Grilled Pork Tenderloin (Best Marinade!)

Sliced Marinated Grilled Pork Tenderloin (close-up photo).

Grilled Pork Tenderloin (Best Marinade!)

Marinated Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Pineapple, Grilled Veggies, and Garlic Herb Butter is my go-to summer grilling recipe. Pork is marinated in a sweet-savory pineapple-ginger mix, grilled, and drizzled with a soy-garlic herb butter sauce. It’s impressive yet easy—perfect for BBQs, parties, or potlucks.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword grilled pork tenderloin

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Marination 2

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 695kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

Pork Marinade

¼ large pineapple peeled, cored, and chopped
¼ cup neutral oil canola, avocado
¼ cup light or dark brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce regular or low sodium
2 tablespoons fresh ginger roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic smashed
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 lb pork tenderloin (2 tenderloins 1 pound each)

Veggies + Pineapple

2 large red bell peppers cut into eighths lengthwise
2 large zucchini sliced into lengthwise pieces
½ large pineapple cut into ½ inch thick half-moons
1 tablespoon neutral oil canola, avocado
salt and pepper to taste

Shoyu Garlic Herb Butter

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce regular or low sodium

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Marinate Pork + Season Veggies

In a blender or food processor, blend the pineapple, olive oil, dark brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic cloves, salt, and black pepper until smooth.
Pour the marinade into a gallon ziploc bag or vacuum seal bag. Lightly crush the thyme and rosemary to release their oils and add to the bag.
Poke the pork tenderloins all over with a fork and to the bag, removing excess air, seal, and massage to coat well. Marinate in the fridge for 2-4 hours. Remove 30 minutes prior to grilling.
When you pull the pork from the fridge, toss the bell peppers, zucchini, and pineapple in oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Grilling

Heat your grill pan or grill to medium-high heat and brush with oil once hot.
Remove the pork from the marinade, squeezing the excess marinade off with your hands. Discard the marinade.
Grill the pork for about 15-20 minutes, around 7-10 minutes per side depending on the thickness of your tenderloins. For medium rare, pull the pork tenderloins at 140 degrees and let rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes. The internal temperature will continue to rise as it rests.
While the pork rests, grill the veggies and pineapple until charred, around 2-3 minutes per side.

Make Shoyu Garlic Herb Butter

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the butter becomes fragrant with garlic.
Turn off the heat and whisk in the soy sauce. Set aside.

Serving

Slice the tenderloin into rounds and plate with the grilled veggies. Drizzle generously with the shoyu garlic herb butter. Serve alongside your favorite side such as jasmine, basmati, or plain white rice. Mashed potatoes are another great option. Enjoy!

Notes

Marination time: Because the marinade has pineapple which contains an enzyme called bromelain, I don't recommend marinating the pork for more than 1 day. Bromelain breaks down proteins and tenderizes them, but over tenderization can make the pork mushy and mealy. In fact, don’t go over 4 hours with the marinade—pineapple is powerful and can actually start to break down the pork if left too long. 4 hours is my sweet spot.
If using a grill pan indoors, don’t forget to turn on your vent to help remove the smoke while cooking the pork.
If you’d like to lessen the smoke while cooking, you can always preheat your oven to 400 degrees, sear the pork on both sides in a grill pan until you have grill marks, then transfer the pan with the pork to the oven and cook for about 12-15 minutes or the internal temperature reaches 140-145 degrees (medium). Let it rest with tented foil for 5-10 minutes.
No grill pan or grill? Pan sear it! Just use a heavy bottomed skillet instead such as cast iron.
The safe internal cooking temperature for pork tenderloin is 145°F (63°C) - according to USDA. Use an instant-read thermometer to ensure the tenderloin reaches 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part.
Let it Rest: Always pull pork at 140°F (for medium) internal temperature and let it rest. The temp rises as it sits—juicy, not dry! Letting the pork rest for 10 minutes makes a world of difference. It locks in all those juices!
Crush Those Herbs: Crushing the thyme and rosemary before tossing them in the marinade helps release way more flavor than just throwing them in whole.
Warm Herb Butter: I always make sure the herb butter is just warm when serving—it melts better and soaks into the pork and veggies perfectly.

You will need these supplies:

knife
cutting board
measuring spoons
gallon ziploc bag
mixing bowls
small pan
grill pan or grill

Nutrition