Creamy Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Orzo, Spinach, and Mushrooms

Creamy Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Orzo, Spinach, and Mushrooms is a quick and easy 30-minute ONE-PAN comfort food! This delicious restaurant-quality meal features flavorful, creamy herb sauce made from scratch with fresh thyme and garlic. Try this recipe; it might become a new family favorite recipe for how to cook pork tenderloin!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword how to cook pork tenderloin, pork tenderloin, pork tenderloin medallions

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 474kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

Pork

1 lb pork tenderloin
3 tablespoons olive oil separated
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mushrooms

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz baby bella mushrooms or crimini
salt and pepper

Creamy orzo

1 cup orzo uncooked
2 cups chicken broth
5 cloves garlic minced
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbs from Provence
1 teaspoon fresh thyme no sprigs, just leaves
½ teaspoon paprika or more
¼ teaspoon salt to taste
5 oz fresh spinach
½ cup half-and-half
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste
fresh thyme

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cook pork tenderloin

Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Slice pork tenderloin into 1-inch rounds (medallions). Coat the medallions with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the hot skillet. Add seasoned pork tenderloin medallions. Cook the pork for about 4 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet.

Cook mushrooms

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sliced mushrooms to the same, now empty, skillet. Cook sliced mushrooms, generously seasoned with salt and pepper, on medium-high heat for about 1 or 2 minutes until lightly browned and softened. Remove half of the cooked mushrooms from the skillet to a plate.

Make creamy orzo

To the same skillet with half of the cooked mushrooms, add uncooked orzo, chicken broth, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, fresh thyme, paprika, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer (medium-low) and cook for about 5 or 10 minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the orzo is cooked through.
Add fresh spinach during the last 5 minutes of cooking the orzo.
Add ½ cup of half-and-half. Stir everything on low-medium heat.
Season with salt and more smoked paprika, if desired.

Assembly

Stir in the remaining half of the cooked mushrooms. Add pork tenderloin medallions to the orzo and cook them on medium heat for about 4 minutes until they are cooked through but not overcooked (a fine line!).
When serving, sprinkle a small amount of red pepper flakes over the pork and orzo, and top with fresh thyme.

Notes

What is half-and-half? Use ¼ cup of milk + ¼ cup of heavy cream instead of ½ cup of half-and-half.
Make it DAIRY-FREE. You can use unsweetened coconut milk, oat, cashew, or almond milk instead of half-and-half.
Make it GLUTEN-FREE. Use GF orzo or cooked rice (jasmine or basmati).

Nutrition