The holidays usually call for roast turkey or ham, but we also love this alternative to the big bird.
A roasted stuffed pork loin is filled with a delicious cranberry bacon stuffing and best of all, it’s deceptively easy to cook.
Pork loin is delicious and moist, it’s great stuffed, wrapped up jellyroll style, and then cooked to perfection.
Savory Stuffed Pork Loin
- Pork loin is a boneless, skinless protein and that means less cook time.
- We make a homemade bacon cranberry stuffing but you can use any stuffing mix (or leftover stuffing) to make prep quick.
- Easy to assemble ahead and then chill until ready to roast!
Ingredients and Variations
What is Pork Loin?
It’s important to note the difference between a pork loin and a pork tenderloin. A tenderloin is considerably smaller, about 2″ in diameter and about 12″ long weighing around 1lb.
Pork loin, however, is a much larger cut of meat, about 4″ in diameter and can be cut in various lengths often sold in 3-4lb sizes. They cannot be used interchangeably. For this recipe, choose a cut that is about 3 pounds and about to 8-12” long.
Stuffing for Pork Loin
This recipe has all the holiday colors and flavors with bacon, celery, cranberries, and cubes of bread. Homemade cornbread makes a rustic stuffing with a heartier flavor, and even cubes of sourdough bread will work, too.
Add some fresh chopped spinach, chopped granny smith apples, or even small cubes of cheddar cheese can give pork loin stuffing a new flavor every time.
How to Cut Pork Loin for Stuffing
- Cut across the pork loin but don’t cut all of the way through.
- Open the loin like a book.
- Use a meat mallet to pound to 1-inch thick.
- Fill with stuffing and roll.
How to Cook Stuffed Pork Loin
- Cook & mix the stuffing per the recipe below. Allow it to cool.
- Cut & pound the pork loin per the directions below.
- Spoon the stuffing onto pork loin & roll jelly-style. Tie with kitchen string to secure.
- Season pork loin, place in roasting pan with onions & broth.
- Bake until it reaches 140°F.
Pork Temperature Tip
This pork loin roast should reach 145°F, you don’t want it to go much higher than that or it will overcook and become dry. I remove the roast from the oven between 138-140°F as the temperature continues to rise as it rests.
Almost all meats should rest before cutting, I remove from the pan (as the heat from the pan will continue cooking the meat) and place on a plate. Loosley cover with foil. Once cut, drizzle any juices on the plate over the cut meat for extra flavor and moisture.
Leftover Pork Loin
Keep leftover stuffed pork loin covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet on the stovetop or serve cold as sandwiches. Freeze cooked and cooled slices in zippered bags with the date labeled on the outside up to 2 weeks.
Perfect Sides for Pork Loin
- Quick Broccoli and Cheese – ready in 15 minutes
- Maple Roasted Parsnips – sweet & savory
- Crispy Brussels Sprouts – with Panko breadcrumbs
- Cauliflower au Gratin – so easy & cheesy
- Honey Butter Roasted Acorn Squash – great for the holidays
Did you make this Stuffed Pork Loin? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Stuffed Pork Loin
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds pork loin roast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary crushed
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
- ½ cup chicken broth more as needed
Stuffing
- 4 slices bacon uncooked
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 medium onion divided
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 4 slices white bread cubed and dried*
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ⅔ cup chicken broth divided
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Dice half of the onion into ½-inch pieces for the stuffing. Thinly slice the remaining half.
- Cook bacon in a medium skillet until crisp. Remove from skillet, leaving the bacon grease.
- Add poultry seasoning, diced onion, and celery, cook until tender but not browned, about 8 minutes.
- While onions are cooking, butterfly the pork loin by cutting it almost in half lengthwise, making sure not to cut it all the way through. You'll want to leave about 1-inch that isn't cut through.
- Open the pork loin open like a book, pound it with a meat mallet until it is ¾-inch thick.
- Once mixture is softened, add to the dried bread cubes. Stir in broth, 1 tablespoon at a time, just until moistened (you will only use about ⅓ cup). Crumble bacon and add to the mixture along with cranberries. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Set aside to cool completely.
- Place the cooled stuffing on the pork loin and roll the loin around the stuffing, jelly-roll style. Tie it with kitchen string to secure.
- Rub the outside of the roast with oil and season with garlic powder, sage, rosemary, salt & pepper to taste.
- Place the pork loin in a roasting pan seam side down. Add the thinly sliced onions and add broth, ½-inch deep, to the pan.
- Roast the pork 90-110 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 140°F.
- Remove from the oven and place the pork on a plate, loosely cover it with foil. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing.
- Cut the pork into slices and drizzle with any juices on the plate.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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Made for Christmas! It’s a keeper. Everyone raved about it!!
Kathy, I’m so glad it was a hit for Christmas! Sounds like it’s going to be a holiday favorite from now on. Thanks for sharing!
I’m confused! The recipe calls for a 3 to 4 lb. pork loin, but it only serves 6 people.
The math doesn’t sound right to me. At 3 lbs., that is 8 oz. of meat per person.
Hi Tom, the recommended serving size for pork loin is 8 ounces per person. If you have people with larger or smaller appetites you may want to adjust the amount you are preparing.
Do I bake it covered or uncovered?
This is baked uncovered.
Hi,
Have you (or anyone reading) sliced this first then grilled by the slice?
I purchased a premade one at the butcher today. I grilled on high (gas bbq), 8 min. each side, then moved to indirect low heat for a total of 35 min. Brought it in, loosely covered with foil and let it rest.
It wasn’t cooked so I finished it in my air fryer covered loosely with foil for 15 at 400℉ then sat for 5 min.
It turned out okay, but wondering about future attempts. It’s such a delicious idea!
I have never tried preparing it like that, but maybe another reader can offer some advice!
I made this as a trial for our Thanksgiving dinner. So wonderful! The pork was incredibly moist. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Andrea!
This was really yummy! The whole family enjoyed this pork loin from the 18 month old and up. I was looking for something else to do with pork loin and I’m so glad I found this recipe! Thank you so much!
I am so happy to hear this recipe was a hit Brianna!
My Honey is grain free… this means no rice either. Has anyone made this recipe grain free? If so, how was it? I made this recipe a few years ago and could not believe how delicious it was compared to the ease of preparation! It is the most delicious stuffing I have ever had. I would like for it to be just as delicious grain free… Lol
I have never tried this recipe grain free but maybe another reader has a suggestion!
So good! My husband and I yummed it up!
I am so glad you and your husband enjoying this recipe A!
I made the Stuffed Pork Loin for dinner tonight. It was absolutely delicious! I worked with a 1 pound 6 ounce pork loin, since it is just the two of us, and scaled back everything else accordingly. I used my favorite dressing recipe, so no bacon or broth, but I did add the dried cranberries, and they were wonderful in it. The pork picked up lots of flavor from the dressing inside and from the rub on the outside. It was perfectly cooked. The photos you include are very helpful (and beautiful, too!). Your directions are clear and concise. Fabulous recipe, Holly! It is definitely one to keep.
You just made my day Roberta! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!