My Turkey Tenderloin recipe is a delicious and easy dinner idea. This perfect turkey breast tenderloin rests in the best marinade, and then bakes up for a simple, healthy, delicious dinner.
I have such a delicious dinner recipe for you today that requires so little hands on time. Marinating meat and baking it before dinner may take a little bit of planning, but it is so worth it. With this turkey tenderloin recipe we are using a really simple marinade with ingredients you probably already have on hand.
What we are left with after baking is a melt in your mouth turkey tenderloin that is full of smokey flavor with the smallest hints of sweet and spice. This is a light and healthy low carb dinner that you will come back to over and over.
Another delicious recipe from you! We really enjoyed this and I was apprehensive of the marinade, but it was so good. Another one of your recipes I would recommend.
What is Turkey Tenderloin
A turkey tenderloin comes from the breast of the turkey. Turkey breast meat tends to be low fat and high protein, making it a great main dish for any dinner. Jennie O sells turkey tenderloin and you should be able to find them with the other cuts of turkey in the grocery store. Many recipes that work for pork tenderloin will work with turkey tenderloin, but of course I’m partial to this recipe.
How to Cook Turkey Tenderloin
This is a brief overview of how to make this delicious recipe. For the full recipe with all of the measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Marinate the turkey tenderloin. The first step in this recipe is to whisk together a simple marinade. Let the turkey sit for 2 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
- Bake the turkey. After marinating, the turkey is removed from the marinade. You then bake it in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the turkey registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit with a meat thermometer.
- Let the turkey rest. After roasting any meat, you should let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. This prevents the juices from running out of the meat and leads to juicier cuts.
- Slice and enjoy.
Turkey Tenderloin Marinade
We tweaked and tested the marinade a few times until we were left with something we really fell in love with. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. For the full measurements, please scroll to the bottom of the post and find the printable recipe card.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: This brings some acidity to the recipe so it helps break down just the outer layer of the meat while also imparting flavor.
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce: A great way to introduce both flavor and salt to this recipe. If you can’t find low sodium, I suggest cutting the amount you use to 1/3 cup and filling in the rest with water.
- Lime Juice: Another ingredient to bring both acidity and flavor.
- Brown Sugar: This imparts just a little bit of sweetness to the marinade while also helping to caramelize the outside of the meet.
- Garlic Cloves: Bring great flavor to this recipe. I prefer fresh, but it could be replaced with one teaspoon of onion powder.
- Chipotle Powder: This is one of my favorite ingredients. It brings such a great and subtle smoky flavor to recipes. We also love it in our crock pot chili and our chicken tacos.
- Dried Onion Flakes: These are such a great way to impart onion flavor. If you don’t have it on hand, you can use one teaspoon onion powder.
- Chili Powder
- Ground Mustard
How Long to Marinate
A common misconception is that you can’t marinate meat for too long. Or that the longer you marinate the meat the better. This is actually not true. The acid that we use in a marinade, in this case the apple cider vinegar and the lime juice, are great because they break down the outside of the meat. This allows the rest of the flavors to penetrate the meat.
However, if you marinate meat for too long, the meat will break down too much. This will lead to meat that isn’t tender, but rather gummy. No one wants that. A good rule of thumb is to not marinate your meat for longer than 24 hours. Because the turkey tenderloin is already quite tender, you can get away with marinating this for just 30 minutes.
Moist Turkey Tenderloin
Besides a great marinade, the other key to keeping a turkey moist when cooking is to not over cook it. This recipe goes from underdone to done very quickly. In our oven, it reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit at about 47 minutes.
I highly recommend investing in an instant read thermometer so that you can pull this out of the oven right when it hits 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You can even it pull it out a minute or two before and it will continue cooking outside of the oven. Don’t be shy about testing the meat. At about 40 minutes take a read of it so you know how quickly it is cooking.
Instant Read Thermometer
Storing Leftovers
Leftover turkey tenderloin should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can reheat leftovers in a covered baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I suggest adding a little bit of chicken broth to the dish to prevent your leftovers from drying out.
Alternatively, you can eat leftovers cold as part of a turkey sandwich. This would be especially delicious as part of a grilled cheese sandwich with some ranch dressing and cheddar cheese. As with any leftovers, you should only reheat them once and you should always use your best discretion.
What to Serve with Turkey Tenderloin
There are so many great side dishes to serve with this recipe. If you are specifically looking to keep this dinner low carb, I recommend the following sides:
If you aren’t looking to keep things low carb, I would make these amazing Cheddar Bay Biscuits to go with this.
Turkey Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds turkey tenderloin
Turkey Tenderloin Marinade
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons chipotle powder
- 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
Instructions
- Make the marinade by combinging all of the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Put the turkey in a sealable container. Pour the marinade over the turkey tenderloin. Place the container in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Take the turkey out of the marinade and place in the baking dish, discarding the rest of the marinade.
- Bake uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes or until the turkey registers 165 degrees. We highly recommend checking the temperature at 40 minutes as this recipe can quickly go from undercooked to over done.
Cindy says
Easy and delicious!!
I’m glad you liked it!
Louise says
I used this marinade for my turkey st Easter. It was delicious. I’m using the recipe again for guests this weekend.
The ingredients are things I have on hand which makes it a “simple joy.”
It was good advice to check at 40 minutes as it was the desired temperature at that time.
Thanks for another winner.
I’m so happy you liked it, Louise! Your simple joy mention made my day – it’s always beautiful watching your dreams come to fruition. Thank you!
Linda Ski says
We also found the tenderloin extremely salty and I even omitted salt from the rub which means there was too much kosher salt in the brine recipe. I could not eat it but my husband tried to spare my feelings. This is not good.
I’m wondering if you are referring to a different recipe because this one doesn’t have a rub, and the only source of salt in it is low sodium soy sauce.
Latosha says
May I use regular mustard instead of ground mustard? If so, how much?
Hi Latosha! I haven’t tried this with regular mustard. If I were going to do that, I would use the same amount on my first go with it.
Chris Norris says
This was good but my husband thought it was too salty. I used low sodium soy sauce but it still tasted pretty salty. Next time I’ll look for an even lower sodium alternative. I will add, though, that the rest of my extended family enjoyed it and we ate it all up in one meal.
Salt is one of those things that is so subjective. And if you are used to a low sodium diet, some of my recipes will be too salty. I’m glad that over all it was enjoyed!
Denise says
I’m cooking this recipe for the third time. It’s easy and delicious! Those are my two favorite recipe qualities: Easy and delicious.
I’m so happy to hear that! Those are my two goals for recipes, so day made!
Stephanie says
The only tenderloin I could find at my local store was pre-seasoned “rotisserie” style. I’m unsure if I should marinate it since it already has seasonings on it. Any thoughts?
Ooof, I’m not sure. It depends what the seasoning is on it if it will be good with the marinade or just a hot mess. I might skip marinating and just make it and look around for one with no seasoning.
Ruth W. Thomas says
This recipe is truly amazing. I tried it and it turned out very nice.
Chet says
This marinade is delicious. I think, I’ll try it on my pork tenderloin as well. We grill the tenderloins on cast iron. Very good especially the sear. Thanks
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Jessica says
Hi, about your note to replace soy sauce with Bragg’s if there’s a soy allergy, Bragg’s liquid aminos (the original, basic one) are made from soybeans. The coconut aminos are not, so those could still be a substitute. But then make sure no one you’re serving is allergic to coconut….
Thank you for pointing this out!