Roasted pork tenderloin with a tangy lemon balsamic caper sauce. I love pulling out this meal when we have friends over and I want to have a meal that seems fancier, but is actually simple! Only a few ingredients and all contained in one pan means that after dinner, it’s a quick clean up! The briny capers and the luscious pan sauce add a huge punch of flavor to everything on the plate.
They say pork and apple are best friends. I love to serve this pork tenderloin alongside Baked Apples and Pears. If you want more pork and apple deliciousness check out my Pork and Apple Burgers. Both of these pair well with Simple Roasted Sweet Potatoes. For another potato option I recommend serving this dish with Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes. The pan sauce combines with the potatoes to create a harmony of satisfying craveable flavors and textures.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- pork tenderloin
- olive oil
- butter
- garlic
- rosemary
- salt
- pepper
- chicken broth
- balsamic vinegar
- lemon
- capers
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step One: Combine 2 tablespoon olive oil, rosemary, garlic, juice of ½ a lemon, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Coat pork tenderloin and allow the meat to marinate for at least 2 hours in the fridge or overnight. Allow the meat to rest at room temperature before cooking to ensure even cooking.
Step Two: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to a cast iron skillet (or oven safe skillet) on medium high heat. Place the pork tenderloins on the skillet, laying them away from you to avoid any splatter.
Step Three: Sear on all sides for 3 minutes per side or until you get a nice golden crust. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the internal temperature is 150 degrees for medium well or 165 degrees for well done.
Step Four: Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside to rest. While the pork is resting add balsamic vinegar, and chicken broth to the hot skillet over medium heat. Scrape any browned bits off of the bottom and bring the sauce to a low boil. Reduce the sauce for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat and stir in 2 tablespoon of butter, the juice of ½ a lemon and capers.
Step Five: Slice the pork tenderloin and top with the lemon butter caper sauce. Serve on top of Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes or paired with Simple Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Baked Apples and Pears.
Hint: When adding the pork tenderloin to a hot skillet, lay the pork down away from you to avoid getting splashed with hot oil. The first part of the pork to touch the pan should be the park closest to you.
Give yourself the gift of prep!
In this section I will give you ways to freeze, re-purpose and/or use some of your ingredients for another meal. Save yourself some time and effort next time you’re in the kitchen!
Prep extra pork: Most pork tenderloins come in a two pack. If you are only feeding 3-4 people you can probably serve 1 pork tenderloin. If you only plan on cooking one tenderloin, go ahead and marinate both. Then, place one of the tenderloins in a vacuum seal freezer bag and freeze it for later.
Equipment
Cast Iron Pan- I prefer to use a cast iron pan when searing because it retains heat well and creates a beautiful golden crust. It is also oven safe which means I don’t have to transfer the meat to a different pan to place it in the oven.
Storage
Store the cooked pork tenderloin in the fridge for 2 days. Store the sauce with the meat or separately. Be sure to warm the sauce before serving.
Top Tip
Really take your time getting a nice sear on the meat. That brown crust creates a lot of flavor! If you don’t hear a sizzle when you lay the meat down you pan isn’t hot enough.
Related
Looking for other recipes with pork? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with this recipe:
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Caper Sauce
Course: Dinner6-8
servings2
hours10
minutes30
minutes2
hours40
minutesRoasted pork tenderloin with a tangy lemon balsamic caper sauce. Only a few ingredients and all contained in one pan means that after dinner, it's a quick clean up!
Ingredients
2 pork tenderloins *
3 tablespoon olive oil, dived
3 tablespoon butter, dived
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon rosemary, dried
2 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 lemon, halved
¼ cup capers
Directions
- Combine 2 tablespoon olive oil, rosemary, garlic, juice of ½ a lemon, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Coat pork tenderloin and allow the meat to marinate for at least 2 hours in the fridge or overnight. Allow the meat to rest at room temperature before cooking to ensure even cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to a cast iron skillet (or oven safe skillet) on medium high heat.
- Sear on all sides for 3 minutes per side or until you get a nice golden crust. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the internal temperature is 150 degrees for medium well or 165 degrees for well done.
- Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside to rest.
- While the pork is resting add balsamic vinegar, and chicken broth to the hot skillet over medium heat. Scrape any browned bits off of the bottom and bring the sauce to a low boil. Reduce the sauce for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat and stir in 2 tablespoon of butter, the juice of ½ a lemon and capers.
- Slice the pork tenderloin and top with the lemon butter caper sauce.
Notes
- Most pork tenderloins come in a 2 pack.
