This Pork Tenderloin recipe comes out very tender and juicy.
Roasted pork tenderloin is easy to make and on the table in no time at all. Served with a mushroom sauce, it’s as easy as it is elegant.
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Why I Love Pork Tenderloin
- It’s incredibly quick to make and goes from the oven to the table in minutes.
- Pork tenderloin is lean, and this method makes it very tender and juicy.
- It is simply seasoned yet has lots of flavor.
- It’s easy enough for a weeknight meal or an elegant dinner when the company’s coming, especially with this homemade mushroom sauce.
What’s You’ll Need For a Perfect Pork Tenderloin
- Pork: Pork tenderloin is a lean, tender cut from the rear of the pork loin, about 2 inches in diameter and about 7 to 8 inches long. It is different than pork loin, (about 4 inches in diameter) and is cooked differently.
- Seasonings: I serve this with a mushroom sauce so I keep the seasonings simple. Feel free to add your favorite herbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, or onion powder.
For the Sauce (optional)
While it’s optional, I love to serve this pork tenderloin recipe with mushroom sauce.
- Mushrooms: Use brown or white mushrooms for this sauce.
- Broth: Broth is the base of this sauce, a little heavy cream can be added if desired.
- White wine: Wine adds a delicious flavor to the sauce, it can be replaced with additional broth.
Prepping Pork Tenderloin
You’ll want to remove the silverskin from the tenderloin before cooking it. The silverskin is a thin, shiny membrane on one side of the tenderloin..
- Slide a paring knife underneath one end of the silverskin, then tilt the knife up slightly and cut towards the center of the meat (away from yourself). The silver skin might not come off in a single piece, pick up where you left off.
- Discard the silver skin.
How to Cook Pork Tenderloin
- Prep and season the pork tenderloin. (full recipe below.)
- Sear the pork tenderloin and transfer it to a prepared baking sheet.
- Cook until a meat thermometer reads 145°F.
- Allow meat to rest before slicing.
For the Sauce:
- Cook mushrooms, onion, and thyme in oil.
- Deglaze the pan, whisk in the flour and broth, and simmer until thickened.
Serve on top of slices of pork tenderloin.
Holly's Pork Tenderloin Favorites
What’s your favorite way to cook pork tenderloin? Leave a comment and rating below!
Equipment
Ingredients
Roasted Pork Tenderloin
- 1 pound pork tenderloin * 1 tenderloin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Mushroom Sauce (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces sliced mushrooms cremini or white
- ½ medium yellow onion diced
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ cup white wine or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter softened
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Pork Tenderloin
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Season the pork with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the tenderloin in the pan, rotating until all sides are golden. Place on prepared baking sheet.
- Cook for 18 to 20 minutes or until a thermometer reads an internal temperature of 145℉.
- Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Optional Mushroom Sauce
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and starting to soften.
- Add onion and thyme. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes more.
- Add the wine and Worcestershire to the pan. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring to loosen any bits off pan, until the liquid has nearly evaporated from the pan.
- Add the butter to the pan, stirring to melt. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat the mushrooms. Cook for 1-2 minutes more.
- Gradually whisk in broth and bring to a boil.
- Simmer until thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve with sliced tenderloin.
Notes
- Use a thermometer and remove the pork from the oven when it reaches 145°F or just before.
- Always allow meat to rest before slicing.
- Be careful not to overcook. Pork tenderloin cooks quickly, and is very lean, so if it overcooks, can become dry and lose flavor and tenderness.
- Use the flavorful juices in the sauce, or pour them over the sliced pork for extra flavor.
- Store leftover pork tenderloin in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Pork
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I am excited to have partnered with the National Pork Board to bring you this belly-warming recipe. While I was hosted in Sioux Falls and compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Working with great brands I love allows me to keep bringing you the great recipes you love!
Does doubling the weight double the cooking time?
No, doubling the weight will increase the cooking time but not double it. I would suggest a meat thermometer to reach the optimal temperature.
Making this today! To those saying the temp time was off, my daughter had an oven that was way off. They sell thermometers that hang off the oven shelf and when you set it for, say, 350, give it 10 or 15 mind first. Your oven may actually be 290 or 315. Then, you can adjust the temp to what you need to get to the desired temp needed.
Made this roast at 400F and it took 25 minutes. Perfecto!! Served it with a risotto that was filled with sautéed diced celeriac, golden and red beets and a Spanish onion. Cooked it with a combo of chicken stock and apple cider. Tossed in and cup of finely grated Gouda cheese and the end. We. Are. Happy
That sounds like the most delicious dinner Kim! I’m so glad to hear you love the pork tenderloin. Thank you for sharing.
I made these today and they were great! The extra chips were just what was needed. I also added about 3/4 cup of chopped pecans.
I, too, had never cooked pork tenderloin before but am SO glad I found your recipe! Tonight was my third time making it and it’s been perfect every time. The only difference I make is using red wine instead of white (I didnt have white on hand the first time so I subbed and it turned out great so I kept it the next two times!). One of my fiance’s favorite dishes, and not to toot my own horn, but I make a LOT of tasty dishes, so that says a lot!!! Thanks so much for this recipe. I will keep coming back again and again!
I’m so glad you and your fiance loved it Jessica (it’s one of our favorites too)!! I’ll have to try it with red wine next time!
HI, Recipe looks yummy and I am going to try this one tonight for our Monday Night football dinner. Question though, at the top of the recipe it states cook for 40 mins, but then in your directions it stats: 18-20 mins, which seems very short to me. I will be using my digital temp to make sure it gets to 145 degrees, but wanted to know which time was correct.
Thanks,
Pam
The total cook time in the header of the recipe includes the cook time for the mushroom sauce as well. Hope that helps Pam!
Following all directions, At the 40 min mark, my pork was barely 120 degrees. Had to cook them another 20 mins to get it to 140 degrees at which point, I let it rest with tented foil.
Perhaps your oven is not quite at the same temperature as mine Brianna. Have you checked it with an oven thermometer?
At 25 minutes, not even close to being done. Very disappointing
What is the temperature of your oven? How big was your pork tenderloin?
Totally agree that pork tenderloin is the king of all pork cuts xD
– Natalie Ellis
So lean and tender, we love it Natalie!
Can I substitute pork tenderloin to pork loin and how long does it need to bake?
I have only made the recipe as written Franchesca
Easy and delicious! First time I’ve cooked pork tenderloin — what a great choice I made!
I’m so glad you loved it Nancy! (We had pork tenderloin for dinner tonight too!! :) )
Delicipus!
So glad you loved it Amy!
Can I substitute anything for the white wine in the mushroom sauce?
You can use extra broth if you’d like. It will change the flavor slightly.
This sounds so wonderful and easy! I’ve shied away from cooking pork tenderloin, but happened to buy one recently …….. looking up recipes to make and yours was the first I choose, and glad I did! This will be on my table this weekend!! I’m looking forward to trying many of your other recipes. Thanks for sharing! Have a great day, everyday! Sincerely, Sherry
I’m so glad you found Spend With Pennies Sherry! Enjoy the tenderloin, it is super delicious!
My husband does most of the cooking because I’m just not a very good cook, so making pork or chicken scares me! Thank you for this recipe!! This was so simple to do and it turned out perfect! Super moist, not overdone at all! My family loved it and raved that mommy made something so super yummy!! I will be trying more of your recipes!
What a lovely compliment! I’m so happy that you were able to make a wonderful tenderloin for your family :) And please do try some more! You’re on a roll!
Just want to say thank you for all the great recipes. I’m still rather new to cooking and always find myself turning to you for help. When I bought a nice piece of tenderloin tonight, I knew just where to look for how to make it!
Thank you much Kathy, your comment made my night. ❤️ I’m so thankful you’ve found some recipes to enjoy!
As a single dad that doesn’t have my boys yet I was doing this as a Father’s Day treat for myself I didn’t night lunges and took minced garlic and oil and tucked it into all the crevices and then freshly chopped onion and also celery to help keep it moist then took a raspberry vinaigrette that I added extra raspberry jam to a few weeks back and please do it over with that along with some chicken seasoning garlic powder onion powder garlic pepper estate blended some chicken seasoning . I agree to my foil with just the lightest amount of zesty Italian dressing because it has oil in it and it’s all that I had.
Since on this occasion I’m making it in a convection toaster oven I did not get the opportunity to hot skillet sear the meat prior set it to 450 just to start the outside.
With two tenderloins in such a small cooking appliance I set the timer for about 45 minutes add made foil boats to retain the drippings.
Normally I would take a gallon ziplock bag and I would marinate it for about 6 hours. Zesty Italian is a really simple thing to marinating so is salsa. A lot of times to either of those I’ll add a small bit of apple juice, always heavy on the garlic powder or minced garlic always heavy on the onion powder and black pepper. Powdered chicken bouillon is also an amazing seasoning for pork. It’s always nice to make a minced garlic and herb mixture and then poke a bunch of slices through the top downward and stuff the openings with herbs and garlic maybe a buttered drizzle. Powdered beef bouillon also does a nice job if you look around you can find powdered pork bouillon usually in the Spanish section of the grocery store. And yes there are a lot of instant soups that do a very nice job as a rub in a marinade. Although I like to grill over my own Oak coins that I soak in warm water 30 minutes before I put them under the gas grill I’ve also been known to throw a little bit of liquid Mesquite or liquid hickory seasoning in to give it a bump. thanks
Thank you for sharing your tips. Sounds like you’ve got delicious grilling and cooking going on! Happy Father’s Day to you and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!!
I pretty much cooked it exactly how the recipe says and it turned out perfect. Cooking for the family takes time and effort and it’s nice when it turns out and no one complains and everything is eaten. I’ll cook the same way again (temperature of oven was perfect and made a juicy moist tendrloin) and the sauce was a success as well
Yay, so glad to hear that your family loved the tenderloin Kelly! We love tenderloin cooked this way too!
Had to comment because I had to conquer pork tenderloin (over-cooking issue) and this recipe did it for me! No water needed in the glass baking dish btw. I actually added OJ & lemon juice over grapeseed oiled pork (made 2 – 1.5 lbs ea), then added seasonings all over, turned a few times in the oil & put in fridge. took out 1/2 hr before baking. 400 degrees for 30 min, temped it @140, then broiled abt 5 min (middle rack), removed & let rest 10 min. just pink enough! maybe 5 min less next time. but couldn’t beat the flavor, smell or taste! Added smashed potatoes, salad, fresh sweet corn & homemade garlic gravy from another recipe.Thanks a bunch. Everyone loves it, so now it’s a staple!
So glad you loved it Evelyn!
This was so delicious! My family especially loved the sauce, will defiantly be making this again.
I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed by your family Kevyn!
I love Kevyn’s take on this: “Will DEFIANTLY be making this again!” I agree although I think I may be more temperate, as in relaxed. I know, just a simple typo, no biggie…but it gave me a chuckle and the desire to be more defiant in my kitchen. I’m a retired Army RN, so never had much time or need to do my own cooking. Now, I can relax and forget about being defiant. I’ll just mellow out with this wonderful recipe. Thank you (and Kevyn).
just just wanted to say i made this and the gravy my wife and i loved it thanks
oh it was this first loin i have cooked
I am so glad your family enjoyed this recipe!