Roast pork loin with potatoes and carrots
A garlic and rosemary crusted pork loin roasted on one pan with golden potatoes and sweet carrots, a Sunday dinner or an Easter ham alternative.
- 100 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.46 a serving
- 600 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 pork loin roast, about 2½ lb
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2½ lb russet potatoes
- 1 lb carrots
- 1 red onion
From your pantry
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 2½ tsp salt, divided
- 1 tsp black pepper, divided
Each serving has about 600 calories, 45 g protein, 45 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $2.46 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Take the roast out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking and the oven to 400°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Timer: 30 min
Stir the garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, 2 tbsp of the oil, 1½ tsp of the salt and half the pepper into a paste.
the roast dry and rub the paste all over it.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Wash your hands.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Scrub the potatoes and cut them into 1½-inch chunks, cut the carrots into 2-inch pieces and the onion into wedges, and them on a large with the rest of the oil, salt and pepper.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Push the vegetables to the edges and set the roast in the middle, fat side up.
55 to 70 minutes, stirring the vegetables halfway, until the middle of the roast reads 145°F.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Timer: 60 min
Dolly’s tip: Start checking at 45 minutes. Push the thermometer into the thickest part from the side.Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
Move the roast to a board, cover it loosely with foil, and let it 10 minutes. Leave the vegetables in the turned-off oven to stay warm.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 10 min
the pork ½ inch thick and serve with the vegetables and the juices from the board poured over.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Dolly’s tip: Leftover slices keep 4 days in the fridge and make great sandwiches and fried rice.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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One-pan dinners ›High-protein dinners ›What to make with carrots and potatoes ›