An easy pork tenderloin recipe, with an absolutely delicious peanut sauce with peanut butter, coconut milk, lime and cilantro. This sauce is one of my favourites! Ready in just about 30 minutes, too!
If you looking for a fabulous sauce for pork tenderloin, this pork tenderloin with peanut sauce is one of my favourites!
In the warmer months, I love to cook the pork up on the BBQ. In the colder months, it can be cooked quickly on the stove-top in a grill pan or on a baking sheet under the broiler. Butterflying the pork tenderloin means it always cooks up quickly!
Beyond the quick-cooking pork tenderloin, let’s talk about the delicious sauce. It’s Indonesian in its flavour profile, with a nice bit of ground coriander to complement the peanut butter, soy sauce and coconut milk. A generous hit of fresh lime juice lightens and freshens the flavours. The fresh lime juice is a must!
Ingredient Notes
Coconut Milk: I always use and do recommend full-fat coconut milk, as it makes for the thickest and richest peanut sauce. Low fat coconut milk will work here, but will result in a thinner and less creamy sauce.
Peanut Butter: Use whatever is in your cupboard, as long as it’s smooth. Natural and regular peanut butter will both work nicely here..
Lime Juice: Fresh is best and for best results, don’t skip the lime! The freshness and acidity really elevates and balances the sauce.
Brown Sugar: The recipe specifies dark brown sugar, for the richest taste, but I’ve made it with light brown sugar, as well, and it works just fine.
Ground Coriander I hope you have this wonderful spice in your spice rack. Coriander is dried cilantro seeds and ground coriander is, well ground up :) Don’t worry if you are a Cilantro hater. Coriander has a different flavour profile that you will probably find you tolerate just fine :)
If you don’t have it and you want to make this dish anyway, simply finely chop some of the fresh cilantro and simmer it with the sauce instead.
Cilantro: Fresh cilantro adds great flavour and colour to this dish. Hate fresh cilantro? Replace it with flat-leafed parsley.
Cook’s Notes
- A quick marinade is all that is needed, but if you like, you can start it marinating well ahead (up to 8 hours) and then just cook it up when you’re ready.
- You’ll notice that the marinade is cooked down to make the sauce. As such, you’ll want to be sure that you bring the sauce to a boil and allow it to simmer for several minutes. This ensures that any raw meat juices are thoroughly cooked in the sauce.
- Serve this pork and peanut sauce with a simple vegetable, salad and/or with rice for a delicious and easy weeknight meal (that’s also company worthy!). I love a cilantro-lime rice with this one!
Get the Recipe: Pork Tenderloin with Peanut Cilantro Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut milk, full-fat recommended
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, natural or regular
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium recommended
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar, or light brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 lb. pork tenderloin, 1 large or two small
- Fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish
- Fresh lime wedges, for serving/drizzling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, and coriander to make a smooth sauce.
- Trim the pork of excess fat and silverskin. Butterfly the tenderloins by splitting each one lengthwise almost, but not quite all the way through, so the halves remain attached.
- Open each tenderloin like a book, cover with plastic wrap, and pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness with a meat mallet or the bottom of a small skillet. Put the pork tenderloins in the large, shallow bowl with the marinade and turn to coat. Let marinate for 10 to 20 minutes on the counter (or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator).
- While the pork marinates, heat a BBQ on high. Remove the tenderloins from the marinade, letting the excess marinade drip back into the bowl (don’t discard the marinade). Grill the tenderloins, turning once, until just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer to a carving board and let rest for 5 minutes.
- *Alternately, preheat oven broiler to high with rack about 6-inches from heat. Place tenderloins on a foil-covered baking sheet and broil, turning once, until cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. You could also cook in a large grill pan on the stove-top.
- Meanwhile, pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and add 1 Tbsp. water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. **Important to thoroughly boil and thoroughly heat the sauce for the full time specified! Remove sauce from the heat. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a tiny bit more water. Slice the pork and serve drizzled with sauce. Top with chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges for drizzling.Additional sauce can be placed in a small bowl for passing.
Notes
More Pork Tenderloin Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Can this meal be frozen? G
Hi Gabrielle, I have never tried freezing it, but since the sauce is coconut milk based, it should freeze/thaw just fine for 2-3 months.
Just put the pork in fridge to marinate.
Then guests postponed dinner invite until tomorrow.
Should I cook it today and reheat later.
Or what.?
Well that sucks. But no worries. Apparently pork tenderloin can be safely marinated in the fridge for 3-5 days! So just leave it in the fridge and cook it fresh tomorrow. Enjoy!
First time cooking with coriander and peanut butter, Loved it! Everyone did at my house, served with zucchini noodles cooked in a peanut butter sauce as well, delicious! I added some red pepper flakes and a little siracha so my husband would enjoy it more, he doesn’t like a lot of sweet tasting foods, but thoroughly enjoyed this dish!
So glad you enjoyed it, Kandi! This is one of my favourite pork dishes. Love the flavours in this sauce. Deliciously different :) Thanks so much!
Wow! Just finished having this lovely pork tenderloin for dinner. This is the second pork tenderloin that I have made from your collection, and I don’t like to play favourites, but this is the one I will definitely make for company, when we can have company!!! Delicious! Very easy, I had to use crunchy peanut butter as I didn’t have enough smooth, but I think it added to the sauce! Also added a Chile pepper to the marinade. Not over the top spicy but just a nice hint of spice.( my family like spice).
I really enjoy your recipes, Jennifer. I can trust that they will turn out!
So glad you enjoyed it, Jennifer :) Thanks! And yes, I’ve made this dish for company a few times. It’s easy and everyone seems to enjoy it!
Very good. May just be one of the best ways to prepare pork tenderloin. I had only crunchy peanut butter and it didn’t detract in any way. Thanks for the post.
So glad you enjoyed it, Jan and yes, it’s one of my favourite pork tenderloin recipes. Nice in the oven or on the BBQ grill! Thanks so much!
Very good. May just be one of the best ways to prepare pork tenderloin. I had only crunch peanut butter – it didn’t detract in any way. Thanks for the post.
Seriously delicious.A keeper!
Glad you enjoyed it, Jay :) It’s one of my favourites! Thanks.
You have so many delicious pork tenderloin receipes that are hits in our household!
Wasn’t sure about the coriander but decided to give the receipe a try. So good! Even the crunchy peanut butter didn’t detract!
So glad you tried this one! It’s one of my favourites :) Thanks!
I have been eyeing this recipe for awhile, and today was the day! Absolutely delicious! I did add 2 dried chilies to the marinade, and they gave just the right amount of heat. Very easy; will definitely make this one again, but next time it will be for company!!
So glad you enjoyed it and a little heat is always good :) Thanks!
Another keeper. I have made four of your recipes, and all are winners. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed it, Donna. I’ve been making this one a long time. It’s a favourite of mine :)
Lovely recipe. Made this for dinner tonight after marinating it overnight. I added the lime zest as well as the juice along with maple syrup in place of the sugar. Meat was really tender. Thanks for this lovely recipe which will happen more than once. :))
So glad you enjoyed it, Mary :) Thanks so much!
Pork is a go-to in my house as it is something both the hubby and I will eat (he’s a bit picky!). So I need to add this to the list to try, and I can see that peanut sauce going into regular rotation!
Thanks Leanne and yes, the sauce it a great one to tuck away and use for other things, as well :)
This looks fantastic, I love lime and peanut combo. If I wanted to add some heat to this, is there any chili you would suggest?
Hi Matt, I think I would add a very tiny bit of minced Thai red pepper. Those peppers pack a punch, so I’m always careful with them. You wouldn’t need much (maybe just the tip).
Big fans of heat at our house. I was going to try adding some Thai red curry paste.
I personally don’t find the red curry paste “hot”. For heat, I would also consider the Thai red chili paste. Thai Kitchen has a good one. Easy to stir in a bit for some heat.
I remember this one well Jennifer. Tom and I both love pork tenderloin and we love that sauce! So tasty!
Thanks Mary Ann! It remains a favourite of mine, too :)
Funny you should post this today, as I made your earlier version last night for dinner. Both my parents spent their childhood in Indonesia so I am very familiar with this. I swear I could eat a bowl of the sauce alone. I like the tenderloin cooked this way. Thanks!
That is a coincidence! I enjoyed it this past week myself. It’s a favourite here, so I wanted to re-share to remind others how tasty this one is :) Thanks!
I made this last night with a couple substitutions because I didn’t have any Coriander or Limes at home. Instead of the brown sugar I used raw honey and I just added a bit more garlic. I also just had a can of regular coconut milk. This sauce was so creamy and smooth and went very well with the pork! I also used a Japanese rice noodle to go along with it instead of rice and the sauce paired so nicely with the sweetness of the noodle, they really balanced each other out well. This will definitely become a frequently used recipe in our household!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks :)
A tasty and quickly prepared meal, thanks for sharing…it looks great.
Thanks so much, Karen :)
Pork tenderloin really is a winner for a weeknight meal or company. I’m always looking for a new spin on it and this sauce is a keeper! Sweet and tangy and perfect for pork. Can’t wait to try!
Thanks Cathy. I think you will enjoy this :)
This dish is a stunner, Jennifer!! I absolutely LOVE pork tenderloin, but I have never had it with a peanut sauce before!! I bet this tastes seriously amazing! I have a feeling I will need to double that sauce because I’ll want to smother everything with it! Cheers, friend!
Thanks so much, Cheyanne and yes, doubling the sauce is never a bad idea :)
Wow Jennifer – this dish really speaks to me! I love peanuts and pork but never thought to combine the two with a rich gravy style sauce. I bet it is lip smacking good! Sharing!
Thanks Tricia :) The peanut sauce is so perfect with the pork. You’ll want to lick the plate!
That sauce!! It sounds so incredibly tasty Jennifer! Tom and I eat pork tenderloins quite often, so I’ll be getting this sauce on our menu soon.
Thanks Mary Ann. I think you will love this one. Quick, easy and delicious :)
I love pork tenderloin, Indonesian spices and peanut sauce so I know already we will love this. It looks so pretty with your bright green broccoli too! And what a wonderful technique for cooking tenderloin quickly, I love it!
Thanks so much, Chris and yes, this pork cooks up lickety split! :)
Hi
It seems like very tasty recipe !
Do you think I can using lemon juice instead Lime.
Thank you
Hi Yuri! I think the lime is an important flavour here and I’m not sure that lemon would play the same role with these flavours. Is lime hard to get for you?
I just made it ! That was amazing . Because first , I read about this ingredients are quite unpredictable taste , so I like or not.
But that was wrong ! This is very good and Coriander spice also not strong flavor at all . I was using Lemon juice instead Lime. I think you are right, maybe Lime is more tasty with this recipe . Peanuts Butter killed Lemon taste . After adding Lemon , nothing taste like Lemon . : (
But definitely I’m going to make this one again !!
Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it and you’re right, it’s hard to imagine the taste just from reading the ingredients. You must try with limes, if you can get hold of some!
I know next to nothing about Indonesian food, so this is a real treat Jennifer!
It’s a lovely combination of flavours, Sue. The coriander is so nice with the peanut butter and coconut milk :)