Baked Pork Tenderloin

Published by Fork Around & Find Out Kitchen — presented in the Lila editorial voice. Editorial standards

Quick Answer

Baked Pork Tenderloin is best roasted hot and fast: coat the tenderloins with Dijon, garlic, rosemary, thyme, paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil, then roast at 425°F until the thickest part reaches 145°F. Rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Jump to Recipe

Pork tenderloin is lean enough that the difference between juicy and dry can be a handful of minutes. That makes the thermometer more important than the clock. Roast it at 425°F for good surface color, start checking early, and pull it when the thickest part reaches 145°F. The ten-minute rest is what keeps the juices in the slices instead of on the cutting board.

Dijon does two jobs here: it gives the herbs and garlic something to cling to, and it adds sharpness without turning the pork into mustard meat. Rosemary, thyme, and smoked paprika make the crust smell like you worked harder than you did. This is a straightforward oven method, deliberately different from the apple-heavy Instant Pot tenderloin already on the site.

Prep10 minutes

Cook25 minutes

Total45 minutes

Serves6 servings

DifficultyEasy

Ingredients

Servings

2 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, usually 2 tenderloins
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 cloves garlic, finely grated or minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1Preheat the oven to 425°F. Pat the pork tenderloins dry and trim away any silver skin.
2Mix the olive oil, Dijon, garlic, rosemary, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper into a paste. Rub it over every surface of the pork.
3Place the tenderloins on a foil- or parchment-lined rimmed sheet pan with a little space between them.
4Roast 20 to 25 minutes, beginning to check early, until an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part registers 145°F.
5Transfer the pork to a cutting board and rest 10 minutes before slicing across the grain.

Nutrition Information

Estimated per serving: 1 of 6 servings.

430Calories

51 gProtein

2 gCarbohydrates

24 gTotal Fat

7 gSaturated Fat

1 gFiber

0 gTotal Sugars

750 mgSodium

130 mgCholesterol

Estimated from the ingredients and quantities in this recipe using standard food-composition values. Brand choices, trimming, cooking loss, optional ingredients, and actual portion size can change the numbers. How we calculate nutrition estimates.

Pro Tips

Tenderloins vary in thickness, so temperature is a better doneness test than minutes alone.
Remove the silver skin; it stays chewy and can pull the tenderloin out of shape as it cooks.
Slice only after the rest. Cutting immediately releases the moisture you just worked to keep.

Substitutions

dried rosemary and thyme → 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs Fresh herbs give a brighter flavor; press them firmly into the Dijon coating.

smoked paprika → sweet paprika The crust will be less smoky but still well seasoned.

Storage Instructions

Refrigerate leftover pork promptly and keep it covered with any juices from the cutting board. Reheat gently; high heat can dry lean tenderloin quickly.