Baked Turkey Tenderloin with Cranberry Glaze

4.34 from 6 votes

Baked Turkey Tenderloin with Cranberry Glaze

My Baked Turkey Tenderloin with Cranberry Glaze 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!

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free, paleo, turkey

Servings:

Calories: 233kcal

Author: Lora

Ingredients

TURKEY TENDERLOIN
1.5 pound turkey tenderloin pork tenderloin could be subbed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoons sweet paprika
dried herbs I used rosemary and sage, but either one alone would work
CRANBERRY 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 salt, pepper, and 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 20 mins 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. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if you desire.
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.

Notes

I used coconut amino acids to try to stay paleo and Whole30 compliant. If you aren't following paleo or Whole30, use your favorite tamari sauce (to stay gluten-free)or soy sauce (if you're not gluten-free).
Refrigerate turkey within two hours and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
You could use pork tenderloin if you can't find turkey tenderloin. *IF using pork: Bake at 350F until pork is 150 degrees internally at the widest part of the tenderloin (about 25 minutes.)

Nutrition