Cranberry Pork Loin

It’s about to get fancy in here. I’m talking about the kind of fancy that impresses your family and friends, but is really simple to put together. This cranberry pork loin is big on making an impression, but is so very easy to do. If you’re looking for an easy and fancy holiday meal, or a great way to use extra cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving, then I’ve got you covered.

Let’s talk pork loin for a minute here. It’s one of our favorites for a weeknight meal, and I used to put it in the crockpot and call it a day. Easy, quick, but sometimes it got a little dry. After years of this, I somehow stumbled upon another way to cook a pork loin that is just as easy, but comes out so much better – the sear and roast method. Trust me on this – it’s so tender and gives perfect results every time. The other great thing about this is that you can adapt it to different seasonings, so it’s versatile…plus, once you get the searing done, you can walk away while it cooks.

For us, we’ll usually roast up a sheet pan of veggies while the pork loin is in the oven. This way everything is ready around the same time and you can sit down in almost no time at all. This cranberry pork loin is wonderful with roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, red potatoes…I could go on!

The other key to this is the cranberry sauce. I love to make this with extra cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving because, let’s face it, I don’t want any to go to waste and I love it so much. You can find my recipe for spiced cranberry sauce here, but other whole cranberry sauce would work well too.

This dish is also perfect for a winter or holiday dinner. I’m dreaming of roasted root vegetables, maybe some farro, or even some crusty whole grain bread on the side. Mmmm. Ok, enough daydreaming about this holiday dinner, and go make this cranberry pork loin. Enjoy!

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