This quick, easy and delicious pork marsala with mushrooms cooks up quickly in one pan on the stovetop! Uses pork tenderloin medallions, that are quick cooking and always tender.
Why I Love This Pork Marsala!
Pork marsala is one of my favourite ways to enjoy pork tenderloin! The fact that it is quick, easy and delicious is just a big bonus! And while this dish is quick and easy for a weeknight meal, it’s also special enough for entertaining, which is always good.
I love to cook with pork tenderloin, as it is lean, cooks quickly and is always tender. The quick and easy mushroom sauce is flavoured with Marsala wine, that has such a delicious and distinct flavour and pairs perfectly with mushrooms.
This delicious pork tenderloin cooks up entirely on the stovetop in a hot skillet and is ready is just 20 minutes!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Marsala Wine: Marsala wine is a worthy addition to your kitchen, if you don’t have it already. It keeps a long time on the counter and is great for cooking. The Marsala wine I use the Italian “Sperone Dry Marsala” (bottle pictured below). You’ll usually find it with the Fortified Wines. I strongly suggest a Dry Marsala, rather than a sweet one. If you don’t have or don’t want to use Marsala, a Dry Sherry would probably work fine here.
Mushrooms: You can use whatever type of mushrooms you like. White or Cremini are the most common mushrooms to use in a sauce like this. I like to buy whole mushrooms and slice them myself, as I can make them a little chunkier and I like the little round bits :)
Heavy Cream: This is heavy, 35% butterfat whipping cream. I highly recommend heavy cream here, if you have it. It’s only 3 Tablespoons and makes for the best textured sauce, without making it heavy and rich. You could use a lower fat cream, but lower fat cream may split in the acidic wine sauce, leaving small bits of white fat in your sauce. Your sauce will also not be quite as thick. You could stir a teaspoon of cornstarch into a lower-fat cream before adding to the pan, to help with the thickening.
Recipe Video
Cook’s Notes
I love this dish with pork tenderloin, but I have also made it with beef medallions or thinly sliced chicken breast. I think it would be nice with other cuts of pork as well, such as boneless loin chops or even bone-in pork chops.
As mentioned above, this entire dish should be cooked over a bit more than medium-high heat, depending on your oven and/or the pan you are using. You want that to get a good sear on your meat, to get golden, delicious mushrooms and to reduce your sauce quickly, so don’t hesitate to nudge up the heat under your pan if needed.
Top Tip:
As this dish cooks quickly over high heat, have all your ingredients prepped, measured and handy near the stove, to add into the pan quickly and easily.
What to Serve with Mushroom Marsala Pork Tenderloin
I enjoy this dish served with rustic mashed potatoes or try a garlic mash. I will set some water to boil for the potatoes while preparing my ingredients. The potatoes then boil as the dish gets cooked on the next burner. Simply drain the potatoes, add some cream and butter and mash. Try some small new potatoes and leave the skin on. Pretty and easy!
Get the Recipe: Pork Marsala with Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 lb (900 g) pork tenderloin, (about 2 small or one large tenderloins)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 medium shallots, finely diced (can substitute red onion)
- 12 oz. (340 g) cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (or regular button mushrooms)
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry Marsala wine, not sweet Marsala (look for Dry on the label)
- 1 cup (240 ml) chicken broth
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Trim the tenderloins of silverskin and any excess fat. Cut the tenderloins into medallions about 1 1/2-inches thick. Place medallions with the cut side up and press down with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
- Heat 3 Tbsp. oil and 1 Tbsp. of the butter in a large skillet over high heat , somewhere between medium-high and high. You want a really hot pan, but not so hot that it will scorch. When the butter is melted and foaming, add the meat and sear until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Don't over-crowd the pan. Do in two batches, if necessary. Flip and cook the other side until the meat is well browned and slightly firm to the touch, about another 2 min. Transfer pork to a plate.
- Melt the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in the pan. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring for about 30 seconds, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook until all of the mushroom liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are golden, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and add the Marsala. Allow the Marsala to boil until almost completely evaporated.
- Once the Marsala has almost completely evaporated, add the chicken broth and cook until the mixture is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cream and parsley. Return the pork and any accumulated juices to the pan, and cook, flipping the pork once, until it’s firm to the touch and still a little pink in the middle (cut into a piece to check), 2 to 4 min. Taste for salt and pepper and serve. Serve garnished with additional parsley.
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!
DELISH!!! Added garlic and some thyme as suggested in comments. Doubled the sauce components for extra gravy and Served over mashed potatoes. EVERY BIT GONE!!!
So glad to hear! Thanks so much :)
This was lovely…easy to prep ahead of time and then cook and present within 10 – 15 minutes while the egg noodles boiled. I sliced my pork tenderloin 1/2″ thick and barely seared it so it would be tender at the end. I used fresh thyme instead of parsley and added it with the mushrooms because over the years I know mushrooms, thyme and sherry or, in this case, marsala go very well together and I wanted the sauce to have flavour beyond that which comes from salt, pepper and the listed ingredients. It worked out very well. Next time I will make more sauce because it was that good. Thanks for taking the time to post this.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
I am not a person who takes time out to write reviews, but I felt compelled for this recipe! It was obviously delicious and a dish that I will make again and again, but what I really wanted to give kudos to is the recipe writing skills! So often you are following along and you either know in your gut that you should be doing something a different way or something isn’t making sense, or the dish looks nothing like what you were expecting…but, every step of the way for this recipe, what was happening in your pan was exactly what the recipe described! Thanks for not only a tasty dish but also recipe directions that didn’t disappoint!
Thanks so much, Holly! I have read a lot of bad recipes over the years. I try not to be that :) So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Jennifer. I love the sound of this dish! Do you think that this would freeze without being a total disaster? Im looking for dishes like these to freeze and take on holidays so I can have a work free break while still having delicious food…mommy of three young children here!!!
Hi Carey! I think this one would freeze really well. It’s nice and saucy, which I find freeze/thaw/reheat particularly well. You might not get the benefit of the freshly seared pork, but would still be tasty :)
Hi, I don’t cook with wine, what is a good subsistute ??
Thank you, Chris
Hi Chris, You can just omit the Marsala and replace with a bit more broth and maybe a splash of red wine vinegar, for a bit of acidity. Do bear in mind that the Marsala in this one does provide a lot of flavour to the finished dish, so it may be a little plainer in flavour without it.
Just prepared this recipe. It was delicious. Thanks for sharing it with us.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks :)
Can I substitute brandy for Marsala?
Hi Frederica, I suppose you could if you enjoy the taste of brandy with meat. Marsala has a very distinctive flavour, so brandy would definitely change the flavour profile here.
Can I substitute the cream for something? Or could I just omit it? (I have a dairy allergy)
Hi Alyssa and yes, I would just omit. The sauce will still be delicious :)
If substituting red onion for the shallots, how much diced red onion should I use?
Hi Jeanne, about 1/4 diced should be good. Enjoy!
Made this tonight, so good !! Liked by all !! I did add garlic like above replies.
So glad to hear, Pam! Thanks :)
This was the best Marsala that I have ever eaten. Hubby loved it as well. Served with smashed garlic potatoes, yum.
So glad to hear Kim! Thanks :)
Was wonderful….
And I’m not a big mushroom fan
So glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks!
This was wonderful. Made it tonight and my husband said, “you can make this anytime you want!”
So glad, Nancy! Thanks :)
Just discovered your website and made this recipe last night and it was DELICIOUS! My favorite brand of Marsala. I didn’t have heavy cream and couldn’t get to the store so used 1/2 & 1/2 and it was still delicious. Look forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you Jennifer
So glad you enjoyed it, Paula! Thanks :)
Hi…I am an 80 year old disabled vet and the dish looks terrific. One thing about the mushrooms…are they fresh or canned? I am headed to the store now. But, no rating yet since I have not yet fixed it.
Hi Bob, sorry for the delay. You’ve no doubt been to the store already, but I always use fresh mushrooms. Enjoy this dish (either way :)
All I can say is this was excellent!!
So glad to hear, Alice :) Thanks!
This was delicious! I eagerly await your next fabulous recipe. I am never disappointed.
Thanks so much, Judy! So glad you enjoyed it :)
It really was delicious and simple! I did add a little garlic and some Cajun seasoning (for warmth, not heat). Thank you!
Sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks :)
An extremely good recipe the only ingredient I was forced to substitute was the Marsala Wine, instead I used a good half cup of Western Australian Chardonnay, quite dry, as in Gibraltar where I live Marsala is very hard to find, otherwise, on the whole the recipe was absolutely wonderful, many thanks for posting your wonderful recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it James :) Thanks!
Very delicious but I felt it was lacking one ingredient: garlic. Because the dish was finished, after a taste test, I decided to add a generous sprinkle of roasted garlic. Perfect!
Thanks Catt :) So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Jennifer
I too stumbled over your recipe for Mushroom Marsala Pork. I am having a dinner party for friends next week and I don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen away from them and wondered if I made it the day before to enhance the flavour, or make the sauce and fry the pork and add to the sauce just before serving? What I don’t want is the pork to dry and go tough.
Look forward to your reply
Hi Wendy, This is a great entertaining dish, as everyone loves it! And fortunately, you have to go some to dry out pork tenderloin :) That said, I don’t think I’d make it the day before. You could make it ahead though. It really does cook up so quickly, it won’t take a lot of time “on the day”. I would cook it up as close to your guests arriving as you feel comfortable, then pop it in the fridge. You’ll want to under-cook the pork just a bit, to account for re-heating. Then cover your dish with foil and pop into a 350F oven just until re-warmed, probably 20 min? (depending on how cold it was going into the oven, so maybe take out of the fridge for a 10 minutes or so before putting in the oven, to keep the re-heating time to a minimum.) Not bear in mind, I haven’t actually done this :) This is just what I would do if I were setting out to make this one ahead. If you want to be completely sure, why not give it a test run over the weekend?
I stumbled on your site through another one and I was immediately drawn to this recipe for Mushroom Marsala Pork Tenderloin. I printed the recipe, went straight to the store and bought the ingredients and made it last night. It was so delicious and we can’t wait to try it with chicken. I did have to settle for another brand of Marsala as I didn’t have time to go to another store. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thank you.
Jill
Thanks Jill and so glad you enjoyed it. It’s one of my favourite quick dinners and equally as nice with chicken, if you get a chance to try it!
This looks delicious. Can’t wait to make this for when company comes over! Can I make this in advance or do I need to serve immediately?
Hi Ruchi, If you want to enjoy this one at it’s best, I would make fresh. That said, if you’d rather not and just enjoy your company, you can make this ahead. You may need to thin the sauce a bit and be sure not to over-cook the pork. Other than that, should be good. Enjoy!
This looks delicious. I want to make it this Sunday for 9 people coming back after church. can I make this in a slow cooker?
Hi Diane, This particular recipe is probably not suited to slow cooking. This one is about quick-searing the lovely tenderloin. Slow cooking would do totally different things to the meat, in more of a steaming/braising way. I imagine there are marsala recipes for the slow cooker if you wanted to try another one. I would definitely not use a pork tenderloin in the slow cooker though. Perhaps a whole loin cut of some sort.
Tried this recipe for the first time tonight and it turned out absolutely amazing! The pork was succulent and tender and the Marsala sauce was rich and delicious. Huge hit and will definitely make it again! Loved the time incriminates in the recipe and all were very accurate and very helpful!
Great to hear! One of my favourite ways to enjoy pork tenderloin :) Thanks!
Made this last night and fell in love with it. The pork was so tender and flavorful. Directions and measurements were spot on. Looking forward to trying with chicken as well. Served with mashed potatoes and peas. Perfect Fall comfort meal!
So glad you enjoyed this! It’s one of my favourite quick and delicious dinners :) Thanks!