This oven-roasted pork tenderloin with chimichurri brings the vibrant flavors of Argentina to your kitchen-no grill required. On the table in about 30 minutes.
I love the vibrant flavors of chimichurri sauce, combining fresh parsley, garlic and red pepper flakes. While it might be more common served on steak, one day pork tenderloin was on sale and I had some extra parsley to use. The result was this delicious chimichurri pork tenderloin!
I recently made the recipe again to pair with a Vouvray wine, which prompted me to come back and make some recipe updates.
Note: This recipe uses pork tenderloin, which is smaller and more tender than pork loin. The chimichurri sauce would also be delicious on a pork loin roast, but the cooking time and method would differ.
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What is chimichurri?
Chimichurri is a vibrant green sauce typically associated with Argentina. Some quick web research suggests the sauce has roots in Uruguay as well as Argentina.
Chimichurri is typically made from a blend of finely chopped parsley, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar or lemon juice, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Our recipe centers around the parsley, garlic and red pepper flakes, making a few minor twists from the classic ingredients. We have also made a delicious carrot top chimichurri, substituting the carrot greens for the parsley.
The name chimichurri likely derives from the Basque words “tximitxurri” meaning a mixture or “hodgepodge”. The sauce is commonly used as a marinade or condiment for grilled meats like steak, chicken, and fish.
Ingredients
Let’s highlight some of the key ingredients for our pork tenderloin chimichurri:
Fresh parsley drives the fresh flavor of chimichurri. It’s got to be fresh! But as I mentioned previously, I have swapped in carrot tops with tasty results.
Garlic: be sure to use fresh minced garlic!
Red pepper flakes bring some good kick to chimichurri. I have gotten picky about my red pepper flakes of late! I used Sicilian chile flakes from Curio, a great spice company located in Cambridge, MA. You can order from them, or use your the red pepper flakes you have available.
Vinegar: Researching for this article, I realized red wine vinegar is the classic choice for chimichurri. But I like to use champagne vinegar. You can experiment with different light vinegars if you like.
Pork tenderloin is of course a central ingredient! One pork tenderloin, weighing in at about one pound, is just the right amount for our family of three. But you could easily make two pork tenderoins here and use the same amount of chimichurri sauce. We had a nice amount of extra after making the one pork tenderloin.
Recipe tips and overview
Here is a visual overview of the steps for making pork tenderloin with chimichurri sauce. Head down to the recipe card for all the details!
Make the chimichurri. Technically you could make the chimichurri while the pork cooks to save a little time. But I like to get it ready first, as it gives time for the flavors to meld.
Start by adding the minced garlic and parsley to a small bowl.
Stir in the ½ cup of olive oil and the ¼ cup of vinegar.
Add the remaining ingredients – red pepper flakes, tarragon, thyme, followed by salt and pepper to taste. Set aside as you prepare the pork.
Make a rub by combining garlic powder and salt in a bowl – using a one to one ratio of garlic and salt. Sprinkle the rub onto the pork tenderloin, and gently rub it into the meat.
Cook the pork: Brown the pork in a large oven proof skillet medium high heat. It takes about 3 minutes total to brown the pork.
Move the skillet to a 400 degree oven, and roast for 15 to 20 minutes. Be sure to check at 15 minutes! Ours was done just right at 15 minutes; you don’t want to overcook pork tenderloin. The internal temperature of pork tenderloin should be 145 degrees when it is done.
Serve and enjoy! Let the pork tenderloin rest for about 5 minutes after it is done roasting. Slice the pork, plate, and top with the chimichurri sauce. Pass extra sauce at the table.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
You can certainly make grilled pork tenderloin with good results. We have previously used a roasting pan to cook the pork when not grilling it. But the method used in this recipe, browning the pork in an oven proof skillet prior to roasting, worked very well!
Pork loin and pork tenderloin are two different cuts. This recipe is written for pork tenderloin, which cooks quickly and stays juicy when roasted. You could make a pork loin roast with the same chimichurri sauce, but you'll need to adjust the cooking time - pork loin takes longer to cook through.
We like to use champagne vinegar. Red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar can also work. Stay away from balsamic vinegar.
Yes, you can make chimichurri ahead of time. Store it in the refrigerator. Take it out of the fridge as you start to prep the meat, to bring it to room temperature.
Chimichurri will stay good for at least a week, stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
Serving suggestions
We will get to wine pairings for pork tenderloin chimichurri in a moment. Here we will cover what to serve on your plate along with the pork tenderloin.
For my latest remake of this chimichurri pork tenderloin, I served it along with Cuban Black Beans and Rice (Food & Wine recipe).
It was an excellent side dish for this pork! We also had some corn on the cob with it.
We served the pork tenderloin with rice pilaf and sautéed cabbage, as shown above, during another recent time enjoying this recipe.
Previously, we served the pork tenderloin chimichurri with roasted sweet potatoes and sautéed greens. The recipe is also good with our mashed sweet potatoes recipe. You could also try this with our Black-eyed Peas with Collard Greens.
Wine pairings
When we first made this chimichurri pork tenderloin, we paired the dish with the 2021 Dracaena Wines Phoenix ($48, 14.4% ABV) from Paso Robles. This wine is a blend of Merlot and Malbec.
I didn’t get detailed tasting notes on the Phoenix, but I definitely enjoyed it and found it to be a food friendly blend that works nicely with the pork tenderloin chimichurri.
You could definitely go with a Malbec to lean into the Argentine roots of chimichurri.
Syrah pairing
We’ve been enjoying a variety pairings with Halter Ranch wines over the past year, another winery from Paso Robles. We’ve had the 2020 Halter Ranch Syrah ($55, 14.3% ABV) waiting in the wings for awhile, so decided to try it with this recipe.
This Paso Robles Syrah is deep purple in the glass with a rustic nose. On the palate, red fruits and notes of lead pencil. Opened for an hour before dinner, which helped it open up.
An excellent wine, but a bit big for the chimichurri pork tenderloin. I liked it better with the cheddar cheese! I would lean toward Malbec for this recipe, or possibly Pinot Noir.
White wine pairings
Pork can definitely go with either red or white wine. With the kick delivered by chimichurri sauce, that definitely opens up some white wine pairing possibilities.
I recently tried our chimichurri pork recipe with a Vouvray wine, 2023 Georges Meurgey Vouvrary ($35) that a got from StephenUncorked (see this podcast episode for more on him). This white wine from the Loire is demi-sec (semi-sweet), which was good with the flavorful sauce. If I did this pairing again, I’d enhance the heat with an extra clove of garlic and/or a bit of extra red pepper flakes.
PrintRecipe card
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce
Delicious, moist roasted pork tenderloin topped with chimichurri sauce for a burst of flavor.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: main
- Method: roasting
- Cuisine: Argentina
Ingredients
For the chimichurri sauce:
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup champagne vinegar (or other light vinegars)
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- salt & pepper to taste
For the pork:
-
- 1 pork tenderloin, approximately 1 pound
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Make the chimichurri: Add the minced garlic to a small bowl, followed by the chopped parsley. Stir in the ½ cup olive and the ¼ cup vinegar. Add the remaining ingredients – thyme, tarragon, red pepper flakes, then salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine, and set aside at room temperature as you prepare the pork.
- Make a simple rub: In another small ball, combine 2 teaspoons salt with 2 teaspoons garlic powder.
- Prepare the pork: Place the pork on a work surface. Sprinkle about half of the rub over the pork, and gently rub it into the meat. Repeat the process on the other side of the pork tenderloin.
- Heat a large oven proof skillet on medium high, sprayed with cooking oil. Add the pork tenderloin to the skillet. Cook for two minutes on one side to brown the meat, then turn the pork and cook for another minute on that side. Remove the skillet to the oven.
- Roast the pork tenderloin for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Check the pork for doneness at 15 minutes – ours came out perfectly at this point. Pork tenderloin should be cooked to 145 degrees internal temperature, but not much past that! There can still be a bit of pinkness in the pork. Let the pork rest for 5 minutes after roasting.
- Slice the pork tenderloin, plate a few medallions on each plate. Top with some chimichurri sauce, and pass extra chimichurri at the table. Enjoy!
Notes
- I like to get the chimichurri ready first, as this allows time for the flavors to meld as you make the pork. However, you could speed the process up a bit by making the chimichurri sauce as the pork rests.
- Make ahead: you can make the chimichurri sauce ahead of time, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you make it ahead of time, take the chimichurri out of the fridge when you start to prep the pork.
- Vinegar: If you happen to have tarragon flavored vinegar, you could use that and skip the dried tarragon. Other light vinegars can work, too. Sherry vinegar and apple cider vinegars are two options that can work.
Recipe variations
Here are some tasty variations of this pork tenderloin chimichurri recipe you can try.
Grilled pork tenderloin option
Pork tenderloin is also great on the grill! If you want to make this pork tenderloin outside on the grill, it’s pretty easy. Prepare the pork as directed in this recipe, and then grill for 16 to 20 minutes, covered. Check out this Grilled Asian Pork Tenderloin recipe for more specific grilling instructions.
Other ways to use chimichurri
Chimicurri is delicious on pork tenderloin, but it is also excellent served with beef, chicken and fish. Chimichurri also goes great in tacos! Here are a few recipe ideas featuring chimichurri.
Chimichurri variations
This pork tenderloin recipe features my basic chimichurri recipe, based on the classic green sauce from Argentina. But I’ve also made two delicious variations:
Awesome Avocado Chimichurri Sauce, which adds additional substance and texture to chimichurri with the additional of avocado.
Carrot Top Chimichurri, a delicious way to use the whole carrot plant! Basically carrot greens take the place of parsley in this version of chimichurri.
Amy Liu Dong
A comforting meal after a long day if you ask me, this looks good and taste good, no one can change my mind, it is awesome!