My pork tenderloin with peppers and sweet onions is an easy, delicious dinner that’s perfect for any night of the week! The pork is incredibly juicy and tender and picks up amazing flavor from roasting on a bed of colorful peppers and onions.
Pork tenderloin is one of our favorite cuts of meat. It’s lean and, as the name states, very tender. We’ve shared a few different pork tenderloin recipes, and this one fits in so well. I love sausages with peppers and onions, which inspired this dish.
I love serving this family style with pork on top of peppers and onions. It’s stunning on the table. For more recipes like this, see our pork tenderloin with apples or this simple, juicy pork tenderloin. We also have these skillet pork chops, which would be just as good with peppers and onions.
Key Ingredients
- Pork Tenderloin: I use two pork tenderloins (or pork fillet if you’re in the UK) for this recipe. If you see silvery skin on the meat, trim it with a knife. This recipe also works nicely with thick pork chops.
- Mustard and Thyme: After searing the pork in a skillet, I brush it all over with a mixture of whole grain mustard, fresh thyme leaves, and pepper.
- Peppers, Onions, and Garlic: I roast the pork on a bed of sliced bell peppers and onions. I prefer red, orange, or yellow peppers for color.
How to Make Pork Tenderloin with Peppers
Everything for this easy meal happens in the same pan. You’ll start by searing the tenderloins so they are browned on all sides. You do not need to cook them completely (that will happen later in the oven). When the pork is brown on all sides, remove it from the pan and add more flavor with mustard, thyme, and black pepper. Adding these after browning makes sure they don’t burn.
Leave the pork to the side, and then briefly cook sliced bell peppers and onions with some garlic and more herbs.
When they are soft and taking on some color, place the pork tenderloins on top and roast them in the oven until they are cooked to 145°F in the middle. Let the pork rest before serving and enjoy! They are especially good with a side of mashed potatoes an sauerkraut!
Pork Tenderloin with Peppers
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
The trick to the best pork tenderloin is to sear the pork on all sides before roasting. In our recipe, the pork is browned on all sides and then baked on top of a bed of onions and peppers. Most often, you will find pork tenderloins sold in packages with two tenderloins. One tenderloin should generously serve two people and will most likely serve three. One note, “pork tenderloins” and “pork loin” are two different cuts of meat. Pork tenderloins are much smaller and take less time to cook.
You Will Need
2 pork tenderloins, about 1 ½ pounds each
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions, sliced
3 bell peppers, sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic cloves (3 cloves)
1 tablespoon whole ground mustard or Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Set aside a wide oven-safe skillet, like a cast iron pan. Use a regular skillet and a baking dish if you do not have one.
2Trim each tenderloin of any silver skin (this can be tough when cooked). Use a small, sharp knife, sliding the blade underneath the silver skin and then outward to remove it.
3Pat the pork dry with paper towels and season with 1 teaspoon of salt.
4Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed oven-safe skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot and shimmers, add the pork tenderloins and cook, turning every few minutes, until evenly browned all over, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a large plate or cutting board. (The pork will not be cooked through).
5Keep the pan used to sear the pork on the stove over medium heat. Add the butter. When the butter is melted and bubbling, stir in the onions. Cook, stirring often, until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the bell peppers, garlic, one teaspoon of thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring every minute or so, for 5 more minutes.
6Use a pastry brush (or use your fingers) to rub the seared pork with mustard, two teaspoons of thyme, and a generous amount of black pepper (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon).
7Place the seared pork tenderloins on top of the onions and bell peppers, then slide the pan into the oven. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until an internal thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 145°F.
8Transfer the tenderloins to a large plate and cover with aluminum foil. Let rest for about 5 minutes.
9To serve, slice the pork into 1-inch slices, then serve on top of the onions and peppers.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- You need a large oven-safe skillet for this recipe. If you do not have one, you can brown the pork and partially cook the onions and peppers on the stove. Then, transfer the peppers and onions to a baking dish and place the pork on top.
- Substitute the fresh thyme with 1 teaspoon of dried thyme.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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I followed the recipe closely, except I did it on the grill. Seared the tenderloin on the grill, and just put on the onions and peppers in a cast iron skillet on the closed grill. Turned out great!
Excellent – great dish to make & enough left overs for a second night lunch or supper. We had tacos the second night. I followed the rec exactly as written but shorten the searing & pepper / onion cookingtime because pork tenders were small. Make sure you have a temp gauge for the meat & check it often for doneness.
Delicious! I used sweet mini peppers with the onion – outstanding!
Fantastic recipe ! My family loved it. We served it with noddles. 🙂
Great idea! So glad you loved the recipe 🙂
delicious, followed recipe to a teee, will make again!
Yay! So happy that you loved it 🙂
DELICIOUS!!!!! My husband is picky as can be. He loved this. Even with the mustard. I also liked it, will be making again for sure adding mushrooms.
Adding mushrooms sound delicious!
I made the recipe true to directions except I added 1/2 head of sliced cabbage. It was so good!!! We will have this again!
I made some substitutions to the dry rub but I got a beautiful sear on my tenderloins and once they finished cooking in oven on top of a bed of peppers and onions it was amazing! Thank you. Great, tasty recipe!
That’s great, Rachel!
I’ve never been fond of pork tenderloin mainly cause I didn’t really know how to cook them. My partner went to the store and came home with two. Goggled recipe and I loved it! Such an easy recipe, pact with flavor and most of all my tenderloin came out awesome not overcooked and was really juicy. Thank you I’ll be using this recipe again and again
What sides do you do with this dish?
We love mashed potatoes or serve with tortillas and turn them into tacos.
I often would make peppers and onions as a side to go with pork tenderloins, and it never occurred to me to cook them together. Results were great; very tasty. I only had one tenderloin so scaled down the recipe accordingly. Cooking times for the onions and peppers were shorter as a result. Out of the oven, the peppers and onions came out very tender. Onions might have come out a bit dark, because the quantity was less, but was very sweet because of the caramelization. Also, I had some miso paste on hand and mixed it with the mustard and coated the tenderloin with that mixture. Because I didn’t have herbs, I substituted with berber spice. Thanks for the excellent recipe!