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We love Oven Baked Pork Tenderloin and this recipe is sure to impress even the pickiest of eaters. Juicy, tender, and flavorful with a quick spice rub that cooks in 35 minutes!
We like to eat pork tenderloin in our house and I am always looking for different ways to dress it up. This is by far one of the easiest pork recipes I have done and it is packed with flavor!
It came out super moist and very tasty! I think your family will enjoy quick and easy pork chops recipes as much as we do.
I made this for supper tonight and it turned out so delicious. I used my Jamaican jerk rub from pampered chef instead of your rub recipe. But I did follow your recipe with everything else. I had to bake it for 50 minutes and it was so delicious and moist and it had the best flavor ever. My husband said it was the best ever! Thanks for sharing
-Penny R
Ingredients
- Pork Tenderloin – Cook the size that is best for your family
- Olive Oil – Choose oil of your choice
- Paprika – See The Best Paprika Substitutes
- Italian Seasoning – See How to Make Italian Seasoning Recipe
- Lemon – See Best Substitute for Lemon Juice
- Butter – We used unsalted butter
Scroll to the recipe card for the full recipe details.
How to Cook Pork Tenderloin in the Oven with Foil
Step 1 – Place each pork tenderloin in the center of a piece of foil. Rub the olive oil on the pork tenderloins. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture on each pork tenderloin and top with the lemon juice. The top with butter.
Step 2 – Cover the pork with the foil. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
Step 3 – Then open the foil packets. Broil for 3-4 minutes to brown the pork slightly.
Step 4 – Then slice, serve and enjoy.
Baked Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 2 pound pork tenderloin
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 Lemon (juiced)
- 4 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place each pork tenderloin in the center of a piece of foil.
- Rub the olive oil on the pork tenderloins.
- Combine the paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper together in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle the seasoning mixture on each pork tenderloin and top with the lemon juice.
- Cut the butter into slabs and place on top of the pork tenderloins.
- Cover the pork with the foil. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
- Then open the foil packets. Broil for 3-4 minutes to brown the pork slightly.
- Slice serve and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Variations Ideas
- For the Oil – Any cooking oil that you prefer will work in this recipe.
- For the Seasonings – I love the combination of the paprika, Italian seasoning and lemon in this recipe. But you can easily switch it out for your favorites. Oregano, thyme and basil would all be delicious on the baked pork tenderloin.
- For the Butter – The butter is very important in this recipe as it makes the pork moist and tender. I do not recommend leaving it out. But if you must, then I recommend adding more oil to keep the pork moist.
- Add Garlic – If you love garlic, you can easily add 1 tsp of minced garlic or ½ tsp of garlic powder or garlic salt to add a slightly garlic flavor to this recipe.
Recipe Tips
- Foil – We use heavy duty foil to wrap the pork tenderloins so that the foil does not easily rip. I find that wrapping the pork helps it not to dry out and makes clean up very easy too.
- Baking Pan – Since we wrapped the pork first, we cook it on a baking pan but you can cook it in a roasting pan as well.
- Searing Pork Tenderloin – Many recipes call for searing the pork in a pan before baking it. I do not like getting another pan dirty, so I skip that step and boil a few minutes after the cook time to brown the pork slightly. You can pre-sear the pork prior to baking it if you prefer.
- Meat Thermometer – Make sure to use a meat thermometer to ensure that the pork has been cooked to a safe temperature before eating it.
- Rest Pork – Let the pork sit for 5 minutes before cutting it to make sure that the juices stay inside of the pork to keep it moist.
Nutrition Facts
What to Serve with Baked Pork Tenderloin
This easy baked pork tenderloin pretty much goes with anything. Here are a few of my favorite side dishes to serve with this pork recipe.
This pork also goes great with a large salad or a veggie for a light and healthy dinner. Here are a few of my favorite vegetable recipes that would go great with this pork tenderloin.
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer to cook this pork at a high temperature. However, you can cook pork at 350 degrees F as well. It will take longer to cook through.
If you are cooking at 350, cook the pork tenderloin for 27 minutes-35 minutes until. the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
I have been making pork for a long time now and I have found that you will need a meat thermometer to know when the pork is ready.
The internal temperature should be 145 degrees F. You do not want the temperature to be much higher than that as it will dry out the pork.
I love this instant read thermometer. I do not like dried out pork, so I recommend using the lower end of the cook time on this recipe. Then check the pork temperature.
If it’s not at the safe cooking temperature, then continue to cook it until the safe temperature has been reached. Watch the pork closely as it cooks to make sure that it doesn’t dry out.
Pork tenderloin and pork loin are 2 different cuts of meat.
A pork tenderloin is a thinner, boneless and longer cut of meat that comes from the muscle around the backbone.
A pork loin is a larger cut of meat. It can come boneless or bone-in. It looks more like a roast and comes from the back of the animal.
Since these are 2 different cuts of meats, the cook time is different for each one. In this recipe, I use a pork tenderloin.
Refrigerate any leftover pork in an air tight container for up to 3-4 days. Add more butter, chicken broth or olive oil to the pork when reheating it to prevent it from drying out.
You can also freeze leftover pork for up to 3-4 months. Defrost it out overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature and then reheat.
More Easy Pork Recipes
Quick and Easy Instant Pot
Balsamic Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin Recipe
Quick and Easy Pork
Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin
Easy Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin
We love to hear from you! If you make Oven Baked Pork Tenderloin Recipe, please leave us a comment or a star review.
What could you use instead of lemon juice
Husband doesn’t like lemon taste?
This is excellent!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Carla – Thank you for sharing!
Thank You
I made this pork tenderloin recipe tonight for dinner. OMG, it was delicious and the pork was so tender. I did use the dripping to make gravy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Cheryl. Thank you for sharing and thank you so much for the positive review!
I love the way you explain everything in your video, very helpful, thank you.
Thank you so much Linda! We love hearing that!
We used this recipe on a 1.5 lb tenderloin yesterday for a small family New Year lunch. It turned out great!
I cut the ingredients in half. I didn’t have a lemon, so I used the bottled lemon juice.
It took longer to cook at 400 than the recipe said. We checked it at 25 minutes…. It was only 90 something degrees. After 10-15 more minutes, it was a little under 140. After a 4 minute broil, we let it rest.
It was cooked perfectly, very tender and juicy! This recipe is a keeper!!!
So glad you loved it! Thank you for leaving a review.
Excellent!! Thanks for sharing.
Delicious and easy!! I served baked sweet potatoes and homemade cranberry sauce.
So glad you liked it!
Made this today, followed all directions and it was fantastic ! thank you !
I used this recipe to bake a pork loin. I cooked at 400 for 35 minutes then kept wrapped loosely in foil until we got home from church. It was very tender and juicy. Great with veggies at lunch and on brioche buns for a sandwich.
First time cooking pork tenderloins. Used this recipe as written and a temperature probe. Huge success, full of flavor and so tender and juicy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it – Thank you for sharing!
I made this for supper tonight and it turned out so delicious. I used my Jamaican jerk rub from pampered chef instead of your rub recipe. But I did follow your recipe with everything else. I had to bake it for 50 minutes and it was so delicious and moist and it had the best flavor ever. My husband said it was the best ever ? Thanks for sharing
I’m glad you enjoyed it – Thank you for sharing!
In the beginning section it says 1 hour cook time, 5 min prep…but then in the directions, it says 25-30 min cook at 400°.
Sorry for the confusion, I have corrected that issue. This pork cooks in 25-30 minutes. I hope you try it out!
So juicy & tastey! Great recipe.
Am I the only one confused? At the top it says cook time 1 hour and then the recipe says 25-30 minutes?
Sorry for the confusion, I have corrected that issue. This pork cooks in 25-30 minutes. I hope you try it out!
Made this last night and it was absolutely delicious. Followed the receipt and was perfect. So easy. Out is a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed it!
I liked this recipe. I frequently have trouble with tenderloins drying out, the marinade burning, or not enough juice. This was perfect as the juice is contained within the foil. And then you can broil it for 5 min at the end. I cooked it at 375F as our oven runs hot, for about 35 min. Even with the broiling, the meat was still tender and juicy. I also liked that you do not have to brown it. Makes a supreme mess of my stove! Thank you for this!
This was so delicious and super easy! I don’t eat a lot of meat but this is one recipe that I enjoyed.
AWESOME!!!! The tenderloin came out so moist and tender. Great flavor, easy to make! Definitely my new go to recipe for pork tenderloin!
Thanks for the recipe. I want to encourage you to stop using aluminum foil, though. Throwing away foil is a huge waste of resources and all of us can probably use the exercise of scrubbing our dishes.
Awesome thankyoubfor the recipe! Do you have a monthly meal plan!