Juicy pork medallions with a rich, tangy mustard cream sauce. A cosy, weeknight-friendly dinner – ready in 20 minutes. This is a simple family meal that still feels a little bit special. Savoury, comforting and full of flavour.
Nicky’s Notes
Pork tenderloin is such a great cut for a quick dinner, especially here in the UK where it’s easy to pick up from most supermarkets (known as pork fillet).
It’s around the same price (or sometimes a little cheaper) than pork chops, and there’s no wasted fatty part of it. Plus I think it feels a little bit fancy – the kind of meal I make when I want something a bit bistro-style at home.
What makes this so good:
- It cooks quickly and sears perfectly with a lovely, flavourful crust.
- It stays beautifully tender when treated right (we want to cook until just done and not overcook it. Finishing off the pork in the sauce (like we do in this recipe) also helps to protect it from overcooking).
- It works so well with the creamy, mustardy flavours – a lovely balance of richness, sharpness and savoury depth.
📋 Ingredients for Pork Tenderloin in Cream Sauce
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin is often labelled pork fillet in UK supermarkets (also in Australia and New Zealand too). It’s known as pork tenderloin in the US and Canada. Just make sure you’re buying the long, slim, lean cut – not pork loin, which is larger and needs a different cooking time.
🧑🍳 Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Season the pork and pan-fry for 2 mins each side. Add the garlic, then the wine to deglaze the pan. Add stock, simmer 3 mins, the add mustard, cream and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer 2-3 mins and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Slice the pork into even medallions. This helps the pork cook at the same rate, so you don’t end up with some pieces perfectly juicy and others a little overdone.
- Get a good golden colour on the pork. That little bit of caramelisation adds lots of flavour to the creamy Dijon sauce.
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🍽️ What to serve it with
I love to serve with creamy, buttery mashed potatoes and some green vegetables, but they go well with any type of potato and most vegetables too.
Leftovers Guide
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Reheat gently in a pan over a low heat (don’t boil) until piping hot throughout. Add a splash of water, stock or cream to loosen the sauce if it has thickened in the fridge.
- Freezing isn’t ideal for this one, as cream-based sauces can sometimes separate once defrosted and the pork would be a little tougher on reheating.
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Place the pork medallions on a board. Mix the salt, pepper, oregano and paprika and sprinkle both sides of the pork medallions with the spice mix.
600 g (1.3lb) pork tenderloin fillet, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp paprika
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Heat the oil in a large pan over a high heat.
1 ½ tbsp oil
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Place the pork medallions in the pan and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden.
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Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic to the pan. Stir for 30 seconds, then add the wine and stir to deglaze the pan.
2 cloves garlic, 120 ml (1/2 cup) white wine
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Allow the wine to simmer for 2 minutes, until slightly reduced, then add the chicken stock to the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes.
120 ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock
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Stir in the mustard until well mixed in, then stir in the cream and Worcestershire sauce.
1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 120 ml (1/2 cup) double cream (heavy cream), 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
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Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for a further 2-3 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.
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Turn off the heat and serve the pork. I like to serve mine with buttery mashed potatoes, green vegetables – such as green beans and broccoli – and a sprinkling of chopped parsley and black pepper.
Buttery mashed potatoes, 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley, freshly ground black pepper, Steamed vegetables
Storing and reheating leftovers:
This meal is best eaten straight away but you can quickly cool and any leftovers. Reheat in a frying pan with a lid over a low-medium heat, or you can reheat in the oven in a covered baking dish, at 200C/400F for about 15-20 minutes, until piping hot throughout. You will probably need to add a splash of stock and/or a little more cream to loosen the sauce.
Ingredient swaps:
- Try wholegrain mustard instead of Dijon for a milder sauce. Use a heaped rather than a regular tablespoon (otherwise the mustard flavour will be lost)
- Try using crème fraiche instead of double (heavy) cream for a lighter sauce.
How to scale up and scale down this recipe:
This can be doubled to feed a crowd. You’ll need to fry the pork medallions off in two batches, and bubble the sauce for a few minutes longer to thicken.
You can also halve the recipe to serve 2 (or one hungry person). Cook in the same way, for the same cooking time (the sauce may take a minute or two less to thicken), just halving all the ingredients.
Nutritional information is approximate, per serving, not including serving suggestions of mashed potatoes and green beans (this recipe serves 4).
Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 666mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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