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This simple and easy recipe will show you exactly how to cook a boneless pork loin roast. I know this might be simple for some of you but we all have to start cooking somewhere and actually, the USDA has re-vamped their cooking temperature guidelines when it comes to cooking a pork roast. Did you know that we no longer have to cook pork roasts until they are shoe leather like our Moms & Grandparents did?
Yup. We now get to cook them to 145 °F.
How to Cook a Boneless Pork Loin Roast
It does take some getting used to, the fact that your pork roast will be slightly pink in the middle. The first time I made it my Mom was appalled. APPALLED. That’s the only word I can use. She couldn’t believe that I was trying to kill my family by feeding them under cooked pork.
That’s why I’m writing up this quick how-to post, because this is the NEW how to cook a boneless pork loin roast method. No shoe leather. Gravy is a delicious addition if wanted, not a necessity so that you don’t choke on a bone dry roast. Trust me, once you start treating pork more like a beef roast instead of chicken ( we all freak when chicken is pink!) you are going to love pork roasts again!
How Many Minutes Per Pound for Pork Loin?
The rule of thumb is usually 25 minutes per pound at 350 °F. This method that I use is the high heat method : you start the roast off at 450 °F for 15 minutes, sear in the juices and then turn down the oven to 300 °F. With my method you can also count on a good 20 minutes per pound AFTER the initial roasting at 450°F as the oven is going to have residual high heat for a while after you turn the oven down.
The only exception is when you have a thinner pork loin roast or a thicker one. I had a huge Costco pork loin for the photos (you have seen those suckers, right? What giant pig those came from I don’t want to know!) so my roast in these photos took 120 minutes on the low heat to cook. IF you have a thinner pork loin roast, adjust accordingly. A trick by the way for those Costco pork loins – cut them in half and freeze them separately. Or in thirds. They are so big and so cheap!
What’s the Difference Between Pork Loin and Pork Tenderloin?
Pork loin is round and flat, think of the meat as looking like a boneless pork chop. It is still round but is wide. Pork tenderloin is very round, smaller and is a literal circle when you cook it up. Tenderloin is very tender but if you cook this pork loin roast correctly it’s also an amazing dinner!
Is Pork Loin a Good Cut of Meat?
Pork loin can be overcooked and dried out easily but if you get a good roast with a fat cap on the top, that fat will help! Always choose a pork loin roast that has a lot of fat on the top, I will literally dig through those Costco roasts until I find one! I’m that person lol. Then you have to make sure that you cook it properly – using this recipe.
Tips for Roasting a Tender, Juicy Pork Loin
- Searing in the juices at that high heat of 450°F to start is what makes this the best pork loin recipe around .Once you sear those in, you aren’t losing the moisture into the oven as badly. You then turn down the oven and cook it lower than usual, which also helps to make it a moist roast pork.
- The butter and olive oil crust on top is really important. It helps to form a barrier on the top fat that helps keep the roast moist and also once melted provides the vegetables and the bottom of the roast with moisture.
- Always roast a roast FAT SIDE ON TOP. Any other way is losing out on that natural, fantastic tasting juiciness that the fat cap provides. You need that fat to be dripping down the pork, why would you want to lose that?
The recipe is plain, simple and one of my favorite ways to cook up a roast. The ends are going to be well cooked – better for those people that are still having a hard time eating pink pork- but the center?
Perfection. I will never go back to eating show leather pork again! So who else has hopped on board? Did you find it a mental challenge to eat pink pork?
If you are looking for other pork recipes, try my recipes for:
Love,
Karlynn
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Buttery Garlic Rosemary Pork Loin Roast Recipe
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time
- 1 hour 35 minutes
- Course
- Main Course
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 8 servings
- Calories
- 467
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 4-5 pounds boneless pork loin roast
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 7 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 pounds of chopped carrots.potatoes and onions see notes for sized
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450° F.
- In a small bowl, combine the butter, oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper, and mix until a paste forms.
- Pat the pork roast with a paper towel to remove excess moisture and then rub 2/3 of the seasoning mixture onto the roast, covering the top and sides.
- Place the roast in the bottom of a large roaster.
- Place desired vegetables around the roast. Dab the remaining seasoning mixture over the vegetables.
- Roast in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 300° F. Do not open the oven!
- Let the roast continue to roast for another 20-25 minutes per pound of meat, around 100 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 140° F when a meat thermometer is inserted into the middle.
- Remove the roast from the oven and cover it with foil. Let it rest 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Please rate this recipe in the comments below to help out your fellow cooks!
Nora May says
The pork roast was absolutely delicious, juicy and perfectly roasted. Followed your recipe and one of the best pork we have eaten. Thank you.
Nora says
The pork roast was absolutely delicious, juicy and perfectly roasted. Followed your recipe and one of the best pork we have eaten. Thank you.
Cynthia Suzanne says
This recipe is elegantly simple and provincial. It produces a juicy, tender slice of loin with garlic and rosemary hinted at throughout the roast and caramelized vegetables. I followed the directions exactly, and the meat was done to perfection. I used a digital thermometer to sit on my counter so no need to open the door while the meat roasted. I removed the roast when it reached 145 degrees F (after only 1 hour after lowering the oven temp) and placed it on a cutting board with foil over it to let it “set”. The internal temp rose to 149F over the next 10 min. It sliced beautifully and, while not pink inside, it was not at all dry. The vegetables were so delicious with the addition of the garlic/herb butter. Back in the day I was taught to over-cook pork to a fair-thee-well and chops/roasts were always dry and tasteless. This is my forever recipe and is going to be featured when I have guests. Thank you 🙂
Delia says
I cooked a 1.5 lbs boneless pork loin following your ingredients and cooking method except I used 1 tsp of salt instead of 1 1/2 tsp in fact that the butter i used was already salted. The meat turned out to be juicy along with the vegetables around it. It’s tasty and I will cook again with this recipe. Thank you.
Terrie says
Cover it or don’t cover it while roasting??
cindy kish says
Followed instructions EXACTLY. Roast is not moist, took WAY longer than stated, did not have much flavor. Would not make again or suggest to anybody else.
shelley christou says
This recipe was beyond good!!! Thank you as it was served on New Year’s Day and helped make the meal I served extra special. I added some parsnips just because and used larger sized pearl onions because I forgot to buy regular onions.
Also, the instructions were perfect, not complicated, not too wordy.
Oma Janelle says
My husband loved this recipe! We’d bought a big boneless pork loin from Costco when it was on sale and he cut it into 4 pieces which I individually wrapped and froze. We defrosted one piece, maybe 1-1/2 lbs, overnight in the fridge. I followed your recipe except I used dried rosemary because I didn’t have fresh, and I used maybe 12 pieces of garlic cloves without mincing them. Loin roasted at 450 in preheated oven for 15, then lowered temp to 300 just as you directed and 20 minutes later had a perfectly juicy roast, thermometer said 152, let it rest 5 minutes and it was perfectly juicy and delicious! I didn’t toast it with veggies because my husband wanted Alexia Organic Yukon Select Puffs instead, baked in our Ninja 425 for 20 minutes. We will make the rest of the frozen boneless pork loin roasts as we did this one but maybe get fresh rosemary and surround the roast with vegetables like you say to. Thanks again!
Tom Merenyi says
Dried out no flavor terrible. Pork loin wrong choice , overcooked per your instructions
Kat says
Thank you for reminding me how to cook the Boneless Pork Loin, without turning it into sawdust. “LOL”.
It has been a while since I’ve cooked one and forgot the method of temp and such. Your cooking method did the trick, and the roast came out pretty juicy. I was out of Olive oil, so I used bacon lard with smoked salt/ pepper, garlic granules & Adobo seasoning. Delicious juices and flavor. Thanks again for refreshing cooking memory. You, Go Girl, keep up the good work.
Karen says
Call me old Fashioned, but I refuse to cook or eat a pork roast that is pink in the middle!!!
Monica says
Why does the bottom say your roast “cooked 90 minutes as it was almost 6 pounds,” but the directions say to cook an additional 20-25 minutes per pound? According to the recipe, A 6 pound roast would need 120-150 minutes, plus the initial 15 minutes.