Sous Vide Pork Loin with Raspberry Balsamic Sauce
The sous vide method delivers again with tender, moist pork loin. A rich, bold and beautiful raspberry balsamic sauce (just 3 ingredients) lends a simple elegance to the dish.
This is a no fuss recipe. In fact, the hands on time for the entire dish is under 8 minutes.
The sous vide cooking method, as usual, guarantees the exact temperature you choose. I like my beef medium rare, but I prefer pork closer to medium with a hint of pink. Just in case you’re worried about pink pork, don’t be – it’s USDA approved.
As for the quick pan sauce, pork loin is fairly bland on it’s own so it needs a sauce or glaze to amp up the flavor. The raspberry balsamic sauce certainly adds great flavor.
Stir together raspberry jam, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard in a saucepan on medium-low heat for a few minutes. That’s it.
Ingredient notes – tailored to your taste
Ingredients: Pork loin, seasonings (salt, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder). Sauce ingredients – balsamic vinegar, raspberry jam, Dijon mustard.
A couple of variations or substitutions to try:
- Herbs: use dried or fresh herbs. You will need double the fresh rosemary and triple the fresh thyme. Don’t overdo the rosemary when cooking sous vide. It comes out quite strong.
- Jam: You can substitute the raspberry jam with many other jams such as peach, apricot, blueberry, cherry, blackberry, cranberry etc.
- Balsamic vinegar: Try to get the best quality balsamic you can find. Cheaper versions in a grocery store are combined with a wine vinegar, caramel, flavorings and other ingredients. If you don’t have any, here’s a substitute: For every 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, substitute 1 tablespoon cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar) plus ½ teaspoon sugar.
Cooking Temperature and Time
You will have to experiment a little to find your optimal temperature and texture for your sous vide pork loin roast. I use a temperature of 140F/60C which I find is just about right without searing.
For this recipe, I don’t think that browning the exterior once the sous vide cooking finished is necessary because of the sauce. If you do decide to brown the meat, however, I would lower the sous vide cook temperature to 138F/59C.
If you prefer your pork more well done, set the sous vide bath to 150F/65.6C which will make the pork firmer and less juicy.
Regardless of temperature, the pork loin cook time ranges from 1-4 hours. I cook mine for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Or 3 hours if it’s thick.
Step by step instructions
Recipe FAQ
Sous vide is a method of cooking where food is immersed into a water bath in a sealed bag and cooked to the precise temperature you choose. There is no chance of over cooking if you follow time guidelines and you can achieve exceptional results with zero stress. An immersion sous vide circulator (wand) or dedicated sous vide box-like machine will have the most accurate temperatures compared to the multi-use equipment like an instant pot.
Choose pork that is dark pink and well marbled if possible. The fat adds flavor and moistness to the pork.
For most meats, figure 1/2 pound/230 grams per person.
Yes. Cook it an extra hour. So 3-4 hours. You can season ahead, freeze it in a bag, then pop the frozen meat in the bag into the water bath.
What to serve with roast pork loin
Try serving the pork with oven roasted vegetables and creamed spinach. The colors together on the plate would be stunning with these two sides. Other good options are a citrus salad with greens and parmesan roasted cauliflower.
If you love a good pork roast with potatoes, carrots and onions, try our boneless pork roast with gravy (reverse sear).
Make Ahead
- The pork loin can be left in the sous vide oven (or pot) for up to 4 hours. You can also plunge it into an ice bath after the sous vide to cool (and stop the cooking), then refrigerate it for a couple of days.
- It would be delicious served cold, sliced or in sandwiches, with a drizzle of sauce. Or, if you prefer to warm it up, plunge it in a sous vide water bath at 135F/57C for an hour.
More sous vide pork recipes to try
- sous vide pork loin with raspberry balsamic sauce
- Vietnamese pork chops
- sous vide pork tenderloin recipe – maple mustard
- best pork roast sous vide
- sous vide pork chops with apple chutney
New to sous vide cooking? Or need a few great sous vide recipes?
Check out our best sous vide recipes and tips for preparation, timing, temperature, finishing and make ahead.
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Sous Vide Pork Loin with Raspberry Balsamic Sauce
Equipment
- Sous Vide equipment (sous vide machine or immersion circulator plus water bath container)
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds pork loin roast (it could be bigger or smaller, doesn't matter)
- seasonings: 1/2 teaspoon each – kosher salt, pepper, dried thyme, dried rosemary; 1/4 tsp garlic powder (1 1/2 tsp each of fresh chopped thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary can be used instead of dried)
- garnish: chopped parsley (Optional)
For Raspberry Balsamic Sauce
- 1/3 cup Raspberry jam, Note 1
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar, Note 2 (good quality)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- HEAT SOUS VIDE WATER BATH: Heat sous vide water to 140F/60C for medium (slightly pink, tender, moist but not too juicy) or 135F/57.2C for closer to medium rare (pinkish-red, soft, moist, juicy). Or 137F/58.3C for somewhere in between and if you want to brown the roast after sous vide cook.
- PREPARE PORK LOIN FOR SOUS VIDE AND COOK: Mix oil and seasoning in a small cup. Coat pork loin all over with mixture. Place pork loin in ziploc bag and zip up part way only. When water reaches correct temperature, slowly lower plastic bag into water and push as much air as possible out of bag. When top of bag is just above water line, zip it shut. Submerge sealed bag. Use weights or clips to keep it submerged if needed. (Alternatively, vacuum seal pork loin and plunge into water)If you are using a sous vide self contained 'oven', put on lid. Cook for 1.5 hours minimum and 4 hours maximum.
- PREPARE SAUCE: While pork loin is cooking sous vide, stir all sauce ingredients together in small sauce pan on medium for a few minutes. If too thick, thin sauce with some added water. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- FINISH PORK LOIN: Remove pork loin from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Let rest for 10 minutes while you prepare sauce. Note 4 to quick sear. Slice pork loin, transfer to plate and drizzle sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes
- Alternatives jams for sauce: peach, apricot, blueberry, cherry, blackberry, cranberry
- Substitute for balsamic vinegar: For every 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, substitute 1 tablespoon cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar) plus ½ teaspoon sugar.
- To cook from frozen: season pork loin and bag it as per recipe. Cook for an extra hour with the temperature you choose.
- To quick sear after sous vide cooking: If desired, quick sear the pork in very hot pan with 2 teaspoons vegetable or avocado oil for 1 minute per side. I don’t bother with this step for this dish as the sauce will cover a lot of the meat.
- Make Ahead:
- The pork loin can be left in the sous vide oven (or pot) for up to 4 hours. You can also plunge it into an ice bath after the sous vide to cool (and stop the cooking), then refrigerate it for a couple of days.
- It would be delicious served cold, sliced or in sandwiches, with a drizzle of sauce. Or, if you prefer to warm it up, plunge it in a sous vide water bath at 135F/57C for an hour.
I haven’t finished cooking the pork, but it sounds delicious! Will absolutely make the sauce. I can’t wait till it’s done!
Let us know how it turns out!
Excellent recipe! I made this recipe using pork tenderloin and cooked it for 90 minutes to 135 degrees. The raspberry sauce was delicious. Will definitely make again.
Glad you liked it Marion. I agree that the sauce would be perfect for tenderloin too.
Great recipe! We cooked our tenderloin (not loin roast) to 135 degrees and then seared on all sides. Delicious!
This recipe look so yummy but I’m not sure which pork to buy…..pork loin roast OR pork tenderloins. I see the meat referenced BOTH ways throughout the recipe and the recipe dialog that accompanies it. I know they are 2 different cuts and want to be sure which piece of pork this is designed for. Please advise.. Thank you!
Hi Karen,
This recipe was designed for pork loin roast, but tenderloins (a more tender cut of pork) will also work fine. Same temperature of 140F and same cooking time of 1.5 – 4 hours. I usually do about 2 hours. Hope that helps.
Hi Cheryl, I made this tonight and it was awesome. I made a 2.5 lb. pork loin and followed your temp recommendation of 140. I let it go for 3 hours and then gave it a quick sear to give it a crust. I made AND loved the raspberry balsamic sauce too.. ThNk you for answering my question regarding pork loin VS pork tenderloin.
I just wanted to be sure this recipe would work with a pork loin. I’m guessing I could use it with both! I’m also guessing a pork tenderloin might be for a shorter time at 140 degrees. Thanks for sharing your talents with us, Karen
Hi Karen,
My pleasure! So glad you liked it. And yes, you can absolutely make the recipe with pork tenderloin – the same time would apply, so 1.5-2 hrs would be fine (up to 4 hours). I really appreciate you letting me know how it worked out. Cheryl
Have made this recipe several times. Excellent!! Thank you for sharing.
Great to hear! Thanks for letting us know.