This Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin is a great weeknight meal ready in just 45 minutes, with little prep required. This tender pork is seared in the dutch oven with simple vegetables and seasoning, then finished in the oven for an easy dinner! Serve it with my 10 minute pork gravy for the full effect!
This Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin is about as simple as it gets! The prep time is only 10 minutes and it cooks really quickly in the oven. You still get that comfort food feel that you get with roasts, but in way less time.
Pair this pork roast with my Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes, Cheese Garlic Mashed Potatoes, or Stewed Potatoes for the ultimate cozy dinner!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- It's quick, easy and delicious.
- A great source of protein with about 120 grams per pound of pork tenderloin.
- This is a recipe you can make on a budget.
- It is really versatile and pairs with potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.
If you love comfort dishes for dinner, try my Chicken Dumpling Soup, Boneless Beef Short Ribs, Crockpot Sirloin Tip Roast, Panko Crusted Pork Chops, and Creamy Pesto Pasta.
Ingredients:
Pork Tenderloin- A tender cut of pork from the spine. Make sure to get one that isn't already seasoned in the bag. I highly recommend the Niman Ranch brand if you can find it in your local stores. They were featured on a documentary I watched and have a much more sustainable approach to farming, than most big pork brands.
Carrot, Onion, Celery- A classic mirepoix in french cooking, known for flavoring roasts, stews and soups.
Brown Sugar Rub- Brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper come together for a lightly sweet rub that enhances the taste of the roasted pork tenderloin.
*Full recipe ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations:
- You can use 1 tablespoon of store-bought pork rub seasoning, if you don't want to make your own.
- If you don't have a dutch oven, you can sear this in a stainless steel pan, then cook it in a roasting pan for a similar result.
- For an extra savory touch, make my Rosemary Garlic Butter for serving.
How to Make Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to combine. Rub the spice mixture all over the outside of the pork.
Step 2: Heat a large dutch oven (preferably 5, 6 or 7 quart) to medium heat on the stovetop. Add in butter and olive oil and allow it to heat up. Place the pork tenderloin into the dutch oven and cook for 3 minutes, flip it over and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Step 3: Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and thyme all around the pork tenderloin. Cover and bake for 20-35 minutes until the temperature reaches 155 degrees. Remove the pork tenderloin from the dutch oven, transfer to a platter and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Optional: While it's cooling, make my 10 minute pork gravy recipe with the drippings.
Step 4: Cut into slices. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- In step 2, if the butter starts burning, lower the heat a bit.
- If you want to eat the vegetables too, after removing the pork tenderloin, cover the dutch oven and continue to bake them for 10 to 15 minutes to soften the carrots, while the pork is cooling.
If you love Dutch Oven Recipes, try Roasting a Chicken in a Dutch Oven, Dutch Oven BBQ Chicken, Dutch Oven Pork Chops, Dutch Oven Chili and Baked beans with Ground Beef.
Recipe FAQs:
The internal temperature for rare pork tenderloin is 145 degrees. It must be cooked until at least this. Medium is closer to 150 degrees and Well Done is 165 degrees. I prefer to pull my pork tenderloin from the oven at about 155 degrees. It's still really tender at this point.
With meats, you need to rely more on internal temperature versus time cooked. There a lot of factors that can make this vary, from how many times you open the oven, oven temp ranges, differences in cuts and thicknesses of meat, etc. Use an internal thermometer to get the perfect result.
Pork tenderloin is best cooked quickly in the oven baking temps, around 375 degrees. This results in a tender juicy meat! It's like the pork version of a filet mignon and it doesn't have a whole lot of fat on it, making slow cooked not the best choice.
More Weeknight Dinners You Will Love:
If you tried this Pork Tenderloin Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
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Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 pork tenderloin 1x
Description
This Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin is a great weeknight meal ready in just 45 minutes, with little prep required. This tender pork is seared in the dutch oven with simple vegetables and seasoning, then finished in the oven for an easy dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 (1-1.5 lb) Pork tenderloin
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 cup baby carrots or 2 whole carrots cut into pieces
- 2 celery stalks, cut into large chunks
- 2 garlic cloves peeled, whole
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- Optional: Serve with my Pork Roast Gravy Recipe
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to combine. Rub the spice mixture all over the outside of the pork.
- Heat a large dutch oven (preferably 5, 6 or 7 quart) to medium heat on the stovetop. Add in butter and olive oil and allow it to heat up. Place the pork tenderloin into the dutch oven and cook for 3 minutes, flip it over and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and thyme all around the pork tenderloin. Cover and bake for 20-35 minutes until the temperature reaches 155 degrees.
- Remove the pork tenderloin from the dutch oven, transfer to a platter and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Optional: Make my 10 minute pork gravy recipe.
- Cut into slices. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- In step 2, if the butter starts burning, lower the heat a bit.
- If you want to eat the vegetables too, after removing the pork tenderloin, cover the dutch oven and continue to bake them for 10 to 15 minutes to soften the carrots, while the pork is cooling.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Jack says
Amazing taste and tender. My wife is pregnant so we are eating healthier and this was my first time cooking a non pre seasoned pork tenderloin and man did it blow the rest out of the water. I added 2 gala apples cut in half and one apple on each side along with the recipe and tender and juicy as we have ever had. ❤️
Tara Smithson says
Yay! Thanks so much for the review. Love the apple addition idea. I'm so glad you liked this one and congratulations on the new baby. Exciting times!
Jen says
Apple is a great idea. I added pear (Bosc) still cooking but smells Devine.
Tara Smithson says
Pear sounds sooooo good too! Great idea.
Jack says
Thank you. My wife doesn’t like any gravy so I played around and made a sort of apple sauce to put on the pork instead of gravy and it was a hit with everyone. Just baked 4 apples then blended with brown sugar around 1/4 cup(I don’t measure just added till I liked the taste) and blend and spoon on as you would gravy. top with a few flakes of parsley after plating for a finishing touch.
Tara Smithson says
That sounds super tasty! Thanks for sharing.
Rich says
Loved this easy dinner! So good!
Tara Smithson says
Thank you! So glad you liked it!