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.
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!
How to Cook Pork Tenderloin
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!
After purchasing a lemon-pepper pork tenderloin on a whim, I turned to this recipe for help in getting it right. Perfection! I agree that a meat thermometer is your most important tool here. Mine was slightly thicker than average so took 20 minutes to achieve 145. I only needed 2 servings so lopped of each end and pan fried leftovers. Served with cauliflower gnocci in Alfredo sauce and roasted broccoli.
I tried it exactly as you said ,It turned out almost perfection.
Love this recipe
I love this recipe so much.
Came out great. I only had white mushrooms
This is absolutely WONDERFUL. I did just as the recipe instructed, but I cooked the pork in the crock pot. If you haven’t tried this recipe, you are missing out, Adding this to my favorite recipes.
I have four 2 pound tenderloins (approximately 8 lbs total). I have a thermometer and plan to use it to check for appropriate tempature but would like to know how much time I need to plan on for baking. I have read in several places 20 minutes per pound…. so should I allow 2.5 – 3 hours? Thanks!!
If they are individually 2 lbs, I would check around 35-40 minutes and adjust from there, especially if using a convection oven.
This was great! I make pork tenderloin often 3x a month. The mushroom gravy was great. i did roasted potatoes and asparagus. I had a dairy free guest and IBS guest. I used bacon fat on the tenderloin and roasted potatoes and asparagus. instead of butter. and held off on and parmesan cheese till to the plate. red wine instead of white cause that is what I had. the thermometer to 145 was perfect. I did use Italian seasoning and flour in the pre sauté seasoning. this is my new easiest recipe. Thank you for the Recipe I will be using it often.
So happy you loved it, Pam!
I made this the other night. Fantastic pork and I love the BBQ sauce! This is a recipe I will be making often!
Good, simple, made this tonight when I got home from work hungry, it didn’t take forever, even made some rice to have with it.
Used some garlic powder, onion powder along w salt & pepper before browning.
Delicious!
Looking forward to making this very soon. Can I assume that the nutrition info is for both the pork and the sauce?
Hi Janet, yes the nutrition information is for the pork tenderloin and the sauce.
Ms. Holly, Will you marry me? I followed this tenderloin and mushroom sauce recipe to a “T” and I was instantly in love! Thank You so much, IT WAS PERFECT!
Haha! So glad you love the tenderloin so much Tim!
Made this and it was excellent! Husband gave two thumbs up!
Can you make this recipe without the wine? Would it change it much?
Hi Danielle, it will change the flavor but still delicious! You could replace the wine with additional chicken broth if you prefer.
Tried this tonight – (it was my first time making pork tenderloin, actually) it was deeeeeelicious!! will definitely be making again! it was perfect in every way. absolutely nothing i would change. QUESTION: If I wanted to double the sauce, is it just a matter of doubling each ingredient (including butter and four) or will that change the consistency? Maybe a dumb question but don’t want to mess it up !
Thanks!
Yes, this sauce can be doubled by doubling all ingredients.
I haven’t actually made it yet but good reviews led me to purchase the tenderloin. What is the purpose of the aluminum foil? Am I supposed to wrap it up? I keep thinking I’m missing a step somewhere.
I use it for easy clean up, you can skip the foil if you’d prefer.
I made this tonight for family, it was delicious. about the time I was done chopping onions and mushrooms, the oven was heating and the oil heated to brown the meat. The gravy took the time needed while the meat cooked and rested, so it was fairly speedy. we had leftover mashed potatoes that went well with the meal and asparagus. My only change was to put wondra on the mushrooms and cook it before deglazing to make the gravy.
You are adorable. I love all your recipes. My first try was the jalapeno poppers. Amazing!
Many others.
Tonight trying the pork. Yum!
Aww thank you Mary, you made my day. Happy Cooking!
I used your recipe for the pork tenderloin only. I would like to try the mushroom sauce one day. This pork tenderloin was incredibly juicy and tender. Thank you for the recipe!
Overall good, but a bit confusing. Making the gravy tells you to sauté the onions and mushrooms in a pan with olive oil. Then jumps to making a rue with butter and flour. Am I doing this in the same pan? A new pan? Do I remove the onions and mushrooms then start this, am I pushing this all to one side while creating the rue? You’re assuming we’re watching you or in your head. Took it on the fly and it turned out ok. Could have done that on my own, that’s why I look at recipes.
Hi Patrick,
Sorry it was confusing to you.
In step 4. butter is melted and flour is added. In step 5. the butter mixture is whisked into the broth. Hope that helps.
Hi there,
So I’m going to melt the butter down in a separate pan and add the flour, Then mix the butter and flour mix into the onion and mushroom Sauté?
Will have to say I questioned if I was doing it right but put it all in the same pan mixed it all together and it’s turned out fine delicious
So you make the rue in a separate pan??
I melted the butter in the microwave in a small bowl , and then added the flour to make a paste. This paste was added to the gently boiling mixture in the original pan and stirred and gently boiled until it all thickens. Job done! Delicious!
Took 35 minutes in the oven. The oven is new so it’s not that. My pork was a pound. The gravy calls for too much parsley. All that could be tasted was green.
The thickness of the pork can cause the cooking time to vary slightly. You can certainly reduce the parsley to your preference in this recipe.
Unfortunately this is a recurring problem with new cooks that have to follow recipes to the letter. No knock just the reality of being new or inexperienced. The first thing you should do is learn food combinations. What flavors pair well or lend itself to other flavors. You begin to build a knowledge of how to create dishes and find out that a recipe is just a primitive set of blueprints. Just like a builder you could take that plan and make it your own. You get to the point where you won’t just add in parsley because it says so but you’ll adjust seasoning to your tastes. Keep plugging.
Great comment. I actually do not like Parsley so I usually leave it out. Maybe add a little but never for just looks….