• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Lillie Eats and Tells

Lillie Loves Macros- A blog with macro-friendly recipes

  • home
  • About
  • Macros
    • A Full Day Of Eating
    • My Macro Story
    • Weighing Raw vs Cooked and How to Enter a Recipe in My Fitness Pal
  • Recipes
  • Shopping
    • My Trader Joe’s Must-Haves
  • Privacy Policy | Terms & Privacy
  • Cookbook

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri

July 15, 2018 By Lillie 16 Comments

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Ok so I’m SO EXCITED to have this brown sugar spiced pork tenderloin in my rotation.  And that seems like I’m just trying to be dramatic because that’s what we do. But when meals and goals are built around a good lean protein and you find a new one– it’s GOLDEN.  This is so good and SO EASY! So much easier than grilling tons of chicken tenderloins which is my lot in life. And I’ve learned I’m absolutely herb-obsessed… so topped with some zesty lightened up chimichurri and this meal is HEAVEN.

Brown Sugar Garlic crusted Pork Tenderloin #macrofriendly #healthy #light #skinny www.lillieeatsandtells.com

We go thru pork tenderloin like water over here.  But we’re usually using it for some shredded meat in the instant pot like this barbecue pulled pork, or my favorite carnitas, or this shredded Greek pork! All three are on CONSTANT rotation over here.  But I’d totally been missing out on a good old sliced pork tenderloin!

I tend to avoid the more classic plated dinners… like sometimes they remind me too much of a Jenny Craig sensible and I’m like eh. But I’ve gotten really into a more traditional meal on Sundays — and I can ALWAYS use new ways to make lean meats interesting. This was inspired by one of our favorite FLANK steak recipes EVER from How Sweet Eats. And SO easy.  Whip up a quick rub/marinade… coat the tenderloins and let it marinate for a few…then throw them on the grill for 15 minutes — just long enough to make your quick light chimichurri, throw together a great salad, and slice some French or crusty bread to grill right when the pork’s done. Pretty much my Sunday dinner formula.

Brown Sugar Garlic crusted Pork Tenderloin #macrofriendly #healthy #light #skinny www.lillieeatsandtells.com

 

Print

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri

Brown Sugar Garlic crusted Pork Tenderloin #macrofriendly #healthy #light #skinny www.lillieeatsandtells.com

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

The easiest way to have delicious LEAN protein grilled up quickly for the whole family! This will be a new favorite for us…

  • Author: Lillie
  • Prep Time: 30 min
  • Cook Time: 20 min
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8 1x
  • Category: Pork
  • Method: Grill
  • Cuisine: American
Scale

Ingredients

For the Pork:

  • 2.5 lb pork tenderloin (only 2.5 g fat for a 4 oz portion- I always get mine from Costco)
  • 6 cloves garlic (or my favorite frozen dorot cubes)
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

For the Light Cilantro Basil Chimichurri:

  • 1 cup fresh cilantro
  • 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
  • Juice from half a lemon
  • 2 cloves garlic (frozen dorot cubes)
  • 1/2 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Trim fat off of pork tenderloins. I like to rinse mine, and pat dry.
  2. Mix all of the other ingredients for the pork rub rub. It will make a thick marinade.
  3. Using a spoon (or ziplock bags on your hands!) rub the marinade all over the two tenderloins. You can cover, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight— OR just leave on the counter like I did for 15-30 minutes before grilling.  Always best to let it come to room temp before grilling.
  4. Heat grill to pretty high heat.
  5. Spray grill carefully with cooking spray.
  6. Sprinkle tenderloins with additional kosher salt and pepper (not listed) and place on grill. Sear for about 2-3 minutes per side over the high heat, and then turn down to medium, and cover. Cook for about 15-17 minutes TOTAL, including searing time, rotating every 5 minutes or so.  If you have a meat thermometer, internal temp should be about 140.
  7. Let rest for 10 minutes, tented with foil before slicing in!
  8. Pulse all chimichurri ingredients in a mini food processor or blender… it’s not as pretty without loads of olive oil, but the taste was still incredible with the pork!*

Notes

  • If I have guests, (or for my chimichurri loving daughters) I’ll make this chimichurri, and then split it in half and whisk additional olive oil into one jar for anyone who’s not watching their fats.  My macros are calculated for it without of course, but as long as you section some off, you can just weigh your portion from that batch!
  • If you count macros, you can search “Lillie Eats and Tells Brown Sugar Spiced Pork” and “Lillie Eats and Tells Light Cilantro Basil Chimichurri” in My Fitness Pal and log the amount you take AFTER it’s cooked and prepared. You don’t have to worry about the raw ingredients etc!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 100 g pork with 30 g chimi
  • Calories: 207
  • Fat: 6.2
  • Saturated Fat: 1.6
  • Carbohydrates: 8.7
  • Protein: 28.2

Keywords: pork, tenderloin, grill, chimichurri, brown sugar

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @lillieeatsandtells on Instagram

Share this:

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr

Filed Under: All Recipes, Dinner, Protein, Sauces and Dressings Tagged With: basil, chimichurri, cilantro, grill, pork, tenderloin

Share

Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Previous Post: « Chipotle Grilled Chicken and Mango Cobb
Next Post: Moroccan Chicken Skewers »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ashley

    September 8, 2019 at 4:30 pm

    I made the sauce that you said to go with it and mine is superrrr liquidy! Is there a way to fix that? Do you chop up the cilantro and basil and measure it that way or do you just do the leaves?

    Reply
    • Lillie

      September 24, 2019 at 10:27 am

      I just cut off a huge chunk, not careful to skip stems of cilantro, and shove it into a measuring cup… or the truth is I eyeball it and add more if I want more! And pulse so it’s not totally blended. But if it’s too runny, add more herbs! … also if you search for the smashed potato recipe, I have a slight variation where I add greek yogurt to thicken it a little without added fat… love that too.

      Reply
  2. Ann

    August 5, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    I made this today in the air fryer. I cooked it for 30 minutes at 360. It was so delicious, even before adding the Chimichurri

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lillie

      August 20, 2019 at 3:42 pm

      OH good to know! OH goodness I’ve got to open my air fryer. Ha!

      Reply
  3. Kelly

    June 9, 2019 at 3:03 pm

    Can you do this in the instant pot? If so, do you know how long it would cook for?

    Reply
    • Lillie

      June 12, 2019 at 10:51 pm

      It would definitely be a whole different kind of meat done in the instant pot, but sure! I usually do my pork in there for about 40 minutes.

      Reply
  4. Mendy Crocker

    February 16, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    When you grill in your kitchen, are you using a grill pan or an electric grill?

    Reply
    • Lillie

      February 19, 2019 at 10:22 am

      A grill pan! But in a pinch, i’d just use a skillet… as long as you’ve got hot, direct heat, you’ll replicate it fine. Grill marks are pretty but it’s good either way! But this one could also be seared and then finished in the oven for 25 minutes or so…

      Reply
  5. Paige

    February 13, 2019 at 7:49 pm

    Would the chumichueri sauce still workout without the basil leaves?

    Reply
    • Lillie

      February 19, 2019 at 10:23 am

      I’m sorry I’m just responding! I would just sub in whatever herb you have!

      Reply
  6. Sara Pilling

    January 18, 2019 at 8:32 am

    My grill is on the fritz. Do know the temp and time you would need to do to make this in the oven?

    Reply
    • Lillie

      January 18, 2019 at 8:35 am

      Hi! 400 for about 25-35 minutes should work!

      Reply
  7. Holly

    November 26, 2018 at 9:52 am

    What if I can’t find the White Balsamic? Is their another vinegar to use, just regular balsamic?

    Reply
    • Lillie

      November 26, 2018 at 11:39 pm

      Yes! I should add that, feel free to sub regular balsamic, it will just be a bit darker which is just fine!

      Reply
  8. Lindsay

    November 13, 2018 at 10:10 am

    This pork is always on rotation for dinner in our home. The Chimichurri sauce makes the meal.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lillie

      November 14, 2018 at 2:43 pm

      So glad you guys are loving it too! I keep wondering when I’m gonna branch out again on a Sunday but it’s really working for us right now…

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Click here to Shop My Cookbooks

Never Miss a Recipe!

Hi! I’m Lillie

I'm not a registered dietitian, or a macro coach, or a public figure or culinary genius. I'm a mommy of four who FOUND macro-counting and LOST a love handle or two and fell in love with this process. I’ve always loved to cook... and this has given me renewed focus! Hoping to lighten the learning curve a bit, for anyone else on their health journey, by sharing recipes that are light AND filling AND delicious. It can be done! Read More…

Social Icons

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Footer

Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, we earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in