Spinach and feta stuffed pork tenderloin
Pork tenderloin rolled around spinach, feta and sun-dried tomatoes and roasted with bursting cherry tomatoes, a showstopper that is much easier than it looks.
- 55 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $3.13 a serving
- 300 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pork tenderloin, about 1¼ lb
- 10 oz cherry tomatoes
From your pantry
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 300 calories, 35 g protein, 9 g carbs and 14 g fat, and costs about $3.13 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
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.
Microwave the spinach 2 minutes to thaw, then squeeze it dry in a clean towel and mix it with the feta, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and oregano.
Timer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: Squeeze until no more water drips out. Wet spinach makes the filling soggy.the silver skin off the pork. Cut it down the middle without going all the way through, open it like a book, and pound it to about ½ inch thick.
Trim. Trimming means cutting off the parts you don’t eat, like stem ends, tough bits or thick fat. It keeps chewy or bitter bits out of the finished dish.
How you’ll know: What’s left is the good part, with no dry ends, woody stems or thick white fat.
Lengthwise. Lengthwise means cutting along the long side, from stem to tip, which gives long pieces. Crosswise is the other way, straight across the middle, which gives short, round ones.
How you’ll know: Lengthwise halves of a zucchini look like two little canoes; crosswise pieces look like coins.
Dolly’s tip: Stop the cut about ½ inch from the other side. The meat should still be in one piece when you open it.the inside with half the salt and pepper, spread the filling over it, leaving a 1-inch border, and roll it up from a long side. Secure it with toothpicks.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
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.
the outside with the rest of the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in an oven-safe over medium-high and the roll 2 minutes on each side.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 8 min
Scatter the cherry tomatoes around the pork and 18 to 22 minutes, until the thickest part of the meat 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: 20 min
Dolly’s tip: The skillet handle stays scorching hot out of the oven. Leave an oven mitt draped over it as a reminder.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.
5 minutes, pull out the toothpicks, and into 1-inch rounds. Serve with the blistered tomatoes and pan juices spooned over.
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.
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.
Timer: 5 min
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.
More dinners like this
Air fryer pork tenderloin
35 min
Sheet pan balsamic pork tenderloin and Brussels sprouts
45 min
Baked pork chops
35 min
Pork medallions in Dijon cream sauce
30 min
High-protein dinners ›Mediterranean dinners ›What to make with tomatoes and feta cheese ›What to make with spinach and feta cheese ›What to make with spinach and tomatoes ›