal during the week. And I hadn’t ever had brown sugar and garlic together before making this, it’s so good!
I am always looking for ways to spruce up old recipes. Adding a brown sugar glaze to pork might be just what I am looking for.
Yes! It makes it completely different for something totally new!!
Awesome idea for pork! I feel like I don’t eat it much cuz I run out of ideas but this is a great idea
I am starting to find that I can make pork almost as versatile as chicken and learning how to make so many different meals with it now!
Sugar on pork? Interesting recipe. I would have to try it out.
I was skeptical at first too, but it’s so good!
I am a Vegan but this sure looks like a delicious recipe. I am going to pass it on!
Thank you for sharing!
Simple but really flavorful! It’s a nice recipe to have for dinner along with your some white rice or your favorite side! I love that it’s not complicated to prepare either.
Yes, it’s a fairly easy meal. I like making steamed veggies with it to also dip in the glaze 😀
I am in trouble now! I have got to try this recipe! I love brown sugar and pork — heavenly!
Oh my gosh, I know, so good!!
I am a vegetarian but this looks like a great dish! I need to make this for my fiancé!!
I’m sure your fiance will love it!
I have heard of this recipe before. I believe a friend’s mom made it for me once and it was delicious. I will definitely have to be trying this out.
It’s so delicious! I hope you do try it again.
I am a vegetarian so don’t know what to comment. But i can say all the pictures look good though 🙂 !
Thank you!
Looks super yummy. and easy! which is key for me, as I can’t cook anything!
Just follow the instructions here and you will have a meal that looks much harder than it was! 😀
This recipe looks super yummy. I do not eat pork that often because it’s almost never available where I live, but I sure will try your recipe if I find some soon. Thanks for sharing this. It’s so easy to make too. And as mentioned above, I am curious about how this will turn out if I use chicken instead of pork. Definitely worth a try!
If pork is hard to find, then you could try with chicken. I haven’t done it yet, so not sure exactly how it would work, but it’s worth a shot! The glaze is delicious, so I hope you can get pork soon or that it works well with chicken.
Sugar??? Sounds strange but looks delicious! I’m going to have to make this just so I can verify if it tastes as good as it looks.
I was skeptical at first, too. But it really does make a great glaze for the pork.
This looks delicious. Finally, something I can eat! Saving this recipe and giving it to my mom to make for Easter 🙂
What a great idea, I hope you all enjoy the meal!
My mouth is just salivating at looking at this! I think this would be a hit with my family! I think I have all the ingredients at the moment so I will be definitely giving this a go!
Don’t you love finding recipes that you already have all of the ingredients? That’s the best! I hope your family likes the recipe.
Wow I’ve never taste pork with brown sugar umm.. sounds interesting and yummy I can’t wait to try this combination.
It’s definitely different, but it works so well together.
Mmmmm! I’m always looking for new ways to cook pork (pork loin esp) because it’s the only meat my girls don’t mind eating leftover in their school lunches! They will LOVE this, I’m sure, and I love the idea of what to do with the leftover glaze, too! 🙂
Pork is one of the few things my boys will eat leftover, cold, in their lunches, too! Ryan had some all last week that we had leftover from the weekend.
I love how clear the pictures you take are and how well this is written! Appreciate the effort! I’m a vegetarian but this recipe seems quite widely loved by meat eaters!
Thanks, I totally understand! My husband has been helping with the photography lately, so I’ll let him know the photos are being appreciated 🙂
These are very delicious here. I would love to try out this pork. I’m not sure my daughter would do the pork, but I would love to try it. Just have to make better proportions for me.
I know what you mean about the proportions, one pork loin is more than my family will eat in an evening since my boys are still so young. But it does reheat pretty well, so it can be lunch the next day, too!
I don’t often eat pork, but this recipe sounds awesome and not difficult to prepare!
We don’t eat pork as often as we should with how much my family likes it. But, this is easily a favorite here since it’s so easy and full of flavor.
I shouldn’t have read this while hungry! This looks SO good, I’m a sucker for brown sugar. Thanks for sharing!
This is the hardest part of food blogging! I make the recipes a few weeks before I post to have time to edit photos and write it up, so by the time I go to write it I want the meal again!