Cranberry Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

This cranberry balsamic pork tenderloin is quick, easy and delicious! Make it with store-bought cranberry sauce, left-over cranberry sauce or make your own from fresh or frozen cranberries.

This cranberry balsamic pork tenderloin is a favourite dish of mine and one I have been making for years! It is one of those perfect trifecta recipes – quick, easy and delicious. It’s solid and reliable and special enough for company, too.

I was inspired to make this one again this week to use up some leftover Thanksgiving cranberry sauce. If you have leftover cranberry sauce, this dish is a perfect use for some of it! The beautiful thing about this dish though, is that is it just as lovely with canned whole berry cranberry sauce, so it can be made easily any time of year.

Ingredient Notes

Pork: You can use two small or one large pork tenderloin here. About 1 1/2-2 lbs. total is good. I find the smaller ones fit nicely in my smaller cast iron frying pan and I can often find the two-pack of small pork tenderloins at a good price.

Balsamic Vinegar: Any nice balsamic vinegar will work here. Feel free to add a touch more, if you feel it needs it.

Cranberry Sauce: As noted above, this is a great recipe to use up leftover Thanksgiving cranberry sauce. If you have some fresh cranberries, you can also make a quick cranberry sauce (recipe below!). You can store-bought canned cranberry if you like. Look for the “whole berry” cranberry sauce, for a more interesting sauce with the bits of cranberry.

Cook’s Notes

• While this recipe is a great use for leftover cranberry, I find the sauce is a little thicker/more syrupy when I use canned cranberry sauce. The taste is delicious either way though.
• You can use use fresh rosemary instead of thyme, if you prefer or for a change.
• If you’d like to make this ahead, simply cook as directed, except undercook the pork just slightly (cook it to 145F internal temperature. Let cool a bit, then cover with foil and refrigerate. Remove from fridge for about 20 minutes before reheating loosely covered in foil in a 350F oven until warmed through.
• A small boneless, centre-cut pork loin roast could also be used for this recipe. The oven cooking time will increase considerably. Simply cook it at 375F for the oven roasting, until the internal temperature registers 145F.
• It’s now recommended that pork be cooked only to 145F (lowered from 160F) internal temperature. This produces a tender and moist “medium” cooked pork, with a touch of pink in the middle.
• When testing your pork with a thermometer, be sure that you aren’t inserting it too far in and too close to the bottom of the pan, or your reading will be artificially high. Aim for the centre of the pork, which is only about 1 inch in. Allow you pork to rest at least 5 minutes.

Step-by-Step Photos

This is an easy, one-pan recipe! I love to use my cast-iron skillet, as it goes easily from stove-top to oven.

A Quick and Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe

If you have some fresh or frozen cranberries on hand and a little extra time, you can quickly turn them in to some cranberry sauce to use for this dish. Here’s my quick and easy Cranberry Sauce recipe (it’s the one I use every Thanksgiving!)

12-oz bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup water
Pinch cinnamon (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, then cook, stirring, until cranberries are mostly popped. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Let cool a few minutes, then cover and refrigerate. Mixture will thicken as it cools in the refrigerator.

What to Serve with Cranberry Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

The plentiful and delicious balsamic cranberry sauce is perfect with mashed potatoes. I have also served it with mashed sweet potatoes or roasted mini or sweet potatoes. Cauliflower mash would also be good here.

A green vegetable makes for a pretty plate, such as broccoli, green beans, broccolini etc., but as this is a nice Fall and Winter dish, carrots or squash would also be nice on the side.