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:
I have made at least 20 of your recipes and they were all easy and very flavourful. I made your Arabian Feast for our Xmas eve dinner and it was fabulous. That chicken shawarma was incredible. Keep going Nagi, your food is amazing .
I made the pork Marsala tonite and even tho I didn’t have Marsala or any sweet wine, I used red and added a bit of sugar to sweeten. It was amazing and will definitely make again.
Thanks so much Michelle! I’m so glad you enjoy my recipes and it’s good to know this works even without marsala!
Oh . . . Nagi . . . I have pinned a lot of your recipes, but last night made this recipe and WOW!!! I am an American living in Singapore and my husband was in Jakarta all week eating at restaurants. He loves home cooking and was BLOWN AWAY by this dish. I am now committed to trying (and not just pinning) more of your recipes. And don’t stop with all your notes. They are really helpful. I used Marsala like the recipe states, used shallots and thyme. I bought fresh thyme for another recipe and it keeps in the fridge way longer than any other herb. Spending so much on fresh herbs here in Singapore, hate to toss any. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I posted this on Facebook and you will be earning more blog/Pinterest followers.
Thank you for the lovely compliment Jeanne! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, and thank you for sharing them on Facebook and Pinterest! N x
Nagi, I made this tonight and we enjoyed it so much-delicious and tender. I’ve always steered clear of pork roasts, etc because in the past it always resulted in dry, grey pork but, followed your recipe exactly with terrific results! THANK YOU.
Thanks for trying my recipe Lei! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for coming back to let me know! N x
Hi Nagi, What percentage cream do you recommend? Thx!
Hi Jen! I use heavy pouring cream but honestly, any cream will be fine. Though full fat is better than low fat!
Made this last night and it was really Delish!! I’m not a massive Pork fan but my hubby is so I thought I’d give this a go. It was super easy, I cooked the Pork loin exactly as you said and it came out really juicy & super tasty! Some people have mentioned the sauce was a bit sweet and it is a little but it goes perfectly with the Pork. Also mashed potato can be a little bland (unless you add wads of butter!!) but combined with this sauce its just yum!! I have quite a bit of the sauce left over so will grill up some chicken breasts tonight & finish it off! It got a standing ovation from the hubby so its on the rotation. Thanks again Nagi!
(Oh when I took the lid off the Marsala it bought back so many memories of nicking sips of my mums Marsala & Coke when I was a kid! Ahh the 70, good times!!)
Oooh! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Vikki!!! Thank you so much for trying my recipe 🙂 Ummm….speaking of sweet……Marsala & Coke?????
I know, she was quite the sweet tooth! Makes my teeth ache just thinking about it!! ?
Everyone that I cooked of this for rated it as five-star.
I thought was great, but a little bit too sweet for me and only rated it a four-star.
However having said that, everybody wants me to cook it for a special occasion coming up shortly
Thanks for trying my recipe Andy! Yes, I can see that this sauce might be considered too sweet for some. You must have a savoury tooth like me! Glad to hear that the votes are in to make it again though!! N x
It was great! I did reduce the amount of chicken broth, a I find it overwhelms the Marsala, but that’s a personal preference. I also lie to chop the sliced mushrooms, I don’t like big slices on my plate. Despite being super careful, still burned myself on the skillet hot out of the oven when I was cooking the shallots – I wish someone would make skillets with heat proof handles!
This dish is going into our regular meat rotation. Hubby and I really liked, my boy – who is not a big creamy sauce lover, ate it but was not crazy about it. I think for him I will boil some small pasta, maybe shells or orechiette, and pretend it’s a pasta dish, that will sell him on it.
Finally – Nagi, I fully support the idea of a fancy dishes that are easy to make at home. In fact, it’s brilliant and I hope you start doing one of those a week.
Hi Beatrice! I hear you. I’m ok taking it out of the oven, the one that always gets me is when it’s on the stove. I always forget how hot the handle gets! I’m so glad you enjoyed this!!! It’s probably a GOOD thing your boy doesn’t like creamy sauces. 🙂 He’ll save himself a lot of calories in his lifetime! Wish I didn’t like creamy sauces…. N x
Ha ha… Nagi, that’s when I got burnt too, when the skillet was back on the stove. I always forget to use mitts to hold onto it when I am mixing the new stuff in after removing whatever went in the oven, and of course the handles are still burning hot. I used very inelegant language:-) The dish made up for it though!
I love creamy sauces, so it’s always a struggle in our house to come up with dinners that everyone likes. My son can eat anything with tomato based sauces (which I hate), I love creamy sauces and everything Indian / Thai / etc. which hubby doesn’t like, and so on. I love the recipes on a few blogs, yours included, because I can try new lovely new dishes that fit the bill, plus every once in a while a miracle happens and we all enjoy something, like your fantastic Salisbury steak. So keep them coming!
I started putting an oven mitt on the handle to remind myself. But I always forget! WHY oh WHY can’t someone make an oven proof skillet with a handle that stays cool??? 😉 I’m so glad you are finding things on my site that you enjoy, thanks for trying my recipes Beatrice! N x
Ooh this looks delicious! I love marsala wine and I can imagine how good this would taste!
Isn’t it awesome in cooking??? Secret ingredient! 🙂
Made this last night Nagi – it was so simple and so delicious
thank you so much
Sue
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sue, thanks for letting me know! N x
Wow! On my list of “todo” recipes! First I need to grab some wine and mushrooms (I’m out, how can that be???)
I have made many of your recipes, and they have not failed me! Thanks for the inspiration!!
Thank you for trying my recipes Rhonda! I am so glad you enjoy them! N x
I love pork with mushrooms and I bet the marsala adds such a lovely flavour to the sauce.
It sure does!!! 🙂 N x
Hi,
First time here and the recipe makes my stomach growl in anticipation!
But I am confused about your instruction to “take it out of the oven when it is 150F/65C – 15 minutes at 200C/390F. ” What does that mean? Take it out when the meat is 150F then put it back into the oven set at 390F?
Hi Dan! thanks for the question, I tighten up the writing 🙂 That section is for if you have a meat thermometer! Hope it makes more sense now N x
Thanks, but not really. I understand to take the meat out when its internal temperature is 150F. But what the heck is the 390F about?
Thanks for posting such great recipes! 🙂 I have just stumbled across your website and there are SO MANY recipes I am looking forward to trying. Thanks again – much appreciated.
Hi Brittany! Welcome to my site, I’m so thrilled to hear that you see recipes here you like!! I do hope you try some and if you do, I would love to know what you think! N x
Hi Nagi! Made this tonight…OMG so good! Made smashed potatoes and steamed asparagus to go with. Gary is zonked on the couch and my belly is full! I always have Marsala wine on hand and there was exactly one half cup in the bottle! Trip to the Liquor Barn soon!! 🙂
You did??? WOAH DOROTHY!!! You ROCK!!!! Thank you so much for letting me know!! PS Smashed potatoes…..I really have to get that on my blog!! PS So disappointed I didn’t have a pic of Gary zonked on the couch in my inbox…..
Hi Nagi! Gary was so happy with this that he asked for an encore presentation tonight with the leftovers! I’m all good with that…no cooking, just reheat and eat! It is 95 degrees here today and I have the air on, but not particularly interested in turning on the stove or oven! 🙂
Oooh! I am SO FLATTERED!!! Tell Gary how happy I am to hear that he enjoyed this so much! N xx
Yep – know that particular pork recipe of Matt Moran’s: didn’t he repeat it on my favourite ‘Paddock to Plate’? I must admit I am rather a vermouth than marsala gal but must repeat this oft-made protein/sauce recipe your way!! PS. Can’t find Dozer anywhere, and, tell the truth. were I on my own, I would have licked that plate clean alongside him 🙂 !!!
Did he??? I must’ve missed that episode! Did he make the sauce with vermouth, tarragon, stock and cream?? The recipe I shot for him had that sauce but it was with a crispy skin chicken with a charred baby cos and risoni. SO DELISH!!!!
I was thinking … pork, stock, cream, hmm. Apples and pork … What would you think about substituting Calvados for the marsala?
I think YES!!!! Brilliant idea Mike, if you love it please let me know so I can update the notes as a recommendation!!!
Marsala wine came from the gods to compliment our dishes!! Yep! I know that’s true because every time I use Marsala the dish goes up several tiers. Pork is the perfect foil for a Marsala sauce. YUM!! Can’t wait to make your sauce and see how it compares to mine 🙂 xoxoxo
Oooh!!! I’m off to see if you’ve shared yours!
Just did my Apricot Chicken in marsala wine too. This is one of my favorite spirits to use in cooking, so good. This looks saucily delicious! Did Dozer get to lick the spoon?
No alcohol for puppies!!! Don’t tell me Kodi and Olli licked the spoon?? 😉
The boys only eat dog food and the occasional cold little baby carrots! The alcohol should burn off when cooking, or else I’m in BIG trouble! 😉 😉
Err…..so it burns out 98% 🙂 Look it up!
So many varying thoughts on this… You need to cook a sauce for at least 20 to 30 seconds after adding wine to it to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Since alcohol evaporates at 172°F (78°C), any sauce or stew that is simmering or boiling is certainly hot enough to evaporate the alcohol.
Oh my gosh!!! I need to look into this more. Because I read somewhere that even after cooking for ages and ages, there is still the tiniest trace of alcohol left. I deglaze the pan with marsala or any other time I cook with wine so definitely longer than the prescribed minimum per your guidelines 🙂 N x
Nagi,
Your recipes are always delicious! I am never afraid to try any
of them. Your notes are the best. Thank you for spending so
much time making them.
Do you use Sweet or Dry Marsala? I am not sure this brand in California, USA.
Thank you!
Thank you for the question Dixie! 🙂 I just added it into the notes – I use sweet because I think sweet is lovely with pork but it is SO delicious with dry too because it’s a bit sweet still. And if you want more sweet, just add a touch of brown sugar or honey! N x
Hi Nagi! I make chicken marsala, but I never though to make it with pork tenderloin. I just took one out of the freezer to make this for dinner tonight! Of course I’ll make smashed potatoes along with it! PS you didn’t mention to add the mushrooms back into the gravy… 🙂
Great minds think alike, I was contemplating whether to make chicken marsala or this!!! THANK YOU for picking up the mistake, I will fix it now! Owe you one Dorothy!! N x
Hi Nagi,
I cant believe i looked through all the comments and no one asked if marsala cooking wine could be substituted for the actual bottle of wine? I have the cooking wine but no alcohol. Just wondering if this will change the flavor at all and i definitely will need to go venture out to the liquor store for a sweet or dry marsala wine.
She was too busy licking the plate!
YOU GOT ME!