Sheet Pan Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Sauce

It’s the middle of October, the leaves are starting to darken into oranges, yellows, and reds, the weather is cooling down a bit, and it even smells like fall outside. Do you know what I mean when I say that fall has a smell? I feel like every season has a different smell. Fall smells crisp and fresh and kind of like rain. Which most likely either makes you think I’m cray cray ooorrrr you know exactly what I mean.

Anyway – fall is definitely here! Which means fall food is even more fun to make. For the last several weeks, I’ve been making fall food and just rebelling against the fact that it was still hot outside. Summer lingered a bit this year. Buy-bye summer! I’m ready for some fall-y goodness.

This dinner is absolutely perfect for fall! But it’s also perfect for a busy weeknight. Sometimes fall and winter foods can take a little bit longer to make since they often times require crock pots, long simmers, or an extended oven-sesh. But thiiiissssss…this has all the fall feels but only takes thirty minutes in the oven! And you make the sauce while the pork is cooking, so you’re killin’ two birds with one stone. Efficiency!

Pork tenderloin is cheap, juicy, tender, and it has a mild flavor which allows you to add a lot of other yummy things that won’t clash with the pork’s flavor. And there’s really no need to do anything special with it since it’s already tender and juicy just from a quick roast. You can marinate it, but you don’t have to. You can brine it, but you don’t have to. You can slow simmer it, buuttt…see where I’m going? You don’t have to. It’s easy but it tastes and looks elegant and fancy.

Let’s talk details.

• The pork. We crust the tenderloin in allspice, coriander, salt, and pepper. Roast it in a 375 degree oven for thirty minutes, let it rest, slice it up, and you have perfectly little juicy medallions of perfection. The only thing that could possibly make it better is the super tasty and easy apple cider sauce (more on that later)!
• The brussels. Brussels sprouts are NOTORIOUSLY hated. And I think I know why. Often times in the past, their preparation method has been the following: boil until sprouts have turned to blobs of flavorless mush. Serve. This is a crime, internet friends. A crime of which the consequences should require the cooker to attend a three days class where they are taught the many different delicious ways to cook said brussels sprouts. The best way, in my humble opinion, is to roast those little dudes until they are golden brown, tender, and mouthwatering. Which is what we do in this recipe! A simple toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and into the oven they go with the pork. Everything finishes cooking at the same time, and you have LOTS of flavor and almost no cleanup.
• The sauce. Three ingredients: apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and stone ground mustard. Let it reduce for about twenty minutes while your pork and brussels are in the oven, drizzle it over your sliced pork, and fall in love with the sweet, sticky, tangy, flavorful goodness. It’s good over the brussels sprouts too, so just in case you…*ahem*…accidentally…*ahem*…drizzle the sauce over every tiny inch of your sheet pan and stir everything around and then lick your spoon instead of just serving it over the pork…then you’ll still be good.

I’m telling you guys – this recipe is such an easy and fast weeknight meal that screams fall and tastes like it’s been roasting for hours. This needs to go into your weekly rotation during October and November if you have a crazy life and need quick dinners! Orrrr even if that isn’t you, make this anyway because it’s yammy 👅.

So I mentioned on Friday that I was going to my cousin’s wedding in St. Louis this weekend. My mother-in-law flew in to watch Ford, so I went to the wedding baby free! It was a blast. The wedding and reception were on a rooftop, and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.

They had hors d’oeuvres (okay what the crap on the spelling of hors d’oeuvres. I had to copy and paste from Wikipedia because ain’t nobody got time to spell that out from memory), i.e. bacon wrapped dates and bruschetta, so clearly I partied. And then after the ceremony, they had a burger bar. The food was good, the people were fun, and we just spent all night sipping wine, dancing, and catching up! Then we got back to the hotel at like 1 am and ordered pizza…typical…and went to sleep.

It was a super fun weekend! I did miss my little man, though. So it was good to get back and see his little bald cuteness. And now we’re back to our daily grind. Which just so happened to include a morning of watching a few episodes of The Kitchen while sipping coffee (with Pumpkin Spice creamer, obvi) and cuddling a napping baby. A successful start to the week!

I hope your Monday was awesome and the rest of the week is just as good!

This recipe has 4 smart points per serving!

Sheet Pan Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Sauce

This quick and easy meal is simple to make, perfect for fall, and is super quick! It’s amped up an extra level by a three ingredient apple cider sauce that is drizzled right over the pork. A perfect weeknight meal!

• Author: Annie Chesson
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 3 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the sheet pan

• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 pound brussels sprouts, bottoms cut off and sliced in half (remove any outer leaves that come off – they will burn quickly in the oven)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

For the sauce

• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons stone ground mustard

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
2. Pat your pork tenderloin dry and rub your seasonings (salt, coriander, allspice, and a little bit of black pepper) evenly across all sides of the tenderloin. Place the seasoned tenderloin on your sheet pan
3. Add your brussels sprouts to the sheet pan and drizzle with your olive oil along with some salt and pepper. Toss to combine
4. Bake the pork and brussels in the oven for 30 minutes, taking the sheet pan out half way through to flip the brussels sprouts. Let the pork rest for several minutes before slicing
5. While the pork is in the oven, make your sauce. Combine the apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and mustard along with a little bit of salt and pepper in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Boil/heavily simmer until reduced and thick. It will take about 15-20 minutes (it takes my stove top 18 when I make this sauce)
6. When ready to serve, slice the pork and drizzle liberally with the sauce!

Notes

The sauce will thicken slightly as it cools, but if you decide you want it to be thicker, you can throw it back in the pan and keep reducing. If you over reduce the sauce and it’s too thick, stir in a little bit of water until it reaches the consistency you desire

The sauce is yummy over the brussels sprouts, too!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/3 of meat and veggies
• Calories: 353
• Sugar: 10 g
• Sodium: 277 mg
• Fat: 7 g
• Carbohydrates: 24 g
• Fiber: 8 g
• Protein: 45 g
• Cholesterol: 110 mg

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy pork recipes? Check these out:

Pork in Garlic Sauce

Marinated Pork and Pineapple Kabobs

Flavor Bomb Pork Chops with Mango Salsa