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!
I just made this recipe last night for dinner- IT WAS AMAZING!!! I did use more mushrooms than you did- about twice as many- because we love mushrooms- otherwise followed the recipe to the letter. So good!!! I definitely will make this again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Sandra :) Thanks so much!
I’m having a dinner for 14. Can I make this ahead of time and heat in the oven or low in a crock pot? Should I keep the meat separate from the sauce?
Hi Debbie, the biggest risk with making this ahead is that the pork will end up over-cooked. I would prepare it entirely ahead, but undercook the pork slightly. Keep it all together in an oven-safe dish, then reheat in a 350F oven loosely covered with foil until warmed though (but no longer, as the pork will continue cooking the longer you re-heat it.) You’ll know it is warmed through when the sauce is simmering in the oven.
I made this for the first time and my guests were totally impressed. Great recipe! I want to make it again using boneless center cut chops – will they be as tender?
Hi Lauren and so glad you enjoyed it! The centre-cut chops will not be as tender, unfortunately. You could brine them though, which I find helps a lot with chops.
Hello! Have you ever substituted with yogurt instead of cream?
Hi Diane and no I haven’t. The reason to use heavy cream here is that the higher fat means it doesn’t split/curdle with the acidity of the wine. As yogurt is much lower fat, it may split in the sauce. If you’re ok with that, then yogurt should work. Also, you could just skip anything creamy if you like. The sauce will still be nice.
Why do you list 2 tbsp unsalted butter and 1 tbsp butter??
Hi Liz, the butter is separated into 2 entries, as they are added at different times in the recipe. I find this a more intuitive way to list it, rather than saying 3 Tablespoons butter, which some people may mistakenly add all at once at the wrong time :)
Jennifer…you had me at Classic Raisin Bread! Finally a raisin bread recipe without cinnamon! I have nothing against cinnamon…in cinnamon rolls, but I love raisin toast. And it’s great to make a grilled turkey sandwich on!
But, when I saw your Mushroom Pork Marsala I jumped right to it to read it. I’m going to make it but I’m going to differ with you on the dry marsala. I always use sweet. I just made a chicken marsala with prosciutto and it was superb and used sweet marsala. I’ve tried dry marsala in other recipes but the sweet isn’t as “sweet” as it might sound. Please think about it. But I’m going to make that raisin bread this week!! Stay tuned…
To each their own, but sweet marsala is just too sweet for me in a savoury dish. I’ve always been happy with the results from dry marsala myself. Enjoy the Raisin Bread, Caryn :)
I’m curious to know what you think of it with the sweet Marsala- I used the dry and LOVED it with that.
As promised, quick, straightforward and delicious. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it, Faye! Thanks so much :)
Just delicious! I’ve made this a few times and it never disappoints!
So glad you are enjoying it, Pat :) Thanks so much!
Oh my…..this is one of the easiest and most delicious recipe. Fit for an evening meal for the family to an elegant dinner for guests. I followed it to a t. Thanks for sharing. I’ll certainly be making this again and again !
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Mary Ellen :) Thanks so much!
This recipe is easy to make and tastes like a dish you would find at a 5 star restaurant. Definitely going to make it again & again!
Thanks so much, Jeff :) So glad you enjoyed it!
absolutely delicious, no changes required, so glad there are leftovers!
So glad to hear, Natalie :) Thanks so much!
You list the nutritional but what is that based on. One serving? Or the whole recipe. If it’s for one serving what is the serving size?
Hi Karen, the nutritional information is always per serving and the serving size relates back to the total number of servings specified for the recipe. So in this case, it is 1 of 4 servings, or 1/4 of the finished dish.
Love the Marsala Sauce with this recipe!
Me, too Rose! I could drink it :)
I have made this numerous times for my husband and I, and we love it. My question is…I would love to make it for guests but don’t want to be cooking in the kitchen while they are here….can I pre make it and reheat it? Will it be the same?
Hi Peggy and so glad you are both enjoying it! As for making it ahead, honestly, I don’t think it would be exactly the same. Maybe try it as an experiment once before making for guests. If I were to try it, I would undercook the pork just slightly, to allow for the extra cooking from re-heating, just so it doesn’t get dry. Re-heat the pork in the sauce just until warmed through and thin the sauce with a bit of broth or water, if needed. If you try it let me know it worked out.