Pork Tenderloin with Cabbage Slaw and Applesauce

⏱ 20 min prep · 🍳 50 min · 🍽 4

Pork Tenderloin with Cabbage Slaw and Applesauce – served and ready for dinner – recipe from Zenframe

In-laws are due at five, and dinner still comes together if the pork goes in with a probe thermometer already in the thickest part. Pork tenderloin forgives being ignored while you referee a shoe crisis in the hallway — pull it at 153°F (67°C) internal and let it rest under foil while you sort things out.

The slaw is shredded cabbage and crisp apple in a sharp, tangy dressing, and the applesauce simmers down in the same pan the meat browned in, so there's one less pot in the sink afterward. Budget a good hour from turning on the oven to sitting down.

Put it on the weeknight rotation for a night you're home from mid-afternoon anyway. The thermometer removes the guesswork, so a dinner that looks like a Sunday roast can just as easily land on a Tuesday.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Forvarm ovnen til 120°C (varmluft). Fjern sener fra svinekjøttet og krydre godt med salt og pepper.

  2. Varm smør i stekepanne på høy varme. Brun kjøttet på alle sider og tilsett salvieblader i smøret.

  3. Legg kjøttet over i stekebrett og stek i ovnen til kjernetemperaturen er 67°C.

  4. Hell eplejuice i stekepannen for å hente ut smaken. Ha væsken over i en liten kasserolle og tykn med maisenna. Smak til med salt og pepper.

  5. Skjær rødkål og selerirot i tynne strimler. Stek i olivenolje med balsamicoeddik til kålen er litt myknet.

  6. Tilsett epleskiver i kålblandingen og stek videre. Smak til med salt og pepper.

  7. La kjøttet hvile i 10 minutter, deretter skjær i skiver.

  8. Anrett med kålblandingen, kjøttskiver og eplesaus. Pynt med friske urter.

This dinner earns its keep in households where the youngest isn't ready for a sharp, vinegary slaw yet: plate some plain boiled or roasted potatoes alongside, and the rest of the table can help themselves to the cabbage. Kids tend to go straight for the pork and the applesauce without a fight, and that combination — not the slaw — is what keeps this one in rotation on our side. It also survives someone getting home from practice ten minutes late, because the meat holds its temperature fine under foil while everyone finds their seat. The applesauce usually gets a second life in the fridge, too — leftovers are just as good spooned over porridge or waffles the next morning as they are next to more pork.

FAQ

Can I use pork loin or pork sirloin instead of tenderloin?

Yes, both work, but pork loin is thicker and usually needs 15-20 minutes longer in the oven. Either way, pull the meat at the same internal temperature the recipe calls for, measured at the thickest part. Pork sirloin is leaner than tenderloin and can actually finish a little faster, so start checking the thermometer earlier than you'd expect.

Why a probe thermometer instead of a timer or gut feel?

Tenderloin is a thin, uneven cut, so time alone tells you very little about how far along it actually is — two pieces from the same pack can need a five-minute difference. A probe thermometer pulled at 153°F (67°C) gives you the same result every time, whether your oven runs hot or cold. It's also what makes this dinner safe to start when you know it'll get interrupted by homework or a kid who needs help with something halfway through.

Can the slaw and applesauce be made the day before?

Applesauce holds up fine fully made ahead — just warm it gently right before serving. Shred the cabbage a day ahead and keep it cold and undressed, but wait to toss in the apple and dressing until just before you sit down, or it turns soggy and the apple browns. Set both up as a half-prepped station in the fridge and dinner is halfway done the moment you walk in the door.

My kids won't eat the cabbage slaw — what do I give them instead?

Boil some potatoes or put out rice, and the youngest have something neutral to fill the plate with while the rest of the table takes the slaw. Most kids eat the pork and applesauce without any argument, so it's rarely the whole dinner that's the problem, just the one tangy side. You don't need to cook a separate kid version of anything except that one component.

How long do leftovers keep, and do they work for packed lunches?

Pork, slaw, and applesauce all keep well separately in the fridge for two to three days in airtight containers. Cold, thinly sliced pork with a little applesauce on bread is genuinely better than reheated, so it's worth setting a few slices aside specifically for tomorrow's lunchbox. The slaw doesn't travel as well, since the dressing weeps as the day goes on — better to finish it at home.

More recipes