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.
Alexis says
I’m wondering if I have to use the apple cider vinegar or if there is something else I could or not use at all?
This recipe has only been tested as written and I really love the taste of the apple cider vinegar. You do need the acid of the vinegar for the marinade. If you were to replace it with a different vinegar or some other acidic ingredient, we would be headed in new recipe territory that really needs to be tested.
Uticababs says
Made this for dinner this evening. I didn’t care for the marinade. Although I used low sodium tamari sauce in place of the soy sauce.it was salty. Realized I”m Nita fan of apple cider vinegar. I won’t be making this again. To each his own!
I’m so sorry that you didn’t like this. While I don’t think the apple cider vinegar is overpowering in this, I do think if you don’t like it this one won’t be a winner for you.
Kayla says
This was the first recipe that popped up on Pinterest for a turkey tenderloin, and I went with it. I’m glad I did because the flavor was phenomenal! My husband and I both loved it! I only let it marinate for 30 minutes and the flavor came through so nicely. I definitely recommend this recipe! It’s absolutely delicious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much!
Diane D says
Your marinade looks quite red. I find mine is very dark brown, almost black due to the large amount of soy sauce. Am I missing something?
It’s hard for me to say without being there, but I think it is possible that the brand of apple cider vinegar you use could play into this.
DIANNE M LITCHFIELD says
Balsamic should work well.
GrammyPammy says
Wow! The marinade was perfect. I let the turkey soak in the fridge for 6 hours. Oven about 40 minutes. Let it rest 15 minutes. Sliced and drizzled pan juices over the turkey slices. HEAVENLY! Thanks, Lisa!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this!
Pam says
Made this tonight. I didn’t have chipotle powder on hand so used smoked paprika instead. Marinaded in fridge for 24 hours and we absolutely loved it. Will definitely make this again.
I’m so happy you liked it!
Baltisraul says
I too used sweet smoked paprika for the chipotle seasoning. Wonderful results on this recipe. Ours was perfect after 40 min. It was marinated for 5+ hrs.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Jenny says
I made the turkey tenderloin this evening. The only thing I changed was the pepper, only had ground red pepper so I cut the amount in half. We enjoyed every bite. In my oven I only cooked it for about 35 minutes and it was over 150 degrees so I covered it in foil and a towel for about 15 minutes while I cooked my veggies. The turkey was so tender and juicy!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Adam says
Easily the best turkey tenderloin I’ve ever made and it has been deemed one of the best dishes I’ve made to date by family.
I cooked it via sous vide for 2 hours at 144.5 degrees after letting it marinate in the same bag for 2 hours. I then seared the tenderloin and made a reduction from all the bag juices. The texture, juicyness, and flavor is astounding!
I’m so glad that it was such a hit!