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AIP Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Sauce is an easy but super special dinner, when you need a recipe you can count on, but don’t want to spend a long time cooking. This recipe is also Paleo, Keto, Gluten-free, Low FODMAP, GAPS and Whole30.
Baked Pork Tenderloin is in a class all its own — because it’s the easiest meat to bake that ends up turning out so well. The outside gets a little crusty, and the inside is tender, juicy and flavorful.
With this recipe you’ll get the culinary delights of an herb coating, citrusy pan juices and a rich decadent Blueberry Sauce.
Ingredients in AIP Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Sauce
A simple spice rub is used on the meat before it bakes. The ingredients are: sea salt, rosemary, ginger, garlic and Italian herbs (I list several to choose from in the recipe, or you can use a blend).
The pan juices the pork cooks in come from: the pork itself, a little citrus juice and water. Fruit juices are great with pork, adding to the meat tangy, sweet undertones. Plus, the acid from the citrus helps the flavors in the meat become more pronounced and juicy.
But, nicely, the meat doesn’t marinate first. So this recipe is just: rub on the herbs, drizzle over the citrus, and bake!
To make the Keto version of this recipe
There are almost no changes to this recipe to make it low carb and Keto-friendly.
The main sub to make is in the Blueberry Sauce: sub the pure maple syrup for your favorite low carb syrup. You will also sub the shallots in the Blueberry Sauce for freshly minced ginger, which is an option either way.
Other than that, you may wish to use less Blueberry Sauce, as that’s where the carbs are. If you have a full serving of sauce, this recipe has 9 grams net carbs. So, have half a serving to reduce net carbs in your dinner to 4 grams.
How to make the Blueberry Sauce
The Blueberry Sauce cooks up really fast, so don’t let the little ingredients (like garlic and herbs) make it seem complicated.
Cook the sauce while the pork tenderloin bakes, and then keep it warm.
To make Blueberry Sauce:
- Sauté shallots or ginger (you choose which one you prefer, or use both).
- Add blueberries, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, dried ginger and sea salt, and simmer to reduce for 5 minutes.
- Serve sliced Pork Tenderloin with hot or warm Blueberry Sauce.
Storage and reheating of AIP Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Sauce
Pork Tenderloin leftovers are good cold, and so is the Blueberry Sauce.
But if you want your meat and sauce reheated: warm meat gently in 300 degree F oven for about 10 minutes.
To reheat the Blueberry Sauce: heat over medium-low heat in a saucepan, stirring occasionally.
Covered pork and sauce last in the fridge well for 3 days.
AIP Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Sauce (Paleo, Keto, Whole30)
Equipment
- 1 baking or casserole dish
- 1 saute pan
- oven
Ingredients
- 2 to 2½ pounds pork tenderloins see Notes section below recipe
- ¼ cup water
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons citrus juice fresh: lemon, lime or orange
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary powdered: To do this, place dried rosemary sprigs in a coffee grinder, and process until it's powdered. If you can't get powdered rosemary, you may use dried rosemary sprigs.
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs any combination of thyme, sage, oregano or marjoram
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder optional; omit for Low FODMAP
- 1 teaspoon dried ginger powder
Warm Blueberry Sauce (This sauce can be made the day ahead and gently reheated to serve, if desired.)
- 2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen (and slightly defrosted)
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar (omit for GAPS)
- ¼ cup shallots minced, or sub the shallots for 2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger root (do this for the Keto & Low FODMAP versions)
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil divided
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary minced
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup or low carb syrup for Keto version; (use honey for GAPS, and reduce cooking time of sauce for GAPS)
- 1 clove garlic optional; omit for Low FODMAP
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder dried
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly grease a large baking or casserole dish. Pierce tenderloins all over with a sharp knife or fork. Use your fingers to rub oil onto all sides of the meat.
- Whisk together sea salt, herbs, garlic powder and ginger. Sprinkle mixture over tenderloin(s), patting it onto the surface of the meat on all sides. Place in prepared baking dish and drizzle citrus juice over the top. Pour the ¼ cup water into the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until outside is browned and crispy in spots and centers are cooked through to desired doneness, or a bit longer for larger tenderloins. (You may like to check for doneness with an instant read thermometer. The tenderloin is done as early as the middle internal temperature on the thickest part reads 138° F or up to 145°. This temperature range is ideal if you allow a 5 minute rest period before slicing.).
- Spoon pan juices over the meat. Allow to rest in the baking dish for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice into ¾ inch portions. Garnish with warm Blueberry Sauce. (To plate the pork, you may also spoon the Blueberry Sauce onto the plates first, and then fan the pork on top.)
Blueberry Sauce
- In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tablespoon of the coconut oil with the olive oil. Add the shallots, garlic and rosemary. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add blueberries, balsamic, maple syrup, dried ginger and sea salt. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the blueberries soften and the sauce begins to reduce and thicken. Reduce to medium-low as needed.
- Stir in remaining 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. The sauce will thicken even more as it cools. Serve sauce hot or warm.
Notes
Halve, full or double the recipe
You may halve this recipe, by using 1 to 2 very small pork tenderloins. Make the full recipe with 3 to 4 small, or 1 to 2 larger tenderloins. OR, you may even double the ingredients for the seasonings and serve a lot of people with very large tenderloins.Pro serving tip
After removing Pork Tenderloins from the oven, turn off the heat, and place oven-safe plates or serving platter into the oven. The plate(s) will warm while the meat rests. Then, when you serve, the warm plate(s) will help to keep the meat and sauce warm.Nutrition
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Similar recipes I think you’ll enjoy
All of the following recipes are great for the same variety of diets that this Pork Tenderloin dish serves. They’re also quick to make.
- Easy Chinese Hot and Sour Stir Fry (features pork tenderloin)
- Spicy Honey Lime Chicken Thighs
- Maple Rosemary Chicken (not Whole30)
- Ginger-Lime Salmon
- Asian Meatballs Sheet Pan Dinner
- Paleo Fried Chicken (not Keto)
Elizabeth says
This was so good!!! I made it tonight with two large pork tenderloins and had plenty of sauce. I coated the tenderloins with the spice rub, seared them well in a large cast iron skillet, then added the orange juice, some ghee and sprigs of rosemary to the skillet before putting it in the oven to finish cooking through. After a rest, I sliced and poured pan juices over and then topped with the blueberry sauce. We all loved it. Thank you!!
Megan says
Yay, Elizabeth, sounds great! Thanks for sharing what you did. What a beautiful meal, and I’m so happy you loved the recipe!
Claudia says
Great!
Megan says
Thanks, Claudia! I hope this means you made it and loved the recipe! 🙂
Lisa says
The recipe says this is a Whole30 recipe but maple syrup (or any syrups) are not Whole30 compliant. Did I miss something? (always a possibility!) Otherwise, it sounds delicious. Thanks in advance for any clarification.
Megan says
Hi Lisa, great question. I used to limit my Whole30 recipes to zero sweeteners, but then I was asked to review a cookbook that was Whole30 Approved (which is a very stringent and exclusive branding), and it was full of recipes with small amounts of sweetener. The food branding evolved to include recipes with sweetener as long as the focus of the recipe wasn’t dessert-like and the sweetener was just one small ingredient in a recipe. The cookbook even had a desserts section, crazy!! I like the original Whole30 better, personally, because completely removing sweets really has a place and can be very helpful for overcoming a variety of issues, but this recipe is compliant based on the new protocol. I hope that helps! So, it’s up to each individual if they want to include a small amount of recipes like the sweet-savory Blueberry Sauce in their meals. I do think it’s a balanced meal with the Pork Tenderloin and a side dish of veggies.
Paula Fischer Boldt says
Just finished making the blueberry sauce using fresh blueberries. This recipe never thickened at all as shown in the photos. Went over ingredients several times and not sure what the thickening agents in this ingredient list would even be to get this particular combo of ingredients to thicken since the berries did not have any effect in creating it on their own. The taste is wonderful with the pork and all else great but very thin and watery like sauce consistency.
Megan says
Hi Paula, thank you for the feedback, and I’m sorry this happened to you. Here are a few potential reasons: your berries had less pectin/more water than mine do, your Medium heat on the stove top was not the equivalent to mine (the recipe says to simmer until the liquid cooks off, and the berries are thickened; it sounds like yours created more water so would require a longer cooking time than the 5 minutes I need for this). I’m so glad you enjoyed the pork and flavors. Another option if you choose to make it in the future and can’t cook off all the liquid is to strain off some of it, or to whisk 1 to 2 teaspoons of tapioca flour into a little room temp juice, broth or water, and pour that in at the end for a brief simmer while you stir, and that will thicken it right up.
Erinn says
Hello! Is there a variation of this recipe where I could use bone-in pork chops instead of a tenderloin? It sounds delicious! Thank you.
Megan says
Hi Erinn, I haven’t tried that variation, but you can absolutely do that. The main thing is to prevent over-cooking, so watch and check for doneness on the early side to prevent dry pork chops. 🙂
Ed says
This was great. I never thought of blueberry going with pork but it goes so well. I changed orange juice to pineapple juice and inches sauce i used half the water and used pineapple juice for the other half but everything came out awesome. Thank you for your creation
Megan says
Hi Ed, great to hear, and so glad you enjoyed. I love pineapple juice, so your sub sounds great, and definitely good with pork. I will have to try your version. 🙂