Italian Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
This soft and tender stuffed pork tenderloin features pesto, onions, mushroom, bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and freshly grated parmesan cheese filling and wrapped in bacon!
- I’m a big fan of pork tenderloin and I work with it a lot! (A lot, a lot!) I couldn’t wait to share this amazing stuffed pork loin recipe as soon as I created it.
- I’ve compiled as many tips as I could into this post, so DO read them because they are quite helpful.
- This recipe is quite impressive and at the same time, it’s actually very simple to make.
- Pork is a nice and mild tasting meat and pork tenderloin is also super soft and tender but much more juicy. That’s why you can put so many different ingredients together with pork because it goes well with just about everything.
- Just as an extra layer of flavor, the whole thing is wrapped in bacon and you can never go wrong with wrapping something with bacon?!
How to Butterfly Pork Tenderloin
- Clean the pork: make sure to remove as much silver skin as you can, if there is some still attached! It’s touch and very unpleasant to chew through.
- To butterfly pork tenderloin: Use a sharp knife to cut the tenderloin through the center, lengthwise but NOT all the way in half! The goal here is to be able to butterfly the tenderloin, or open it like a book.
- Tenderize to even it out, make it thinner, and more tender: Place a sheet of plastic wrap over each opened pork tenderloin to prevent splatter. Use the flat side of a meat tenderizer to pound it. (Don’t use the spiked side or it will shred the pork.)
How to Stuff Pork Tenderloin
- Guess what? You can make the filling AHEAD OF TIME time store it in the refrigerator, in an air-tight container. Heat it up before stiffing the pork
- When starting to stuff the pork, remember to season the pork with some salt and pepper.
- When getting pesto, scoop out just enough for the recipe first so you don’t contaminate the jar. Divide pesto among the tenderloins and spread evenly.
- Divide the filling as equally as possible among the two tenderloins.
- Remember to plate the stuffed pork seam down.
- When wrapping the pork, do overlap each strip slightly so that they stay in place while baking. Make sure to tuck in the loose ends of bacon under the previous ones to keep everything in place.
How to Cook Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
- Use a baking sheet what is large enough to fit both pork tenderloins comfortably. Insert the leave-in meat thermometer probe into the center of the thickest part of the larger tenderloin to safely track the temperature.
- Bake the pork tenderloins at 400°F for 45-50 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches approximately 145°F. Once fully cooked, take out the tenderloins, and let them rest on the cutting board before slicing for about 10 minutes.
Tips for the Best Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
- The drippings from cooking this stuffed tenderloin will be fantastic! You can either make an incredible Pan Dripping Gravy with it, or use a larger baking sheet to roast the tenderloin and spread some chopped veggies or potatoes around it about half way through cooking.
- If you want to crisp up the bacon a little bit, switch your oven from baking to broil when the pork reaches about 140°F. Make sure the over rack is set 6-10 inches away from the broiler to avoid burning the bacon. Watch it carefully, and let the bacon crisp up for just a couple of minutes.
How much pork tenderloin per person?
- The two stuffed tenderloins should serve approximately 6-8 people.
- The best thing to do is to estimate about 3-4 slices per person, depending on how many sides you serve and how thickly you cut the pork.
- With most meats, the standard serving estimate is 1/2 lb. per person. You can always lessen that a little by serving hearty side dishes if needed.
What to Serve with Pork Tenderloin
- Potato Side Dishes: mashed potatoes, hashbrown casserole, roasted potatoes, scalloped potatoes, roasted fingerling potatoes.
- Vegetable Sides: sautéed green beans, sautéed mushrooms, Italian roasted asparagus, creamy Italian asparagus, cauliflower mac and cheese, Brussels sprouts with bacon.
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Italian Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Recipe
This soft and tender stuffed pork tenderloin features pesto, onions, mushroom, bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and freshly grated parmesan cheese filling and wrapped in bacon!
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Servings: 6 serves 6-8
Calories: 732kcal
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 2.5 lb pork tenderloin 1 package of 2 tenderloins
- 1 lb bacon
- salt
- black pepper
Filling:
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil oil drained off
- 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
To Prepare The Tenderloin:
- Take pork tenderloins out of the package and pat them dry with a paper towel. (Most pork tenderloin packages will come with 2 tenderloins inside.)
- Place the tenderloins on a large cutting board and remove as much silver skin as you can, if there is some still attached.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the tenderloin through the center, lengthwise. Cut almost all the way to the other side but NOT all the way in half! You will want to be able to butterfly the tenderloin (open it like a book). Repeat with the other one.
- Place a sheet of plastic wrap over each opened pork tenderloin and use a flat side of the meat tenderizer to pound it. Make sure the whole piece has an even thickness of about 1/2 inch. Take plastic wrap off and discard it.
Prepare the Filling:
- Preheat a medium cooking pan over medium heat and add oil. Sauté diced onion and bell pepper until it starts to soften and add diced mushrooms.
- Stir and season the vegetables. Let them cook, stirring occasionally, until completely cooked. In a mixing bowl, mix together cooked vegetables, diced sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
- Season the pork with some salt and pepper and then spread half of the pesto all over one piece and the other half over the other.
- Divide the vegetable filling equally among the two tenderloins and spread it out. Roll up the tenderloin lengthwise and place seam down.
- Wrap each tenderloin in half a pound of bacon, overlapping each strip slightly so they stay in place. Make sure to tuck the loose ends under the previous one to keep in place.
Cooking Stuffed Pork Tenderloin:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place the wrapped stuffed pork tenderloins onto the rimmed baking sheet, large enough to fit them comfortably.
- Insert the leave-in meat thermometer probe into the center of the thickest part, of the larger tenderloin to track temperature. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until internal temperature reaches about 145°F.
- Take out and let the tenderloins rest on the cutting board before slicing for about 10 minutes.
If You Need to Crisp Up The Bacon:
- If you want to crisp up the bacon a little bit, switch your oven from baking to broil when the pork reaches about 140°F.
- Make sure the over rack is set 6-10 inches away from the broiler to avoid burning the bacon. Watch it carefully, and let the bacon crisp up for just a couple of minutes.
Video
Notes
- Storing: Store leftovers in an air-tight food storage container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
- Reheating: You can reheat individual portions in a microwave a few seconds at a time until heated through. To crisp up the bacon, you can reheat it on stove-top over medium heat (reheat bacon side down).
Nutrition
Calories: 732kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 180mg | Sodium: 946mg | Potassium: 1238mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1219IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 168mg | Iron: 3mg
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Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in December 2021.
Categories:
Christmas Dinner Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Easter Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Pork Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I made this for my family and it was a hit!
I made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it!
Can I use Prosciutto instead if bacon?
Yes, you can. Cooked prosciutto flavor does change quite a bit once cooked but if you like the flavor then it will work fine. I recommend a thicker cut that you dice cold and sauté like in the recipe.
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