This Roast Pork Tenderloin with Vanilla Apple Chutney is an elegant yet simple, quick, and easy main dish that's perfect for your holiday feast or a weeknight dinner! The pork is juicy and the apple chutney, made with vanilla bean, is tart, slightly sweet, and earthy.
Place a cast iron (or other heavy) skillet in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
While the oven and skillet is preheating, season the pork tenderloin generously with kosher salt and black pepper on all sides, and leave out of the fridge to come closer to room temperature.
When the oven has preheated, carefully remove skillet from oven. Place 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet and swirl to coat.
Place the pork tenderloin in the center of the skillet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.
After 10 minutes, decrease temperature to 400 degrees, flip pork over, and continue roasting for another 10-15 minutes, or until internal temperature of pork has reached 145 degrees for medium-rare, or 160 degrees for medium doneness.
Allow pork to rest for at least 10 minutes on a cutting board tented with foil before slicing.
Meanwhile, to make the chutney, sauté the shallot in the butter (2 tablespoons) over medium-high heat in a medium pot until softened and starting to brown (about 3 minutes).
Add the diced apples and continue sautéing until they start to soften (about 2 minutes).
Add a pinch of salt, the apple cider vinegar (1/4 cup), apple cider/juice (1/4 cup), half a vanilla bean pod pulp, and brown sugar (1 tablespoon). Stir to mix together well and simmer uncovered on low heat for about 10 minutes, or until apples are very soft.
Use a potato masher to smash the apple chutney just a few times, until nicely thickened. You still want chunks of apples to be present.
Serve apple chutney on the sliced roast pork.
Notes
Time Saving Tip: To save hands-on time, make the chutney up to a week in advance and reheat to serve with the pork.
Make it sweeter: The chutney is tart and not very sweet. If you prefer a sweeter chutney, I recommend adding more sugar or using a sweeter apple variety to make it.
Vanilla Bean Substitution: If you can't find vanilla bean pods, you can substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.