My Cranberry Glazed Turkey Tenderloin is so simple and elegant. This is the recipe you must make for a smaller holiday dinner. Succulent and absolutely delicious, the cranberry glaze adds a burst of sweet and tart flavor that makes this dish irresistible!
Made in under an hour, this turkey recipe really is no-fuss. So even if you are set on making your traditional whole turkey this year, this could be made any night of the week. It’s that easy to put together it doesn’t have to be made just for a special occasion...it's so easy that you could pull this off any night of the week!
A gluten-free and cozy holiday dinner idea. This delicious turkey tenderloin is refined sugar free, Paleo, healthy, and could be modified for Whole30.
The glaze for turkey tenderloin is so easy to make. All you do is cook up cranberries (fresh or frozen) with fresh orange juice and coconut sugar (you could use brown sugar if you're not Paleo). It just takes minutes to cook and thicken up. Soon your tangy and gorgeous cranberry topping is ready for the turkey and whatever is extra gets served on the side.
What is a turkey tenderloin?
Turkey tenderloins are simply a skinless and boneless part of the turkey breast. They don’t always have it at the market. And you may find it sometimes next to the pork tenderloins. They are super tender and juicy.
It’s important to watch the time when cooking them because they could dry out. I find by marinating them in even one hour before cooking them makes them even more soft and tender.
For a small holiday occasion, this could be just the turkey you want to put together. There is no comparison to roasting a whole turkey, but this is really easy to make and not that much clean up.
How big are turkey tenderloins?
Turkey tenderloins usually weigh eight ounces and one pound. What’s great is that they can be cooked up so many ways. I prefer to cook them whole, but they can be cooked up in small medallion pieces. The whole tenderloin could even be stuffed. You could cut them in even smaller pieces that make a wonderful stir-fry.
What ingredients are in cranberry glazed turkey tenderloin?
For the tenderloin:
- turkey tenderloin (could sub a pork tenderloin)
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- extra-virgin olive oil
- dried herbs (I used rosemary + sage)
For the sauce:
- whole cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- fresh orange juice (I used the juice of navel oranges and zest)
- coconut sugar, use regular sugar if you don’t have coconut sugar
- fresh ginger (about the size of a garlic clove, peeled), optional
How do you make cranberry glazed turkey tenderloin?
It starts off by marinating the turkey in extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and some dried herbs. I also added sweet paprika. I just sprinkled some on before I added to the bag (forgot to get in this photo). You could marinate it overnight.
You could also put the marinade together and pop it into a zipped lock bag 30 minutes before making it. The longer it marinades, the more time the seasoning has to infuse the turkey.
This next part of the recipe is the super quick cranberry sauce. You could even make this sauce a few days ahead. It is really easy to find fresh cranberries in almost every market (as far as I know, only in the States. I know in Italy I have never heard of fresh cranberries being available).
The sauce could be as thick or thin as you like it. I made this a little thicker than usual.
What to serve with this cranberry glazed turkey tenderloin?
I served my turkey tenderloin with these Instant Pot mashed potatoes and roasted balsamic and honey Brussels sprouts. While the tenderloin is in the oven, you could roast a tray of maple soy glazed carrots, broccoli, butternut squash. Even a side dish of peas or green beans is great (the last time I made this with a side of green beans with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
Can I make this turkey tenderloin Whole30 compliant?
Yes! It's really easy to do. Just leave out the coconut sugar from the cranberry sauce. The sauce will have a natural sweetness from the fresh orange juice. But remember, it will be very tart.
PIN for later!
Can I make cranberry glazed turkey tenderloin recipe with pork instead?
Yes! It is not always easy to find a turkey tenderloin. If you really want to make recipe can’t find turkey, it is totally fine to sub with pork tenderloin. Keep in mind IF using pork: Bake at 350F until pork is 150 degrees internally at the widest part of the tenderloin (about 25 minutes.)
What temperature does turkey tenderloin need to be cooked to?
It's best to use a meat thermometer and check that the turkey reaches a safe internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit.
How to store Paleo and this turkey tenderloin?
If you have extra cranberry sauce (that wasn't served on top of the turkey), that could be stored in an airtight plastic or glass container in the fridge for up to a week. If you have any leftover turkey, that could be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat any leftovers in a skillet on medium low heat (or a on a plate in the microwave).
Some other holiday recipes to try:
Cranberry Glazed Turkey Tenderloin
Ingredients
- TURKEY TENDERLOIN
- 1.5 pound turkey tenderloin pork tenderloin could be subbed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 2 teaspoons salt divided
- 2 teaspoons pepper divided
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika divided
- dried herbs I used rosemary and sage, but either one alone would work
- SAUCE
- 3 cups whole cranberries fresh or frozen
- 2 navel oranges juice and zest (juice should be 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar use regular sugar if you don’t have coconut sugar
- 1 sliver of fresh ginger about the size of a garlic clove, peeled, optional
- 1 Tablespoon coconut aminos optional
- 1 cup of water
Instructions
- TURKEY TENDERLOIN
- The night before, or even 30 minutes before is fine, pat the turkey tenderloin dry. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon paprika.
- Add the turkey tenderloin into a large zipped lock bag (or airtight container). Add a tablespoon of olive and if you have it in a zipped lock sealed bag, squish it all around the seasoning and oil.
- While the turkey marinates, prep the sauce.
- CRANBERRY SAUCE
- In a large saucepan, add in all the cranberry sauce ingredients. You could use a a couple of slices of the oranges to give it extra flavor (that is optional).
- Turn the temperature to high.
- When the sauce begins to boil, lower the heat. Stir the sauce a few times (it could tend to stick if it was boiling too high).
- Let the sauce simmer and it will begin to thicken. If it seems to be too thick, add a bit more juice or water.
- Stir the sauce again and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, or until all the cranberries have burst. When sauce is ready, set aside.
- When you’re ready to cook it (you could prep this the night before or even day of cooking), remove tenderloin from the refrigerator.
- COOK
- Line a baking pan or a casserole with foil paper.
- Preheat your oven to 425º with the oven rack in the middle.
- Place the tenderloin in the foil lined baking pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven.
- After tenderloin has cooked for about 20 mins (when there is about about 20mins left of cooking time, spoon on 1/2 of the cranberry sauce on top of the tenderloin. Add a little bit of water to the bottom of the pan (like 2 Tablespoons).
- Lower the heat to 375F for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
- Cook until tenderloin reaches 160 degrees F in thickest part (about 30-40 minutes total).
- Remove turkey tenderloin from the oven and let rest for at least five minutes to lock in juices.
- Slice and place on a serving plate with whatever cranberry sauce and juices from the baking pan.
- Serve with the other 1/2 of the cranberry sauce.
- You could also spoon on the rest of the cranberry sauce.
- If the sauce thickened too much, you could blend it.
- (Optional) Plate the tenderloin with fresh rosemary or whatever fresh herb you have on hand (thyme or sage is also nice).
- Serve with a side of roasted potatoes and your favorite green vegetables.
- CROCKPOT:
- Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil into the Crock Pot.
- Place the tenderloin in the Crock Pot.
- Spoon on 1/2 of the cranberry sauce and a few drizzles of water. Drizzle on some olive oil.
- Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 4 hours or on LOW setting for 8 hours.
- Remove turkey tenderloin from the Crock Pot and let rest for at least five minutes to lock in juices.
- Slice and place on a serving plate with whatever cranberry sauce and juices from the baking pan.
- Serve with the other 1/2 of the cranberry sauce. You could also spoon the rest of the cranberry sauce on the tenderloin. Feel free to add more juice or water to the sauce and blend it if it thickened too much. Serve with your choice of sides.
Leave a Reply