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This sheet pan pork tenderloin with asparagus is juicy, flavorful, and so easy! The pork is rubbed with spices, seared, and roasted to perfection alongside tender asparagus spears. It’s a simple one-pan dinner that’s perfect for busy families.
Building your pork tenderloin lineup? Try my grilled pork tenderloin, Instant Pot pork tenderloin, and honey garlic pork tenderloin next!
The Best Roast Pork Tenderloin Recipe
This roast pork tenderloin with asparagus is an easy sheet pan, one pan dinner for busy weeknights and still special enough for the holidays. The pork gets a simple garlic-herb spice rub, the asparagus roasts alongside with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and everything comes out tender, juicy, and full of flavor with minimal cleanup. Finish with fresh thyme and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for a sweet-tart pop.
Why You’ll Love This Roasted Pork Tenderloin
- One pan dinner. Make this roasted pork tenderloin with asparagus, and you won’t have to worry about making a bunch of sides for dinner. There’s also minimal clean up!
- Perfect for special occasions. This pork recipe looks beautiful plated, and it’s great for special occasions and guests. You could even serve it for a holiday!
- Easy. Nothing in this recipe is complicated. In fact, the whole recipe is ready in just about 30 minutes.
What You’ll Need
Let’s break our ingredients down between the roasted pork tenderloin, the spice rub and the asparagus. Check out the recipe card toward the bottom of this post for specific amounts.
- Pork tenderloins: The slender, quick-cooking cut, and not pork loin.
- Olive oil: Used for both the tenderloin and the asparagus. Avocado oil or light olive oil work just fine.
- Garlic cloves: Thinly sliced so the slivers melt into the meat. Minced garlic or garlic powder works in a pinch.
- Fresh thyme: Simple, fresh garnish. Parsley or chives are great swaps.
- Pomegranate seeds (optional): Little sweet-tart pop on top. Dried cranberries or toasted pistachios give a similar vibe.
- Spice Rub seasonings: Salt, black pepper, sweet paprika (or smoked), cayenne (optional), garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried basil, dried rosemary (lightly crushed), dried parsley. Italian seasoning can stand in if you’re short on herbs.
- Asparagus: Trim the woody ends. Green beans or broccolini work if asparagus is out of season.
- Salt and pepper for veggies: Season the asparagus simply before roasting.
How to Roast Pork Tenderloin
This delicious sheet pan dinner recipe comes together in about 30 minutes. Here’s how it’s done!
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 425°F with the rack in the center, and line a rimmed sheet pan with foil.
- Prepare the pork tenderloin. Trim the silver skin from the tenderloins, pat them dry, and make a few small slits. Rub with olive oil and tuck garlic slivers into some of the slits.
- Make the spice rub and season the meat. Stir together the spice rub, then coat the pork on all sides, pressing so it adheres.
- Brown the pork. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and sear the pork: about 2 minutes on the first side and 1 to 2 minutes per remaining side, until nicely browned.
- Prep the asparagus combine. On the sheet pan, toss the asparagus with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper; spread it in the center. Lay the seared tenderloins on top, side by side.
- Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the thickest part of the pork registers 142 to 145°F (start checking at 18 minutes).
- Rest and serve. Transfer the pork to a cutting board, tent with foil, and rest 10 minutes. Slice and serve with the asparagus; garnish with fresh thyme and pomegranate seeds if you like.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t Skip the Searing: The searing process doesn’t just lock the juices into the pork, but it also adds some nice smokiness and makes for a crisp exterior. It doesn’t take much time or effort, and I promise it’s more than worth it!
- Season the Asparagus to Taste: Feel free to season your veggies with the amount of salt and pepper that works for you. You could even pump up the flavor by adding a splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice or a few red pepper flakes.
- Make It a Truly One-Pan Meal: Instead of using a sheet pan, you can prepare this entire meal with your large oven-safe skillet. Just arrange the asparagus spears around the pork and stir them around a few times throughout the cooking process.
- Let The Pork Rest Before You Slice It: Don’t cut into that meat right after it’s done cooking! Let it rest under a tented piece of foil for 10 minutes first to allow the juices to redistribute.
Serving Suggestions
You really don’t need to make a side dish for this meal since the pork tenderloin already comes with roasted asparagus. But if you’re in the mood for a feast, the flavors of this sheet pan dinner pair wonderfully with these mashed sweet potatoes or my delicious garlic butter cauliflower rice. These creamy garlic mashed potatoes are also a fave!
How to Use Leftovers
There are tons of things you can do with your leftover oven roasted pork tenderloin. Get creative with it!
- Shred it or dice it and make pork tacos
- Add it to sandwiches
- Serve it as a salad topper
- Dice it up for pork fried rice
- Add it to pasta
- Toss it in soup
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Sheet Pan Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
For the Pork
- 2 (1 lb each) pork tenderloins
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced into slivers
- fresh thyme leaves, for garnish
- pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)
For the Seasoning Rub
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
For the Asparagus
- 1 pound fresh asparagus, don't use thin stalks of asparagus
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 425°F and set the rack in the middle. Line a large sheet pan with foil and set aside.
- Prepare the pork. Trim the tenderloin of fat and any silver skin and pat it dry with a paper towel. Pierce the meat with a knife in several places. Rub the tenderloins with 1 tablespoon olive oil all over, and stuff some of those piercings with slivers of garlic. Set aside.
- Make the spice rub. In a small mixing bowl combine salt, pepper, sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, basil, rosemary, and parsley; mix until incorporated.
- Season the meat. Add the seasoning to the meat, then use your hands to rub the spices into the pork until evenly coated. Set aside.
- Brown the meat. Place a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat to heat up. When hot enough, add 1 tablespoon olive oil; wait several seconds, then add in the pork tenderloins and sear on one side for two minutes, or until you’ve got a golden crust. Continue to sear the remaining sides for another one to two minutes per side until the whole tenderloin is well-seared.
- Prepare the asparagus. In the meantime, place the asparagus in the center of the prepared sheet pan. Toss the asparagus with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper; mix around until combined.
- Combine and roast. Arrange the seared tenderloins, side by side without touching, lengthwise on top of the asparagus. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 142°F to 145°F degrees.
- Finish and serve. Remove the pork from the oven, transfer it to a cutting board, tent a piece of foil over it, and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves and pomegranate seeds and serve.
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Let them cool first and get everything into the fridge within 2 hours.
- Freezer. Freeze the pork tenderloin for up to 2 months; skip freezing the asparagus. Wrap tightly or use a freezer bag with the air pressed out.
- Reheat. Warm gently in a skillet with a splash of broth, or microwave it in short bursts.
We loved this recipe and will add it to our regular rotation of dinners!
This was so delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I noticed you mentioned cumin in the write-up prior to the recipe but there’s no mention of it in the list of ingredients for the rub.
How do you keep the asparagus hot while the tenderloin is resting?
I know for sure this would be a huge hit in my house!
This pork tenderloin looks to have the perfect texture! Such a festive dish!