Baked Pork Tenderloin with Autumn Vegetables

This Baked Pork Tenderloin with Autumn Vegetables is a perfectly cosy dinner for those cooler Autumn days.

If you’re looking for a warming and easy tray bake dinner, this Baked Pork Tenderloin with Autumn Vegetables is for you.

Baking pork tenderloin in the oven is the best method, in my opinion, of cooking pork tenderloin. It’s easy, it’s quick, it’s very little mess, and it feels like a roast, but it’s ready in 30 minutes.

This recipe pairs those slices of tender pork with delicious Autumn vegetables like sweet potato, fennel and cauliflower, and a warming maple marinade.

How do you cook pork tenderloin without drying it out?

This is a question I get asked a lot, and there is nothing worse than dry meat. Because pork tenderloin is so lean, it does have a tendency to dry out, so here is what we do to make sure that doesn’t happen.

1. Sear it in a pan first - This helps give a lovely crisp edge, as well as reducing the amount of time that the pork needs in the oven. The less time = less dry.
2. Cook at 200 C (400 F) for just 15 minutes - Generally the fattier the meat, the longer you want to cook it, and with lean meat, the inverse is true. Cooking it at a hotter temperature (200 C or 400 F) for a shorter time means you cook your pork until just the moment you need to take it out, and no longer. This lean cut of meat doesn’t stand up to longer, slower cooking techniques.
3. Let it rest before you slice it - allowing the juices to settle in the meat when you slice it, rather than running all over your board.

Should pork tenderloin be covered when baking?

No, you don’t need to cover pork tenderloin when baking, mainly because it is not in for long enough to warrant needing to do that - you only cover meat when you don’t want it to burn. In this recipe, we’ve only got it in the oven for 15 minutes.

What's in our Baked Pork Tenderloin?

• Pork - use pork fillet
• Vegetables - I use Autumn vegetables like fennel, sweet potato and cauliflower, and for sweetness, we'll add Autumn pears.
• Marinade - Maple syrup (only use the real stuff like this, not maple-flavoured syrup), Dijon mustard and olive oil.
• Herbs and aromatics - Oregano (fresh) and garlic.

Substitutions

• Alternative proteins - Swap pork for chicken breast.
• Vegetarian - Swap pork fillet for future chicken or white beans, but don’t sear them first, just place them in with the vegetables.
• Dairy Free - This recipe is Dairy Free.
• Gluten Free - This recipe is Gluten Free.

Kid-Friendly Variations

• To make this recipe kid friendly, serve kids sweet potato, pears, cauliflower and slices of pork separately. Skip the salt and pepper.

Equipment

You will need an oven, a large roasting tray, a large non-stick frying pan, a stovetop.

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