The Best Baked Garlic Pork Tenderloin
This is the Best Baked Garlic Pork Tenderloin recipe ever… incredibly easy, delicious, and bursting with Italian garlic butter flavors the whole family loves! An easy pork tenderloin dinner in under an hour – great for meal prep and makes amazing leftovers for a healthy, low carb keto or paleo diet eating plan, too!
One of my favorite easy dinners has always been a simple pork tenderloin – its hearty, rich and delicious, super easy to make, and soooooo delicious. It’s an incredibly versatile product that tastes great with a ton of different preparations – and is great on its own, with veggies, in stir frys and salads, or even sandwiches and wraps!
This recipe for The Best Baked Garlic Pork Tenderloin is one of my favorite ways to prepare pork tenderloin – it is bursting with delicious garlic butter flavor along with savory Italian spices for an unforgettable – and extraordinarily easy – way to make the best baked pork tenderloin you’ve ever had!
This never dry pork tenderloin is quickly pan seared and then popped into the oven where it cozies up to the most amazing garlic butter seasonings – for an easy to clean garlic butter pork tenderloin recipe you will want to make again and again.
This recipe is a perfect keto pork tenderloin dish – and is naturally gluten and grain free, and is also naturally low-carb.
Serve this baked garlic pork with sauteed vegetables (this easy pan fried broccolini or this roasted green bean salad are favorites of mine), or alongside cauliflower rice, rice, or even pasta!
Just take me to the pork tenderloin recipe already!
If you’d rather skip my (very helpful, i think) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to this deliciously easy never dry baked pork tenderloin – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.
Where is Pork Tenderloin From
Pork Tenderloin is the major muscle along the center part of the spine.
It is known for its tender texture (if you are cooking pork quickly, it is the most tender cut of pork), delicious light pork flavor, and ease of cooking.
Pork tenderloin is fantastic on the grill or in the oven – anywhere you’re cooking it hot, fast, and quickly!
Pork tenderloin does come with a good amount of silver skin on it – if you buy one that has not been well trimmed, be sure to cut as much off as you can, as it will greatly improve the texture of your pork tenderloin, making it juicy, tender, and delicious.
How To Keep Pork Tenderloin From Drying Out
Since pork tenderloin has little fat, it can become tough very quickly when overcooked – I’m providing my best tips and tricks to keep pork tenderloin moist below:
- Marinate Pork Tenderloin
- Marinating or brining pork tenderloin before cooking will always help to soften the pork tenderloin and keep it from drying out.
- I love using a bottle of simple Italian Dressing or a cup of olive oil with some lemon juice, salt, and pepper for an easy overnight pork tenderloin marinade.
- I’m not calling for marinade in this specific recipe because we’re wrapping it in foil and slathering it in butter so it cooks in its own sort of gravy (I designed this recipe to taste great even if you didn’t remember to marinate) – but if you’d like to kick your pork tenderloin up a bit, marinating is always a great idea!
- Sear Before Baking
- Searing your pork before baking it not only helps to lock in the pork’s juices – it tastes great and gives you a perfect crunchy texture.
- Look for “Pre-Seasoned” Pork Tenderloins
- Pre-seasoned pork tenderloins from your grocer are often dry-brined with salt beforehand, so it doesn’t need additional marinating or brining.
- Don’t Overcook.
- Pork tenderloin dries out very quickly when overcooked. I often pull my pork tenderloin at 140-145 degrees and tent it with foil to continue carryover cooking as it rests for about 10 minutes before serving.
Other Pork Dinners You’ll Love:
If you love this recipe for the best baked pork tenderloin as much as I do, you will love these other easy pork dinners, too!
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- Ranch Baked Pork Tenderloin and Gravy
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- Garlic Lemon Skillet Asparagus and Pork Chops
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- Ranch Diced Pork Lettuce Wraps
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- Lemon Garlic Pork Chops
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- Tuscan Pork Chops
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- Garlic Butter Pork Chops and Mushrooms
Easy Baked Ranch Pork Tenderloin and Gravy Recipe
Ranch Diced Pork Lettuce Wraps
One Pot Lemon Garlic Pork Chops and Asparagus Skillet
The Best Baked Garlic Pork Chops Recipe
One Pot Garlic Butter Pork Chops and Mushrooms
Tips to a Perfect Baked Pork Tenderloin:
- Get a good sear on the pork tenderloin in a cast iron pan before baking.
- This helps seal in the juices from the pork tenderloin and brings a rich, caramelized flavor that makes the pork tenderloin irresistible!
- Let Baked Pork Tenderloin Rest After Cooking.
- Let the pork tenderloin rest for 5-10 minutes after removing form the oven to lock in the juices – don’t cut too early, or they will all run out! This is one of the best tips to never dry, juicy pork tenderloin from the oven.
- Follow Updated Suggested Pork Temperature Guidelines.
- With newer guidelines for animal care, trichinosis is a much smaller risk – and the guidelines to cook pork have dropped to 150 degrees internal, which might look a touch pink. Don’t overcook out of fear and turn your tenderloin tough and dry!
To Make The Best Baked Garlic Pork Tenderloin Recipe You’ll Need:
While this easy baked garlic butter pork tenderloin recipe requires no special equipment, there are a couple tried and true kitchen favorites that help making this dish so much easier – no matter your experience level in the kitchen!
- Baking sheet
- Any large baking sheet, casserole dish, or oven-safe vessel will work – make sure it has a bit of a lip in case you spill a little of the garlic butter out of the foil pouch when cooking or moving the baked pork tenderloin in/out of the oven.
- Aluminum Foil
- After searing my tenderloin before baking, I prefer to wrap my pork in foil to bake to help lock in all the garlic butter deliciousness!
- Large Skillet or Frying Pan
- This pork can be made without searing first (simply add about 5-10 minutes onto the baking time) – but I personally think getting a nice sear provides a TON of flavor, so a big pan is the best way to get that!
- Metal Tongs
- Oven
- Meat Thermometer
- To check the doneness of pork tenderloin, a thermometer is my go-to. I can usually tell the doneness of steak or chicken by the texture, but tenderloin throws me off every time! Overcooked pork is tough, dry, and not very delicious – cook it to temperature, but not over!
The Best Baked Garlic Pork Tenderloin Recipe
If you love this baked garlic pork tenderloin recipe as much as I do, please write a five star review, and be sure to help me share on facebook and pinterest!
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If you’re looking to make this recipe but you only have pork chops – please head here for my very similar Baked Garlic Pork Chop Recipe.
And for an easy pork tenderloin that cooks in it’s own delicious ranch dressing gravy, please head here for my Easy Baked Ranch Pork Tenderloin and Gravy Recipe.
It is so simple, easy, and BURSTING with flavor – guaranteed to knock your socks off!
To see how easy this garlic baked pork tenderloin recipe is to make, please click to watch the video below!
This is the Best Baked Garlic Pork Tenderloin recipe ever... incredibly easy, delicious, and bursting with Italian garlic butter flavors the whole family loves! An easy pork tenderloin dinner in under an hour - great for meal prep and makes amazing leftovers for a healthy, low carb keto or paleo diet eating plan, too!
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp celtic sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 2 lb pork tenderloin optional: pre-marinate pork before cooking for foolproof never dry tenderloin
- 4 oz butter thin sliced into 4-6 pats
- 2 tbsp diced garlic
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp sage
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
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In a small bowl, combine garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, and sage. Set aside.
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Generously season tenderloin with salt and pepper.
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In a large pan, heat oil until shimmery.
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Add tenderloin to pan, and cook on all sides until dark golden brown.
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Add tenderloin to baking sheet.
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Generously coat tenderloin with herb mix.
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Place pats of butter on top of the tenderloin.
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Wrap in foil, bake until pork is 150 degrees internally at the widest part of the tenderloin (about 25 minutes.)
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When pork has come to temperature, remove and let rest for at least five minutes to lock in juices.
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Slice against the grain and serve immediately.
Lori Termine
This was absolutely delicious!!! My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this- yum 🙂
Ms. Marcia
Courtney, Courtney, Courtney!!!! This recipe is amazing! I made it last Friday, marinating it first in Italian dressing for about 3 hours. Everything else I followed the recipe. SO GOOD!!!!! My husband has already requested it again. “You did write this down, didn’t you?” he asked!.
Ignore all the negative comments above. You did good girl!
Thank you so much!
Jimmy McNickle
Awesome, will use this recipe again!
Shelby
Courtney, this recipe is amazing!!! My husband never ever ever and never eats anything pork. He warned me he wasn’t going to eat this. After slicing and serving him his dinner, dare I say he left us no leftovers and says I should make this every week. ?? He also said “ let’s invite our friends over so they can enjoy this” too. Thank you for posting this.
Best,
Shelby
Courtney ODell
Oh my gosh, Shelby, you just made my entire week!!! <3
Bill Reed
Winner dinner. Thanks for the recipe. Served it with baked portabella mushroom and German spaetzle in gravy with a garden salad and apple sauce. The juices were added from frying pan into aluminum foil plus the butter. The resulting herb flavor sauce after cooking was sooo good and could’ve been used for a sourdough dipping bread. Totally enjoyed the meal and glad for the leftovers. Will have to check out the recipes on your site. Thanks again.
Douglas
Wow. Some of the rudest laziest people I’ve ever seen commenting on this recipe. I changed things up a bit and used a 15 lb loin. It just finished. It took a little over an hour to get to 147. I deep fried it in bacon grease to brown it before applying the butter and adding olive oil and garlic salt to the top. My prep was to use sea salt, pepper and lemon pepper all over before deep frying in the bacon grease. I can’t wait to cut into it. Thanks for the tips.
Peggy
If you have a 15 pound tenderloin I want to see the hog!!!!!! That probably means you bout a pork loin and not a tenderloin, big difference!!!!
Courtney ODell
It is likely a loin – but thankfully the recipe works for pork loin as well with the method we’re using – the cooktime will be different, but as pork tenderloins can vary too I really encourage checking the temperature of the pork as it cooks with either.
Jen
Did marinade for about an hour, rolled in flour before browning on all sides and coated with dried herb mixture. Was spectacular! Thank
Stephanie
I meant a “little less butter when foiled” in comment
Stephanie
This recipe is outstanding and makes for an exceptionally flavorful, moist, tender pork tenderloin. I consider myself an excellent cook, my family, 2 kids and friends would agree. I prepared this as written with the expecion of using a little less butter on top when fried, the results was amazing. By getting a good brown sear on it and finishing it in foil it’s fool proof and hard to mess up or dry out. I served this with scalloped potatoes and roasted carrots, spooning the herb butter sauce remaining in the foil over the plated slices. Simple, easy recipe and a new favorite. Thank you!
Jenny
Sooo good. I’m surprised about the awful comments above. You’d think that as much blogging as there is out there, people with enough gray matter to search would know to keep scrolling…adverts etc…oh, and your very first tip is to scroll down for the recipe card….
Easy recipe, well written tips. Thanks.
Courtney ODell
Aww thank so much, Jenny!
I think people forget sometimes that there are real people behind blogs – I am just a mom sharing stuff I like online. 🙂
jul
well I have scrolled and read and now feel that the go fuck yourself lady is right. Still don’t see the “printable recipe”
Courtney ODell
The printable recipe is literally right above the spot where you leave a comment…. if you came this far, you passed it.
Melanie Edge
Wow. Below the picture of the meat and just above the recipe, it says PRINT. !! What on earth are people thinking saying these things. Great recipe. X
Lorrie
Hi, I was just wondering if a pork loin would work well with this recipe. I have a loin in my freezer, not a tenderloin. As I’m sure you know it is a bit fatter than a tenderloin and probably not as “tender”. Ha. Thanks for your help. It looks very tasty! I love juicy tender pork, not a fan when it dries up.
Courtney ODell
Lorrie – this will definitely work! I suggest marinating the loin a bit more before cooking, and it will increase your cooktime so just check it with a thermometer and adjust as it cooks!
fuck yourself
Over 1500 words and 11 pictures before you actually show the fucking recipe. Your website is awful, I can’t believe I beat cancer for this.
Courtney ODell
Please tell me, how do you really feel about a totally FREE recipe you simply had to scroll through some cooking tips to get to?
Kelly
Its 2018 all recipes are free. If you buy them you’re a moron
Rebecca
You would think that having beat cancer you wouldn’t be such an angry person.
Thanks for taking the time Courtney Odell to post the recipe!
Tom
LMBO but so rude.
Simon James
What an idiot troll!
Thanks for the recipe Courtney. I hope you’re not put off by pathetic morons like that.
Courtney ODell
Oh Simon, I’m not at all. With so much in the world, someone not liking a recipe doesn’t really get me down. 😉
Pam
The pork tenderloins that I buy only weight one pound. Do I change anything about this recipe, as I am only cooking for two people.
Courtney ODell
Pam – I’d just check the doneness (which you should do anyways since ovens can wildly vary in their cooktimes, and the shape of the tenderloin can vary) to make sure you don’t over cook the pork – otherwise the rest will be great!
Ingrid Privee
So good! I’ve made this a few times, first with the herbs listed and another time with different mix of herbs and both soooo yummy! I added some carrots inside the foil once and another time used garlic and lemon slices. I neede to cook the pork linger than the 25 minutes listed but that could be my over.
Elizabeth
So, I am a bit confused. You mentioned how important it is to marinate pork overnight but the recipe itself does not call for it. Should it still be marinated in advance or just do the recipe as is?
Courtney ODell
So – I need to work the wording a bit on that – this recipe is amazingly tender in part because we’re cooking it in butter and how we’re wrapping it in foil.
I skip marinating a lot of the time because I just plain can’t remember – and this recipe was designed to bring you perfect pork tenderloin even without the marinade – but I wanted to offer tips for if you wanted to switch it up or try making the tenderloin in a different way.
Mandi Dickey
Delicious! Have some crusty bread for that garlicky buttery goodness too!
Amber
Are they fresh herbs or dried?
Taylor
I’m also wondering the same thing. I have dried so I was hoping to use those.
Courtney ODell
I prefer to bake a recipe like this with dried herbs – but fresh can work too. Since the flavors here are so simple and straightforward and rustic, either will work just great!
Stephan JoAnn
I just made the pork tenderloin! Amazing! I made two for my meal prep this week! This was my first attempt and I’m so pleased with the turn out. Thanks so much for the recipe!!!