Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin
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This Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin recipe is juicy, fork-tender, and delicious! It's baked with carrots, onions and potatoes for a hearty, one-pot meal your whole family will love!
Why Cook in a Dutch Oven?
- Baking pork tenderloin in a dutch oven is easy and stress free! You can brown pork tenderloin and cook it in one pot which makes clean-up a breeze.
- A cast iron dutch oven (ad) also retains heat so it cooks food faster than a slow cooker or crockpot.
- This delicious dinner is made in less than 1 hour from start to finish!
- Try my other pork dishes including Fall off the Bone BBQ Ribs and the best Pulled Pork recipe.
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Ingredients
You'll love making this pork loin recipe for Sunday dinner or weeknight meals. The root vegetables taste amazing when cooked with a brown sugar rub. See recipe card for quantities.
PORK TENDERLOIN
- pork tenderloin (2 long roasts)
- chicken broth
- onion slices
- carrots
- potatoes
- mini sweet peppers
- cornstarch
DRY RUB
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- Italian seasoning
- steak seasoning
- sea salt
- brown sugar
Equipment
This dutch oven pork roast recipe is a family favorite! The sassy dry rub is made with brown sugar and spices that create a tender roast with exceptional flavor.
- 6 quart dutch oven (ad)
- tongs
- wooden spoon
- olive oil
- small bowl
- baking pan
- cutting board
Instructions
1 - In a small bowl, mix seasonings together to make a dry rub. Put pork in a pan and rub all sides of pork roast with seasonings. Place pork in the bottom of a dutch oven.
2 - Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the dutch oven and sear the meat over medium heat on all sides using large tongs. Remove tenderloin and wrap in foil.
3 - Deglaze the bottom of the dutch oven by pouring in the chicken broth and scraping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon over medium high heat. Add cornstarch mixture to the pot and stir until a brown gravy thickens.
4 - Slice onions, carrots and potatoes and place in the bottom of the dutch oven with the gravy. Stir well and sprinkle veggies with a dash of salt and Italian seasoning.
5 - Place roast on top of root vegetables in dutch oven and close the lid. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until internal temperature of the pork reaches 145 degrees when using a meat thermometer. Remove pork and wrap in aluminum foil.
6 - Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees and place veggies back into the oven for 15 more minutes until tender when pierced with a fork.
7 - Slice pork and place on top of vegetables. Serve straight from the pot while pork is still warm.
Recipe FAQS
Pork tenderloin is a thin and narrow meat cut from the backbone of a pig. It is extra lean and cooks quickly, so it is best when used in recipes that require short cooking times. It's perfect for this recipe because it only needs to reach 145 degrees.
You can, but keep in mind that pork chops are not as tender as a tenderloin. Substituting meats might cause the recipe to turn out tough.
A dutch oven is made of cast iron which retains heat and cooks meat quicker than a crockpot or slow cooker. Since a tenderloin requires a short cooking time, a dutch oven is the best choice for this recipe.
Storage and Freezing
If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, you can make wonderful hot pork sandwiches! Just pile the pork on top of your favorite bakery roll.
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
To reheat, it's best to do so in a microwave on a low setting. Reheating meat for too long will make it chewy and tough.
Top Tips
- Use a meat thermometer for best results.
- Remove pork roast from oven when temperature reaches 145 degrees. It will continue to cook while it rests. Cooking it longer will cause it to be tough and chewy.
- Most tenderloins that weigh at least 2.5 pounds will be cut in half into two long roasts. If not, be sure to slice yours so it will fit in your dutch oven.
- Tenderloin has a pink hue when sliced. That quickly fades to white once it rests.
More Dutch Oven Recipes
Try these other dutch oven recipes that are sure to please...
Recipe Card
Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin
*See notes in blog post for detailed tips, photos and instructions.
Equipment
- dutch oven with lid
- knife
- wooden spoon
Ingredients
PORK TENDERLOIN
- 2.5 pound pork tenderloin (2 long roasts)
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1 large onion sliced in chunks
- 1 pound fresh carrots sliced in chunks
- 6 small russet potatoes cubed (leave skins on)
- 6 mini sweet peppers sliced
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 Tablespoons water
DRY RUB
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon steak seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, mix seasonings together to make a dry rub. Put pork in a pan and rub all sides of pork roast with seasonings. Place pork in the bottom of a dutch oven.
- Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the dutch oven and sear the meat over medium heat on all sides using large tongs. Remove tenderloin and cover with foil.
- Deglaze the bottom of the dutch oven by pouring in the chicken broth and scraping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon over medium high heat. Add cornstarch mixture to the pot and stir until a brown gravy thickens.
- Slice onions, carrots and potatoes and place in the bottom of the dutch oven with the gravy. Stir well and sprinkle veggies with a dash of salt and Italian seasoning. Add sliced sweet peppers on top.
- Place roast on top of root vegetables in dutch oven and close the lid. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until internal temperature of the pork reaches 145 degrees when using a meat thermometer. Remove pork and wrap in aluminum foil.
- Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees and place pot back into the oven for 15 more minutes until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Slice pork and place on top of vegetables. Serve straight from the pot while pork is still warm.
Notes
- The dutch oven used for this recipe had a capacity of 6 quarts.
- The pork tenderloin used in this recipe came in 2 long pieces that were very thin. If your meat is thicker, plan to cook it longer.
- Use a meat thermometer for best results. Insert it into the thickest part of the meat.
- Remove pork roast from oven when temperature reaches 145 degrees for medium rare, or up to 160 for medium.
- Pork will continue to cook while it rests.
- Tenderloin has a pink hue when it is sliced. The color quickly fades to white once it rests. If you prefer pork to be well done with no pink, bake it for an extra 15 minutes.
- View the Google Web Story for Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin!
Nutrition
Nutrition info is an auto generated estimate.
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Best recipe I've found for pork tenderloin. Super tender and easy to make in one pot. This will be on our list for Sunday suppers from now on!
Thanks Christy! That's amazing!
The most perfectly cooked and flavorful tenderloin EVER! THANK YOU! Followed recipe exactly! Had the second half left next day - added extra rub before putting away first night and left on foil with small amount of leftover juice wrapped in foil in refrigerator. Removed from refrigerator and let rest 30 mins. Placed in remaining onions, sweet peppers, potatoes, etc., and "gravy"' left over in dutch oven. Preheated oven to 250°F and let preheat. Once preheated, dropped temp to 175°F and warmed slow and steady for about 30 mins until desired food temp (I like my food on the not warmed, but hot). You can also add extra vegetables but be sure to let them cook at regular temp 400°F for approximately 2/3 of the time, then drop temp to 175°F to heat leftover tenderloin and finish cooking added vegetables.
Thanks Heather! So happy you loved it!
Can I use cabbage instead of peppers? we like boiled dinners when it's cold out
Sure! Cabbage sounds like a great substitute!
My hubby hates cabbage, but I LOVE it! Sounds like a good idea for us to have the best of both worlds! He gets his dinner, and I add the cabbage and enjoy the leftovers! Thanks for the inspiration!!
The recipe looks amazing! Have you ever cooked the pork tenderloin from frozen? Would the cooking time or temperature change in any way? Thanks
Hi Liz. I have never cooked meat from its frozen state. I always thaw it out first to give it a chance to taste as great as possible. When it's frozen, it may not cook properly and be raw in the middle. I recommend thawing pork tenderloin in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days before cooking.
I thawed the roast in the fridge yesterday and today. Glad I did! I just took it out of the oven and letting it rest. It smells amazing. It's an easy recipe. Thanks for sharing it. I looked through some of your other recipes and saved the traeger smoke pork tenderloin. That will be the next one I try! I love smoking meats on my traeger! Thanks for again this recipe, I just tried it and is mashing!
Yay Liz! That's such great news! So glad you let it thaw and it turned out the way you wanted! 🙂
Can't say enough good things about this recipe. It was amazing from start to finish. Going on our weekly meal plan rotation!
Did not have peppers in house and used 3 potatoes but delish. Cut up pork and placed back in gravy. Very much like a stew.
Thanks Sharon! So glad you liked my pork tenderloin recipe!
I’ve given all my cast iron dutch oven pans to the grandchildren who cook! They just got too heavy for me - so do you think my fantastic slow cooker would do the job? Recipe looks delicious!
Hi Nana. I don't use a slow cooker to cook meat because my dutch oven does a much better job. But you could try it if you like! 🙂
So good! I didn’t follow this to a T but the timing recommendations were perfect. Thanks!
That's awesome, Hannah! I love it when recipes work out!
I don’t have enough thumbs to give it thumbs up, it was great
Awesome! Thanks for that great review Larry!
Great recipe, just remember to remove the silver skin if the pork tenderloin has it still on. I also added a little citrus paprika and replaced some of the stock with 1/2 cup of red cooking wine.
Killer.
Wow! Thanks for the great review! Sounds like you made some awesome additions! 🙂
That sounds and looks fantastic, Debi. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Carol! I hope you love it!
I've never thought about cooking pork tenderloin in a dutch oven. What a great idea! It looks divine. Can't wait to try this recipe.
Thanks Delores! Let me know how it turns out when you make it!