The Best Turkey Tenderloin Recipe
This easy turkey tenderloin recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving or a simple weeknight dinner-- juicy, flavorful, and ready to eat in under two hours. The simple marinade keeps it tender and delicious, and the recipe is easy to scale up or down for any size gathering.
Servings: 24 ounces
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons (45mL) extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons (45mL) apple cider vinegar
- 1 and ½ Tablespoons (19g) firmly packed light brown sugar or maple syrup
- 3 medium cloves of garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 24 ounces (680g) turkey tenderloin1
Need to keep track of your ingredients?Check out my Printable Ingredient List!
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, combine2 the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, or maple syrup, garlic, dried thyme, dried oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper and whisk to combine.3 Tablespoons (45mL) extra virgin olive oil, 3 Tablespoons (45mL) apple cider vinegar, 1 and ½ Tablespoons (19g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 3 medium cloves of garlic, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Place the turkey tenderloins in the bowl (or preferred marinating vessel like a large zip-top bag) and turn to coat them (or pour the marinade into the bag). Cover the bowl or zip the bag and transfer the marinating tenderloins to the refrigerator to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 24 hours (preferred).24 ounces (680g) turkey tenderloin1
- Once the tenderloins have finished marinating, preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).
- Heat a 10" cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed oven safe skillet3 over medium-high heat. Once hot, spray or pour a bit more olive oil onto the pan and swirl to coat.
- Using tongs, transfer the marinated turkey to the skillet and sear each side until browned (about 2-3 minutes per side). Try your best not to move the tenderloins while they are cooking.
- When you have seared both sides of each piece of tenderloin, place the skillet into the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a digital instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature in the thickest part of the tenderloin. It should read at least 160ºF (71ºC). If it doesn't, put the skillet back in the oven for 2 more minutes.
- When the tenderloins have reached their safe temperature, remove them from the oven, tent the skillet with foil, and let the meat rest for 10 minutes so it can continue to cook and reach the recommended 165ºF (74ºC) for safety. Tenderloin is ready to slice and serve. Store leftovers covered tightly in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Tenderloin freezes well, up to 3 months. I recommend freezing after searing, but you can freeze fully baked tenderloins, too. Thaw in the refrigerator and bake from step 6 (you may need to add a few more minutes of bake time) or warm as needed.
Video
Notes
- Turkey tenderloin size: in a 24oz pack like the one I typically use, you will typically find two tenderloins, 12oz each. In a 1 pound pack, you'll likely find two 8oz pieces of meat. I recommend cutting any large tenderloin into more manageable 8-12oz pieces.
- Adjustments per 1 pound total of tenderloin: 2 Tablespoons (30mL) olive oil, 2 Tablespoons (30mL) apple cider vinegar, 1 Tablespoon (13g) brown sugar or maple syrup, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 and ½ teaspoons dried thyme, 1 and ½ teaspoons dried oregano, ¾ teaspoon paprika, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Bake time for 8oz tenderloins is 16-18 minutes, and 16oz tenderloins are more like 26-28 minutes. Be sure you're using an instant-read digital thermometer at the thickest part of the meat to check for doneness.
- Cast iron skillet: if you don't have an cast iron or oven-safe skillet, you can use a Dutch oven. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can sear the tenderloins in a traditional skillet then transfer them to an oven-safe baking dish.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Serving: 1ounce | Calories: 51kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 47IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.2mg
