Plate of herb rubbed roast pork tenderloin with ratatouille and rice.
Easy,  Entrées,  Gluten Free,  Recipes

Herb Rubbed Roast Pork Tenderloin

My in-laws were coming over for dinner, so I wanted to make something fairly simple to go alongside our second batch of Ratatouille.

I decided that pork tenderloin would be the way to go, and came up with a spice rub/sear/roast method, similar to the one used for these Pork Asada Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa Verde that I made a while back.

It’s great because it’s a simple way to impart a lot of flavor into a quick-cooking, juicy piece of meat.

Plate of herb rubbed roast pork tenderloin with ratatouille and rice.

Pork tenderloin is such a versatile ingredient! Some of our very favorite recipes utilize it, like this balsamic marinated pork tenderloin, this pan-roasted pork tenderloin with balsamic tomatoes, these peanut noodles with roasted pork tenderloin + honeyed oranges, and this breaded pork tenderloin with lemon caper sauce.

🐖 Ingredient Spotlight: Pork Tenderloin

This recipe uses pork tenderloin which can be found in your grocery store located in the meat department.

Pork tenderloin is an incredibly versatile ingredient. It cooks quickly and can be prepared in a variety of ways.

Some of our favorite cooking methods for pork tenderloin include roasting, grilling, breading and frying, pan-searing (then transferring to the oven to roast and cook through), and sous vide cooking (then finishing it off by searing it in a hot skillet or on the grill).

Note that pork tenderloin is a different cut of meat than pork loin. You can read more about the difference between pork tenderloin and pork loin over on this post on allrecipes.

Pork tenderloin is most often sold in a package that has 2 pieces of pork tenderloin wrapped up together. Typically each piece of pork tenderloin weighs roughly 1 pound, so the packages are usually 2-ish pounds in total.

Depending on how you plan to use it, you may want to opt for one that’s been already marinated. Most grocery stores sell a variety of flavors of pre-marinated pork tenderloin.

Be sure that if you’re using pork tenderloin in a recipe like the one on this page you get one that’s not already in a marinade. (If you’re looking for a fantastic marinated pork tenderloin recipe, my balsamic marinated pork tenderloin has been a longtime favorite).

Personal temperature and texture preferences vary, but the FDA recommends cooking pork to at least 145°F.

Pork tenderloin is juicy and delicious when it’s still a little pink inside.

I know, that whole, “pork – the other white meat” campaign from the ’80s made it confusing to think of pork as something that is OK to serve at a variety of temperatures.

But much like steak, the flavor and texture are best when it’s not completely cooked through. It can help to think of pork more like beef than poultry.

Some of our favorite pork tenderloin recipes are:

The pork was a big hit – the combination of herbs and spices was wonderful. It had just a little bit of kick at the end, perfect for this cold weather we’ve been having lately!

It was really good the first night, but unfortunately didn’t reheat too well a few days later, even though I did it in the oven.

The flavor just wasn’t there after day 1. That happens a lot with pork. Ah well.

One note – you may want to slice each tenderloin in half, if that helps it fit easier into your skillet. I did that and had 4 nice pieces.

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Plate of herb rubbed roast pork tenderloin with ratatouille and rice.

Herb Rubbed Roast Pork Tenderloin

  • Author: Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen – Ashley Covelli
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 Minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 46 Servings 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stovetop, Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

For the Spice Rub:

For the Pork:

  • 2 pieces pork tenderloin (about 22 1/2 pounds total), trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil


Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine spice rub ingredients (kosher salt through white pepper) in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture all over pork.
  2. Heat oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Sear pork until nicely brown all over, about 2 minutes per side.
  3. Transfer skillet to preheated oven and bake until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 145°F, about 15-20 minutes.
  4. Once pork is finished, remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!


Notes

You may want to slice each tenderloin in half, if that helps it fit easier into your skillet. I did that and had 4 nice pieces.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: About 1/4 pound pork
  • Calories: 216
  • Sugar: 0.2 g
  • Sodium: 702.2 mg
  • Fat: 8.1 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 2.3 g
  • Fiber: 0.8 g
  • Protein: 32.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 98.2 mg

Keywords: pork tenderloin, spice rub

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Ashley Covelli is a food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor based in Ossining, New York. She loves helping people become enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen so that they can build skills and confidence to cook for themselves and their loved ones. She can almost always be found with at least 3 different beverages within arm's reach.

2 Comments

  • Ela Karpińska

    Hello from Poland 🙂
    I really like this recipe but tell me what is this that you gave on rice on this pic? Because it looks tasety too 😉

    • BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen

      Hi Ela! It was a delicious ratatouille – you can find the recipe here: https://bigflavorstinykitchen.com/2014/01/ratatouilles-ratatouille.html – it really went with the pork perfectly. Hope you enjoy 🙂

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