This roasted pork tenderloin is ready in a flash, and absolutely packed with great ginger, honey and garlic flavors! It’s a weeknight winner!
Stuck in a weeknight dinner rut? Try this oven roasted pork tenderloin that’s marinated, seared, roasted and basted with plenty of the extra marinade for maximum flavor! The best part? It’s ready in less than 30 minutes!!
This post is sponsored by the Ohio Pork Council. All opinions are my own.
Are you all ready for a great less than 30 minute meal? With school back in session, I am SO not in the mood for long, involved meals. Even basic beef tacos had me dreading dinner time the other night. My energy level is just. not. there! Anyone else feeling this way lately?
When I plan out my meals for the week, I always ask for input from my husband and daughter (my son doesn’t get a vote since he literally lives on chicken nuggets, ketchup and pasta lol), and a lot of the time I get a, “I don’t care what the meal is, but just NO chicken!”. We eat a LOT of chicken in this house you guys… and apparently, some family members are so over it.
I figured that I needed to choose something quick, easy, and healthy, so I went with a pork tenderloin! Alright, confession time… before I created and tested this recipe, I had never cooked a pork tenderloin before. I know… crazy right?! Somehow I always thought it would be fussy or complicated, but in reality, it’s exactly the opposite!
IS THIS MEAL REALLY READY IN UNDER 30 MINUTES?
Yes indeed! Well, marinade time not included. But just toss the pork in the marinade in the morning, and you’ll be ready to go at dinner time! The beauty of a pork tenderloin is that it’s pretty quick-cooking. Plus, you don’t want to overcook the meat, so it doesn’t have to cook as long as you’d think.
BUT… YOUR PORK IS KIND OF PINK!
It sure is, which is what makes it so tender and delicious! Pork is actually supposed to be cooked to an internal temperature of 140-145 degrees F and have a blush of pink. I pull my tenderloin from the oven before then, so it can broil and get that great glaze on top without going over the temperature and losing that great blush of pink! I love to use my handy meat thermometer for this, because I can leave the probe IN the meat while it’s in the oven, and the device sits on my counter. I can program it to beep when it’s at a certain temperature, so I don’t have to continually check and re-check.
Don’t let the pink scare you… it’s not like chicken where pink = bad. I promise you’ll love it 🙂
IS THIS PORK SWEET OR SPICY?
It’s really a perfect blend of sweet and savory, and the spiciness is up to you! I add a pinch of cayenne to my marinade, but you can leave that out if you don’t like a little spice, or increase the amount to give it a healthy kick! The great thing about pork is that it’s really a blank canvas, (like chicken), in that it takes on the flavors that you give it, so you can truly make this dish your own.
WHAT DO I SERVE WITH THIS ROASTED PORK TENDERLOIN?
Since it’s almost Fall, I went with a mashed sweet potato and some steamed green and wax beans. BUT, here are some other delicious options!
- Cheesy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Horseradish Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions
- Bourbon Glazed Carrots
I really hope you guys give this ginger honey roasted pork tenderloin a try… I promise, it’s not complicated, and it comes together SO quickly! Give it a try instead of opting for chicken (again), and I’m sure you’ll love it!
LOOKING FOR MORE GREAT PORK RECIPES?
- Maple Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops
- Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Pork Taquitos
- One Pan Pork Chops with Apples and Onions
- Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
- Hawaiian BBQ Pork Wonton Tacos
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork tenderloin, excess fat trimmed
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 7 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp grated fresh garlic
- 2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
- kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- pinch cayenne pepper
- olive oil for cooking
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Combine ginger, honey, lemon juice, garlic, soy sauce, cayenne, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl.
- Add half the marinade ingredients to a large ziplock bag and add pork tenderloin. Seal bag and marinate for a few hours or overnight. Pour leftover marinade into an airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to roast the pork.
- Line a baking sheet or baking dish with a double layer of aluminum foil and set aside. Remove leftover marinade container from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
- Heat a large skillet with a bit of olive oil over MED-HIGH heat, remove excess marinade and sear pork tenderloin very briefly on all sides until lightly golden brown.
- Transfer tenderloin to prepared baking sheet/dish and roast for 10-15 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the tenderloin registers 133 F degrees.
- Brush with leftover marinade and broil on HIGH for 1-2 minutes until golden. Remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest a few minutes. Pork will continue carry-over cooking and should end up between 140-145 F degrees with a blush of pink.
- Brush marinade over the top of pork tenderloin and sprinkle with parsley if desired.Slice into 1/2 inch thick slices and serve.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Marvin Milton says
Served this at an American Legion Dinner
for Veterans. It was easy to prepare and serve.
Served 50 dinners and everybody loved it.
Rosemarie T says
Is this recipe correct? It calls for 1 lb of a pork loin only? Pics look like more than 1lb. I have a 4lb pork loin. I’m multiplying recipe x four lbs. That’s a lot of ginger and honey. Looks yummy, but checking on the pork loin lbs. Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, it’s correct, as it’s a tenderloin, not a pork loin. The tenderloins are much smaller.
Tina Buttrum says
I have this in the oven now I will let you know how it taste it looks delicious!
Bella says
My family and I are not big pork eaters, aside from bacon, we prefer fish, chicken and beef dishes. This recipe will now be added to my recipe box!! The tenderloin was amazing!!! My mother is a great cook, and she was amazed by the flavor and tenderness of the pork tenderloin. I had all of the ingredients but only had 2 hrs to marinate the tenderloin but it still was very flavorful. My sides were edamame rice and sautéed cabbage and kale. My whole family really enjoyed the meal. Great dish!!
Darlahood says
So I didn’t want to use up all my high dollar farmers market honey, so I subbed maple syrup! Didn’t have lemon juice and subbed balsamic vinegar. Used a squirt of sriracha instead of cayenne. Excellent marinade! Thanks for giving me the idea for our supper!
Vikki says
Hi there! I have never cooked a tenderloin before so just want to make sure that I get it right 🙂 when you say sear on all sides, about how long per side would you say that is?
Thanks and can’t wait to try this!
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Vikki 🙂 I would say about 1-2 minutes per side, just to give it some color.
Taneka Day says
I made this recipe for Easter and it was absolutely delicious. I made as directed only adding onion flakes and Italian seasoning and had to substitute raw garlic with garlic powder, my family and I thoroughly enjoyed this and I will definitely be making this again.
Teresa says
This was so easy to make that I cannot believe how delicious it was! I used all the marinade and used a cast iron pan which I deglazed and made the remaining marinade into a sauce. Will definitely make this one again!
Gina says
That’s a good idea! I was going to cook the rest if the marinade in a different pot but I like your idea of deglazing in the cast iron pan! Thanks!
Karen Pittman says
Made this recipe tonight. Loved the result. My boyfriend loved the dinner I made!! I also made the Cheesey Brussel Sprouts with bacon. Best brussel sprouts I’ve ever had!!!! 5 stars to both recipes! I will be back to Chunky Chef for more!!!!!
Lynn Redman says
This was delicious! Will definitely be a keeper.
Linda P. says
Just made it for dinner and I was easy and delicious. I don’t have a meat thermometer (getting one this week) so I added a few minutes at the end. So good!
Cathy says
Really, really good. I used 1 T. lemon and 1T. rice wine vinegar. All else exactly to the recipe, except did not need the last step broil. I served it over plain white rice with the leftover sauce heated with the pan drippings. My husband says it is one of the best things he has ever tasted.
Mike Kaminsky says
my only comment and concern is that the recipe calls for the pork marinade to be brushed on the finished pork . is there not a salmonella concern?
The Chunky Chef says
It would be, except in step 2 the recipe instructs you to only use HALF of the marinade for the pork, and to keep the other half in an airtight container. The half that hasn’t touched the pork is what you brush on the pork after cooking.
Hilda Cline says
Just made recipe. Wonderful! Thank you
Daylet says
Fantastic!!! Everyone loved it. Definitely a keeper
Andrew says
I tried this recipe and it was easy to make and meat was tender and juicy. The only thing was we are not big on hot food so I omitted the hot pepper. Other than that it was great!
Karen says
Excellent! Served for Christmas dinner with your Garlic Parmesan Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes. I had 2 tenderloins weighing almost 1 1/2 pounds each. Doubled the marinade; marinated overnight and cooked in oven about 20 minutes then finished off for 2 minutes under broiler. Came out perfect – everyone loved it! Thank you, Amanda. Your recipes have not steered me wrong yet!
Nieves says
Excellent and definitely a keeper!
mandy says
i tried this a few weeks ago and my kids wanted it again…perfect
Twyla Cochran says
I love the flavor maybe a little over powered with ginger my tenderloin was 5 lbs so I added extra everything hals of half. Cook time I prefer well done a little pink but still very tender. I marinated for 4 hours turning often. Will fox again with adjustments. Served with fried cabbage and creamed corn.