Juicy pork tenderloin served with a creamy Mushroom Marsala Sauce that’s SO GOOD it will take serious self control not to the lick the plate! This is one of those recipes that is easy enough for midweek but fancy enough for company.
Cooking the pork tenderloin whole keeps this lean healthy cut of pork lovely and juicy!
So basically, this sauce is like gravy on steroids. Good steroids, that is. Not the kind that naughty athletes use. 😉
Have you ever had Marsala Sauce before? Or made anything with Marsala? Marsala is a fortified wine, so it’s thicker and sweeter than normal wine. It has many layers of flavours in it which makes it a fantastic secret weapon in the kitchen, one that chefs in posh restaurants use regularly.
It holds true for alcohol generally. A splash of wine, sherry, marsala or even brandy to deglaze a skillet after cooking a piece of protein = instant sauce. (PS “Deglaze” simply means simmering a liquid in a skillet to get the flavour of the brown stuck-on bits into the sauce. Fancy word, simple in reality!)
For this particular recipe, I’ve made a basic gravy but taken it up a notch by adding Marsala.
Scratch that. The Marsala takes this up 10 notches. This sauce….it’s so good it’s ridiculous. I could honestly drink it straight out of the jug. I want to drink it straight out of the jug!
While my plating up effort above might look a little sloppy and doesn’t compare to what a posh restaurant could do, I can absolutely promise you this – the flavour will knock your socks off and rival anything you can get at fine dining restaurants.
And this is easy. Easy, easy, easy (picture me jumping up and down as I chant that!). It’s as easy as 1-2-3:
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Sear pork tenderloin, plonk in oven to finish cooking, remove from skillet to rest;
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Cook mushrooms, remove, then cook onion and garlic; and
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Add Marsala wine, chicken stock/broth then cream. Simmer to reduce and that’s when the magic happens and this incredible gravy sauce is created…
Actually, it’s funny I mention posh restaurants because I actually did a photo shoot for a client for a Matt Moran recipe. (Matt Moran is one of the top serious chefs / restauranteurs in Australia). And the sauce for his recipe was very similar to this, except he used vermouth instead of Marsala. It was that photography assignment that prompted me to share this recipe. 🙂
Hope you consider trying it! – Nagi x
Pork tenderloin recipes
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Also try serving pork tenderloin with this Creamy Mushroom Sauce – just sear/roast pork per this recipe
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Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Marsala Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb / 500g pork tenderloin (Note 1)
Creamy Marsala Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter (salted or unsalted)
- 5 oz / 150g mushrooms , sliced (I used Swiss Brown)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or onion
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml marsala (Note 2)
- 2 cups / 500 ml chicken broth , low sodium
- 5 tarragon leaves (optional) (thyme is also lovely) (Note 3)
- 1/4 cup / 65 ml cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
- Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over high heat. Sear on all sides until nicely browned.
- Place in the oven for 15 minutes for the faintest blush of pink (pictured) or 18 to 20 minutes for no pink. See Note 4 for internal cook temperatures.
- Remove pork from skillet onto a plate, cover with foil and set aside in a warm place while you make the sauce.
Creamy Marsala Sauce
- Melt 1 tbsp butter in the same skillet over high heat. Cook mushrooms until browned, then remove.
- Reduce heat to medium high, melt 1 tbsp butter,. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes or until onion is softened. Add flour and mix.
- Add marsala, cook until mostly evaporated (about 1 minute). Add tarragon and chicken broth, whisk until dissolved. Bring to simmer and cook until the liquid reduces by half - 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add cream and mix, then return the mushrooms and pork into the skillet as well as juices pooled on the plate. Simmer for 1 - 2 minutes until the sauce thickens into a thin gravy consistency (it will thicken more as you serve).
- Transfer to serving platter with the gravy on the side or poured over the top. Serve with mashed potatoes of course!! (Here is my Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes recipe)
Recipe Notes:
Non alcoholic option: This sauce is very much based on the Marsala flavours but if you need to make this non alcoholic, you can leave the marsala out in which case this will be like a creamy gravy. SWEET OR DRY? I use sweet, I think it goes beautifully with pork. But dry is absolutely gorgeous too, and if you want a touch of sweet just add a wee bit of sugar or honey into the gravy! 3. Tarragon is a herb commonly used in French cooking. It has a very unique flavour, almost like aniseed. It goes spectacularly well with alcohol based creamy sauces like this one, and it's based on a recipe by Matt Moran, one of Australia's most famous chef's, that I made and photographed for a client. You can sub with thyme or leave it out. I promise the sauce is delish even without! 4. Internal Temperature of Cooked Pork (using a meat thermometer inserted into the middle of the thickest part):
* For a slight blush of pink, which is how I like it (per photo), take it out of the oven when the internal temperature of the pork is 150F/65C - takes 15 minutes at 200C/390F. After resting for 10 minutes, it will be 155F/68C.
* For no pink, take it out of the oven when the internal temperature of the pork is 155F/68C - takes 18 minutes at 200C/390F. After 10 minutes, it will be 160F/70C
Nutrition Information:
Excellent… this is the steak Diane of pork!
DELISH. I WOULD HAVE ADDED SOME SALT TO THE SAUCE. OTHERWISE VERY GOOD,
I’m so glad you loved it Paula ☺️
We used your recipe tonight but had these gorgeous thick pork chops. They were so large, we decided to split one chop. The marsala sauce was absolutely divine. Thank you for your post!!
I’m so glad you loved it Merrill!
I used a sweet muscadine local wine. I didn’t have any Marsala. Perfect. Also had to use the time instead of tarragon. Ahhhmaazzinngg!!
Sounds divine!
Oops….meant to leave 5 stars!!!
Thanks so much!
I did lick the plate!!! Delicious!!!!
Winner!!
Sauce didn’t thicken and it needed more flavor. Kind of bland. Will add more garlic, salt and spices next time.
I am lactose intolerant any suggestions ?
Hi Anja, you could always substitute with lactose free cream ☺️
This was excellent. I used 2/3 dry and 1/3 sweet of that half cup Marsala. All sweet would have been too much for me. I used five thyme sprigs. My sauce wasn’t as thick as the picture but perfect for the meat and mashed potatoes. Might try the vermouth next time.
Sounds fabulous Joanne!
Going to try this, but how much dried tarragon would you suggest if fresh is not an option ???
Hi James, you can substitute with thyme or sub 1/4 tsp dried – or even leave it out, it will still be delicious!
I made the sauce tonight in advance of a dinner party. I wanted to time the prep. It tasted delicious but it didn’t thicken. Any ideas?
You remembered step 2?
The melted butter and then flour mixed together form a roux, which will definitely thicken the sauce one it’s reduced enough. If you’d prefer to have it thicken without as much reducing of the sauce, you could certainly use more butter and flour in step 2.
This was fantastic, my family loved it! I was able to make the entire meal in 30 minutes. I used 2 pork tenderloins almost 3 pounds of meat and there was plenty of Marsala sauce. Thank you for such a delicious and elegant recipe, It’s also a great recipe to make for company!
🙌🏻 🙌🏻 LOVE hearing that! Thanks for letting me know Theresa! N x
As expected, another Nagilicious recipe! Easy to make and left everyone at the table asking for thirds. Didn’t have fresh tarragon, but the dried worked just fine for a finishing touch. No improvements needed for this recipe 🙂
Ms. Nagi, thank you (as always!) for the hard work you put into developing these recipes!
Thank you for the terrific feedback Joey! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this! N x
I love your recipes! I made this last night and it was delicious!
Great to hear Patty! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! N x
Hi, Nagi,
From sunny CA, Flap would like to know if the saucing ingredients could be doubled for a larger size tenderloin? Love the marsala, some for me and some for the meat.
Love the photo! As always, you inspire my mundane culinary efforts!
Absolutely!
Hello Nagi,
I had a pork tenderloin – and a decision to make; this recipe or the bacon wrapped tenderloin? I chose this one … ‘cos I can drink a glass (or two!) of marsala whilst waiting for the meat to cook and I prepare the sauce!!
The result was amazing – the meat was beautifully (ahem) moist(!) and the flavours in the sauce were so stimulating for the taste buds to explore. So quick, so easy, and so impressive. Thank you
I would take issue with your statement that a bottle of marsala “lasts for years and years”! 125+ mls in the sauce, and two glasses in me! The bottle will be lucky to last the week!! xx
You mean….JUICY??!! 😂
Can I substitute cooking sherry for the Marsala?
Hi Joanne! It will taste different because marsala has a distinct flavour to it but sherry is a brilliant sub and I often use sherry or cognac or brandy in my marsala sauce. So in short – YES!
Another fine dish from your website.
Used double cream.
We absolutely loved it
The sauce was amazing and such a simple recipe
Thank you
That’s wonderful to hear Gareth! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed this! N xx
Just wondering…what kind of cream? Heavy whipping cream??? I am going to try this. Looks delicious.
Hi Mary! Heavy cream is ideal but to be honest, even pure pouring cream works just fine, just requires an extra 30 seconds or so simmering 🙂 N x
Hubby gave dinner 15/10 tonight! This is def going into my Keepers!
I couldn’t get whole Tarragon leaves so I did approx 1/4-1/2 tsp – is that about right?
Thanks again Nagi – you have truly taught me to cook.