Marinated Cuban Pork Tenderloin is an easy recipe full of citrus and herb flavors!
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This recipe I put together for Marinated Cuban Pork Tenderloin is a mash up of a couple of different, similar recipes I found while browsing on Pinterest and the Food Network websites. While the pictures I saw on those websites looked amazing, for whatever reason, I really didn’t think I was going to love it. Boy was I wrong! This recipe turned out to be so good that I have already made it several more times and I think I have finally perfected my version!
It is really not that difficult to put it all together, but do keep in mind that the pork tenderloin should really have all night (or at least 8 hours) to marinate for you to be able to get the most flavor. The total cooking time is a bit longer as well, but your pork will come out super tender and so delicious…it’s hard to stop eating it!
After making this a couple times, the biggest change I have made was finally deciding to reserve some of the marinade to use as a drizzle after the pork has cooked (sorry I did not get good photos of the marinade on the pork due to lack of light!). I found that the flavoring on the outside of the pork was so crispy and so unbelievably tasty, that I just wanted more and more and more of that! Warming the reserved marinade and using it as sauce to drizzle over the sliced pork tenderloin most definitely gave me that extra flavor that I was looking for and can’t get enough of!
Fresh is always best, but if you can’t find fresh cilantro or mint, I have used dried before and the end result is still really delicious!
We go all kinds of island crazy with side dishes to go along with this recipe too! I always make plantains, cooked with a little brown sugar and vanilla extract, and my famous Creamy Coconut Rice (Jaxon requests it every single time I ask if there is anything he would like for dinner each week). I can’t even imagine what else I would make as side dishes because I love this combination so much! It’s one of my favorite dinners to make!
If you are craving a little taste of the islands, or just looking for a new and different way to make pork, go ahead and give this Marinated Cuban Pork Tenderloin a try! I think you will agree it’s worthy of ending up on your regular dinner rotation too!
Enjoy!
- 1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil extra virgin
- 1 orange zested
- 1 Cup orange juice
- 1 lime zested
- 1/2 Cup lime juice
- 1 Cup cilantro chopped fine
- 1/4 Cup mint leaves chopped fine
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano dry
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- salt and pepper
- 3-4 pounds boneless pork tenderloin or shoulder
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, mint, garlic, oregano and cumin. Reserve 1/4 Cup of the marinade. Add the remaining marinade to a large zip top bag (or a container with a lid) and add the pork. Let the pork marinate in the fridge overnight.
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place pork on a broiler pan or a wire rack over a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.
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Roast the pork for 30 minutes. Lower the oven to 375 degrees F and continue to roast for another hour to hour and a half, depending on the size of the roast, until the temperature reaches 160 on a meat thermometer.
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Transfer to a cutting board, cover with foil and allow pork to rest for at least 20 minutes. While the pork rests, warm the reserved marinade in a saucepan over low heat.
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Carve, drizzle with the reserved marinade, and serve.
** Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary. With this recipe, you will discard the majority of the marinade, resulting in much lower totals for calories and fat than what it given here.
Tara says
This pork tenderloin looks incredible! Love those flavors and it definitely sounds perfect paired with plantains and your creamy coconut rice.
Jillian says
Ok, this is mouthwatering! YUM!
Danielle says
Yum! This looks delicious! I love the step by step instructions as well.
Matt @ Plating Pixels says
I never seem to know how to flavor pork loin.. This looks like a great option!
Lisa Bynum says
I’m always on the lookout for a new pork loin recipe because I feel like I make it the same way over and over again. This really sounds delicious.
Larry King says
Hello,
I know this might sound dumb or odd, but if I were to get some thin sliced pork roast from the Kroger deli could I marinate it in in your Cuban recipe and achieve some of the flavor by heating it up for a Cuban sandwich? I really don’t want to cook a whole pork roast.
Thanks
Larry King
Lauren says
Hi Larry! I think this would work out great! I actually like to save some of the marinade to pork over the pork after it’s done cooking because I want as much of the flavoring as possible 🙂 Let me know how it goes if you try it! Lauren
kristen says
this looks amazing. I love cuban food and I love that this is paleo too! Thanks for the delicious recipe! I cannot wait to make this! pinning for later!
ourlittleeverything says
Yay! Hope you enjoy, it’s one of my favorites!
Shann says
Yum! This sounds delicious! So many great flavors that you’ve put together. Pinning to make for the family. And I LOVE plantains too!
ourlittleeverything says
I don’t think I would make this if I couldn’t get plantains! They just go so well together that now it’s how I HAVE to have it lol! Thanks for pinning!
Maggie Unzueta says
Love this recipe so much. Printing now. Can’t wait to try this out.
ourlittleeverything says
Let me know what you think!!
Candy says
Always looking for new ways to fix pork tenderloin. Sounds delicious.
ourlittleeverything says
Thank you Candy!
linda spiker says
I adore port tenderloin! Great recipe. Thanks!
ourlittleeverything says
Thanks for stopping by Linda 🙂
Ann says
Yum! I absolutely love cuban marinated anything. I got rid of all of my recipe boards on pinterest, but had to create a private one to pin to because I don’t want to forget this. Thanks!
ourlittleeverything says
I’m with you – ever since my first bite of island-inspired food, I want it ALL! haha!