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A fabulous sheet pan recipe you'll want to make over and over, this pork tenderloin is surrounded by cauliflower, fennel, and grapes, with a delicious balsamic sugar glaze! Paleo and AIP
I sure do love easy sheet pan meals. I've said it before and I'll say it again – I'm a LAZY cook and while I love to come up with new recipes ideas for this blog during the day, I really don't love cooking dinner.
I just have so many other things I'd rather be doing! (Or if I'm in a flare-up of my Hashimoto's, so much couch sitting to be accomplishing)
So sheet pan meals and slow cooker meals are really some of my biggest go-to kind of things in the evenings. Yes, I do have to prep the sheet pan meal, but then I get to go sit down or do something else for a bit. RARELY will you find me cooking an entire meal on the stove!
This Sheet Pan Fennel Pork Tenderloin is one of those easy, hands-off meals. It's got a lovely sweet, balsamic vinegar crust and is accompanied by cauliflower, licorice-y fennel, and sweet grapes that take on a nice caramelization when roasted.
Just a wonderful late fall/winter meal!
Notes for this pork tenderloin:
• I don't use an extra sauce on the veggies as the pork releases a lot of juices in the process of cooking and I find this to be a flavorful sauce in itself. So my recommendation is to pour the juices from the pan over the veggies when serving. However, if you feel you need more, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and oil works well.
• Make sure you get seedless grapes as having to de-seed grapes either before cooking or while eating is no fun.
• If you don't like or can't tolerate balsamic vinegar, feel free to use red wine or white wine vinegar instead.
How to make this meal coconut-free
If you don't tolerate coconut well, no worries. Just use maple sugar or honey instead of the coconut sugar in the recipe and then replace the coconut aminos with chicken or beef broth with a pinch of sea salt.
Or you could also make your own coconut-free coconut aminos using this recipe by Mel Joulwan. I recommend making a batch of this and freezing it in an ice cube tray, giving you approx 2 tbs of “coconut aminos/soy sauce” per ice cube to use whenever you need it!
Other Paleo and AIP Pork recipes:
Winter Bowls (Paleo,Whole30, AIP) – A delicious, comforting whole meal of kale, roasted sweet potatoes, pomegranate, and warm pork tenderloin, this bowl is sure to become a favorite.
Cranberry Pork Bowls (Paleo, Whole30, AIP) – This warm dinner recipe combines ground pork and flavorful fall ingredients like butternut squash and cranberries to make a wonderful, easy meal.
Maple Blueberry Breakfast Sausage (Paleo, AIP) – This sweet-and-savory breakfast sausage recipe is surely going to become a favorite as it has been for my clients for years! Juicy blueberries and sweet maple give it so much delicious flavor!
More Helpful AIP Resources in the Freebie Library
If you find this recipe helpful, you may really enjoy the resources in my Paleo & AIP Freebie Library! There's a “dump” freezer meal plan, a list of AIP-compliant breakfast toppings, and so much more. Plus, you'll get even more ideas sent to your inbox! Get the password here.
Sheet Pan Fennel Pork Tenderloin Recipe
If you make this sheet pan meal, I'd love to hear how it turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune!
Sheet Pan Fennel Pork Tenderloin (Paleo, AIP)
Ingredients
For the veggies:
- 1 head Cauliflower (or 4 cups florets)
- 1 bulb Fennel
- 2 cups seedless Grapes
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder (or 1 minced garlic clove)
For the pork tenderloin:
- 1/3 cup Coconut Sugar (or Maple Sugar or Honey)
- 2 lb Pork Tenderloin
- 2 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp Coconut Aminos (see notes for coconut-free version)
- 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Cut the leaves off of the cauliflower and then cut into florets (if not already done so). Trim the stems off of the fennel and then cut the bulb in quarters. Remove any wilted outer layers and then slice the fennel quarters crosswise into 1/2 inch wide slices. Put the cauliflower, fennel slices, and grapes on the sheet pan. Drizzle with the oil, salt, and garlic powder and toss to coat. Make a space in the middle to put the pork tenderloin.
- Pat the tenderloin dry with a paper towel. Whisk together coconut sugar, garlic, coconut aminos, and balsamic vinegar. Pour over pork tenderloin, then turn the tenderloin over a couple of times to make sure all sides are coated. Place in the middle of the baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, using tongs to turn the pork over halfway through. Let the pork rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving with a big scoop of the veggies and the sauces from the pan!
Notes
Nutrition
Love the flavors – fennel and cauliflower with the grapes is a nice change with the pork. I made it with just a few loin chops. Yummy AND Healthy!