One pan Za’atar Pork Tenderloin, Sweet Potato, and Cauliflower is a quick and healthy meal the whole family will love! Packed with lean protein and loads of family-loving vegetables, it’s a delicious and easy pork tenderloin recipe.
The end of a long weekend calls for something incredibly easy for dinner. We had very little leftovers after the holiday and I wanted something healthy that could be whipped up easily.
I usually quickly sear and then bake pork tenderloin, but here all the ingredients are roasted at high temperature in the oven for a one pan meal made in under 30 minutes. One Pan Za’atar Pork Tenderloin, Sweet Potato, and Cauliflower is exactly what we needed.
This dish has limited ingredients and minimal prep. It’s a true dump and bake kind of dish. Chop up sweet potatoes on the smaller side so that they cook faster to match the cooking time of the pork and cauliflower. Reversely, the cauliflower needs to be kept in large pieces so it doesn’t over cook.
Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend made up of sesame seeds, herbs, sumac, and salt. If you have access to sumac it’s very easy to make at home.
Here are 2 recipes for Za’atar: one from Bon Appetit which uses oregano and cumin (my preference) and one from Epicurious which uses thyme. Za’atar adds a ton of kid-friendly flavour without being spicy. It’s easy-going flavour is perfect for one pan meals as it adds great crunchy texture in addition to subtle flavour.
I had to give ketchup to my picky eater to get her to try the sweet potatoes, but she ate a few. The other kids asked for plain greek yogurt for their cauliflower, which is something I do fairly often so I added that to the meal.
The first time I made this dish I made it 2 days before hand and parked it in the fridge for an evening where I was out so that my husband could reheat it and have dinner on the table without any fuss – a truly easy pork tenderloin recipe!
It’s a good one that could be made on a Sunday evening while you’re already in the kitchen and then reheated on Monday or Tuesday night for a truly hands off meal.
Here are a few more family favourite one pot/pan dinners like this easy pork tenderloin recipe:
- 1 lbs pork tenderloin
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes (or smaller, but no larger)
- 1 large cauliflower cut into large florets
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp za’atar spice blend
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Preheat oven to 450° F.
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Place pork, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower on a large baking sheet or oven-proof dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with za’atar. Toss vegetables and rub tenderloin to coat with olive oil and seasoning.
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Bake for 15-20 minutes. Rotate tenderloin and flip vegetables.
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Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until pork tenderloin is cooked through and vegetables are cooked and starting to brown.
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Slice tenderloin and serve.
Enjoy! xo
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I didn’t realize za’atar was so easy to make at home. I used to have a neighbor from Palestine and she used za’atar all the time. Definitely going to try this out!
So glad to hear. 🙂
This recipe is amazing! We are going through a kitchen remodel and this was so easy to thrown in the oven during all the madness. Thank you so much!
So glad it was a helpful recipe during a crazy time.
Made tonight with boneless pork chops coated with breadcrumbs as well as oil and zatar, cauliflower and unpeeled sweet potato according to recipe. It was a big hit with hubby. Had to watch timing carefully as it tended to go from done to burned quickly, but was still great. I’ll definitely do again. Thanks for tbe recipe.
So glad you loved it and were able to adapt it easily for the protein you had on hand.
We made this tonight and it was delicious! The sweet potatoes with cauliflower was the perfect flavor combination. Thank you for the recipe!
Pleasure! So glad you enjoyed the veggies. 🙂
I would like to know if you slice the pork before or after cooking?
After cooking. That way the juices are sealed in until you slice it.
You should add to the instructions not to cut the pork until after cooking.
Hi, it’s evident in that the vegetables are called to be cut in the ingredient list but not the tenderloin.
This is a delicious recipe that is super easy to make! Thanks so much!
Thanks for coming back and letting me know – I appreciate it! I love the ease behind this recipe too.