Italian Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Recipe
This soft and tender pork tenderloin is stuffed with pesto, onions, mushroom, bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and freshly grated parmesan cheese filling and wrapped in bacon!
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.
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