Holiday Roast Pork Tenderloin made EASY with this flavorful marinade! Simple festive pork dinner that looks elegant yet is SUPER EASY to make. The pork tenderloin marinade is just 5 ingredients, including a couple of cans of lemon lime soda!
If you’re looking for a flavorful pork tenderloin marinade that will satisfy your tastebuds and give you the best pork tenderloin recipe ever, you’ll want to keep reading. Getting a delicious roast, with minimal effort (and clean up), is so amazing that it can easily become a new family favorite!
How to make this easy pork tenderloin recipe
Mix the marinade ingredients together and put them in a zipper topped bag with your pork roast.
Let them sit in the fridge for a few hours and then bake.
Use the leftover marinade to make a delicious gravy and serve!
See how incredibly easy this recipe is? That’s pretty much proof that anyone can do it.
Tip: I highly recommend letting the meat marinade inside a zipper topped bag instead of a covered bowl because it makes for much easier cleanup and it doesn’t take up nearly as much space in the fridge!
Can you marinate a pork tenderloin too long?
If you over marinate pork, you may notice that the marinade begins to eat away at the proteins in the meat causing it to become very soft. While this doesn’t sound bad, it may simply result in a different experience with your pork tenderloin than you were anticipating. The good news is that pork is one of those meats that can survive marinades for a few days, so if after placing it in the fridge an emergency arises and you’re no longer able to make dinner right away, you have a little time to take care of what you need to before dinner is “ruined.”
What are the ingredients in the best pork tenderloin marinade?
-Soy Sauce
-Olive Oil
-Minced Garlic
-Onion Powder
-Sprite Soda (2 cans)
And then, of course, you’ll need the pork tenderloin to pair with it all!
Here’s how to make this baked pork tenderloin recipe
Place your pork tenderloin pieces in a zipper topped bag (or a large bowl if you don’t have one) and then set it aside.
Make Pork Marinade
In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, and onion powder.
Whisk them together and then add in the cans of Sprite.
Stir and then remove ½ cup of the marinade and set it aside.
Marinade Pork Tenderloin
Pour the remaining marinade over the pork tenderloin.
Close the bag and place it in the fridge to marinate for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
Roast Pork
When you’re ready to roast, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
Place the pork on a lined baking tray. You can place the tenderloin pieces separately or tie them together using meat twine.
Roast the pork for 20-25 minutes, or until meat thermometer registers 140 degrees F at the thickest part.
Let Pork Rest & Make Gravy
Remove from the oven and let the pork rest for 5 minutes.
Prepare gravy by taking 1 TBSP of the reserved marinade and stirring that into 1 tsp cornstarch in a small bowl.
Pour mixture into remaining marinade and microwave for 2-3 minutes, until mixture is thickened and boiling.
Slice pork and drizzle with gravy. Enjoy!
More recipes with pork for you to try:
- Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
- Best Pork Roast Recipe
- Sheet Pan Sausage & Peppers
- Bold 3-Meat Crockpot Chili recipe
- Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin Filet
- Easy Slow Cooker Sweet Pork
BEST Pork Tenderloin Marinade Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1.5lb pork tenderloin
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 12oz cans of lemon-lime soda
Instructions
- Place pork tenderloin pieces in a refrigerator safe bag.
- Combine soy sauce, olive oil, garlic and onion powder in a small bowl. Whisk, then pour in both cans of Sprite. Stir, then remove about 1/2 cup of the marinade to use when serving. Set aside.
- Pour remaining marinade over pork tenderloin.
- Close bag and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- When ready to roast, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place pork on lined baking tray. You can place tenderloin pieces separately or tie them together using meat twine.
- Roast pork for 20-25 minutes, or until meat thermometer registers 140 degrees F at the thickest part. Remove from oven and let pork rest for 5 minutes.
- Prepare gravy by taking 1 TBSP of reserved marinade and stirring that into 1 tsp cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour mixture into remaining marinade and microwave for 2-3 minutes, until mixture is thickened and boiling.
- Slice pork and drizzle with gravy. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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What is the difference between a pork loin and pork tenderloin?
A pork loin is one of the leanest parts of meat from a pig and when cooked, the meat turns white. It’s a very tough piece of meat due to the muscles and as a result, many people choose to slow-cook or marinate it to tenderize the meat. Pork loin is cut from the top side of the backbone of a pig, can weigh up to about 20 pounds and is where pork roasts are usually cut from due to the sheer size of the meat once cut.
Pork tenderloin is cut from the underside of the topside of the backbone and is usually closer to weighing 1 pound. It’s an incredibly tender piece of meat and must be cooked in quick-cook processes to prevent overcooking the meat.
What should I serve with pork tenderloin?
With pork tenderloin having such a subtle flavor on its own, think about the flavors of the marinade and what would pair well with those. Because of this being a great holiday roast, think about pairing it with other great holiday side dishes such as mashed potatoes or scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, asparagus, or green bean casserole.
What can I do with overcooked pork tenderloin?
Overcooked pork is a sad and horrible experience. It’s dry, chewy, and a huge disappointment after you worked so hard to get dinner on your plate. But, don’t despair because there are actually a few different things to do with pork tenderloin that is perfect for using the dry overcooked meat. Shred the meat or chop it up into small chunks. From that point, you can use it in barbecue pulled pork, pork fried rice, stir fry, or as a filler in other dishes like potstickers or taquitos.
Holiday Roast Pork Tenderloin made EASY with this flavorful marinade! Simple festive pork dinner that looks elegant yet is SUPER EASY to make. The pork tenderloin marinade is just 5 ingredients, including a couple of cans of lemon lime soda! With this flavorful marinade, you can create a dinner that looks and tastes great without breaking the bank, or putting in too much physical effort!
Beth says
Marinades always add so much flavor to dishes! I’m always excited to find new, tasty ones like yours, to try! Thank you!!
Meagen Brosius says
We always grab pork tenderloin when it’s on sale but I run out of ideas for cooking it! We made this one and my husband is thrilled! Definitely our new go to recipe for pork tenderloin!
Linda Bridges says
This is a question rather than a comment. I’m always looking for different marinades for pork tenderloin. Can this be made in the Instant Pot using this same recipe or will the sprite harm my stainless steel bowl the IP has? Or will it bubble up and out of the pot? Sorry to ask about the Sprite, but I don’t want a mess or harm my IP bowl. 🙂
Thanks in advance… 🙂
Jessica says
I’ve not tried this exact recipe in my instant pot, but I have a Dr.Pepper roast recipe on here I just made in my IP and it was fantastic. You shouldn’t have any problems!
joanne says
Question …..one place the recipe says Garlic and then in instructions Ginger??? Which is it? thanks
Jessica says
Sorry about that- GARLIC! I felt like it tasted better. 😉
Dianne Bolen says
This may be the craziest question you have ever gotten. BUT when I look at the recipe it says
1 1.5 lb pork tenderloin. Do you mean
buy 1 1.5 lb pork tenderloin OR
buy 11.5 lb pork tenderloin?
I have never bought one so I have no idea how they come. Thanks so much.
Jessica says
It’s a 1.5lb pork roast. : )
karen schroeder says
Are you sure about the nutrition values? 1g serving? number of calories. It wont stop me from trying this but like to keep track. Thanks.
Jessica says
It’s difficult to add a nutritional value for marinade as most gets thrown away.