Are you looking for an easy, flavor-packed entree for your table this holiday season? Look no further than this Spiced Pork Tenderloin recipe and make it with Cranberry Relish while you’re at it!
Ingredients
You will easily be able to find all of these spiced pork tenderloin ingredients at your local grocery store.
- Pork tenderloin – You want to look for a piece of meat with bright pink color and some marbling. Marbling is the fat structure within the meat. If there isn’t any, your meat could dry out. Remember fat = flavor.
- Salt and pepper – We use a simple blend of fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Keep in mind that different salts measure differently.
- Spices – I use a combination of nutmeg and ground cloves. They’re warm spices and add to the holiday flavor, while complementing the cranberry perfectly.
- Orange zest – We use the zest of one orange. You can use the orange juice for breakfast in the morning!
- Cranberry relish – My recipe uses a combination of fresh cranberries, sugar, fresh orange juice, orange zest and coarse kosher salt.
Variations
This is one of my favorite pork recipes because it’s so easy to customize! Here are a few suggestions.
- Seasoning blend – I like to use nutmeg and cloves to complement the holiday flavors of the cranberry relish, but feel free to mix it up. Garlic powder, chili powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika and ground ginger would all be great to add to your dry rub.
- Fresh herbs – Adding things like fresh thyme, fennel seeds, fresh garlic or rosemary would pair nicely.
- Cranberry relish – Not making this for the holidays? Pair the pork tenderloin with another fruit sauce. A mango salsa would pair nicely with cooked pork too.
- Spicy – If you want to give your pork a bit of a kick, try adding chile powder or red pepper flakes to the dry spices.
- Other cuts of pork – If you don’t have enough mouths or access to a whole tenderloin, you can just as easily make the same recipe with thick-cut pork chops. Bone-in or bone-out, doesn’t matter, either would be just divine.
How to Make Spiced Pork Tenderloin
Making this easy pork tenderloin recipe couldn’t be easier! Just follow these simple steps.
- Prepare oven and baking dish. Preheat oven and coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Make sure that the dish is large enough to allow room around the tenderloin.
- Combine spice rub ingredients. In a small bowl, combine fine sea salt through orange zest. Rub all over pork tenderloin and place in the baking dish.
- Bake. Bake uncovered in preheated oven until thickest portion registers at 155-160 degrees for the internal temperature. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature.
- Rest and top with cranberry relish. Allow to rest on cutting board at room temperature before slicing into 1-inch pieces. Smother with cranberry relish.
What to Serve with Spiced Pork Tenderloin
There are so many great sides that would pair perfectly with this spice pork tenderloin recipe. A fabulous rice like ginger rice, roasted sweet potatoes or frozen peas would all be a perfect match.
This would also be a great thing to serve as a holiday main dish. Serve with your favorite side dishes to make it a complete meal.
Storage and Freezing
How to Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Store the pork separate from the cranberry relish.
Can I Freeze Spiced Pork Tenderloin?
Absolutely you can. Freeze the pork whole or in slices in an airtight container in the freezer for up to six months. Store separately from the cranberry relish.
More Holiday Recipes
Besides getting together with family, the best part of the holidays is the FOOD. Here are some of our favorite holiday recipes.
Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons ground cloves
- Zest of one orange
- Cranberry Relish
- Cooking Spray
- Garnish with cranberries thyme and orange slices. Make Stovetop Holiday Potpourri with leftovers.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray, making sure that the dish is large enough to allow room around the tenderloin.
- In a small bowl, combine fine sea salt through orange zest. Rub all over pork tenderloin and place in the baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until thickest portion registers are 155-160 degrees.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into 1-inch pieces. Smother with Cranberry Relish.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Nutrition
I’ve made this recipe the for the last few years for Christmas dinner to switch things up. I used to do a ham but everyone LOVES this spiced pork and looks forward to it every year now! Thanks for sharing!
Loved the combination of spicy pork with the tangy cranberry. This was so good.
We made this tenderloin for dinner yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Easy to make and full of wonderful flavours. We’ll be making this again!
OMG, this is so good! I made this with chops like you suggested, and it was amazing. I love the play of the cranberries and spice with the pork. DEE-licious.
Love this Spiced Pork Tenderloin recipe, will make it soon, looks delicious and easy to make. My family likes to eat pork and this is a good recipe to try. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow! I love the cranberries and pork together! The tip about using pork chops is exactly what I needed because I have lots of chops in the freezer!
This spice pork tenderloin recipe is delicious! My kids don’t love eating meat all that much, but they were all over this meal! Definitely going to be trying this recipe again soon!