This is the perfect fall or winter meal, savory pork tenderloin stuffed with roasted sweet butternut squash and spinach. It’s tender and juicy and exploding with flavor. Easy to make for a weeknight and fancy enough for a dinner party.
I love cooking with autumn squash, it’s just a nice transition into the cooler months and roasting up some butternut squash is one of my favorite things to do because it’s so versatile.
Be sure to use pork tenderloin in this recipe, not a pork loin. A tenderloin is smaller, leaner and cooks faster and a pork loin is larger, fattier and cooks slower. Here’s a similar version I made with a pork loin.
You’ll need to butterfly the tenderloin, but it’s very easy, slice it lengthwise and open it like a book and pound it down nice and flat.
Then all you’ll have to do is stuff it with your pre-roasted squash and spinach, roll it up and tie it with some twine and it’s ready to roast.
And don’t forget you can make it your own, maybe add some creamy cheese like goat or fontina, maybe some caramelized onions and of course you can make a pan sauce.
This is delicious, unique and always a hit, I hope you enjoy!
- 2 lb. pork tenderloin, not a pork loin, butterflied
- 1 smallish butternut squash, diced small and pre-roasted
- 1 bag of fresh spinach
- 2 small smashed garlic
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh sage leaves
- butchers twine
- Dice and pre-roast your butternut squash tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper at 400F until lightly golden, cool and set aside.
- Take your pork tenderloin and trim off the silver skin.
- Butterfly the meat by slicing it lengthwise without cutting all the way through.Open it like a book, cover with plastic wrap and pound it about a half inch thick pounding nice and even all around.
- Rub the smashed garlic all over the meat.
- Drizzle the meat with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Spread the top of the meat with the roasted squash, enough to cover (you'll probably have leftover but that's a good thing)
- Top the squash with the fresh spinach, enough to spread around.
- Do another quick drizzle of olive oil all around.
- Roll it up tightly and tie it with kitchen twine to ensure everything stays inside and keeps it's shape.
- Use sage leaves under the twine and to decorate platter.
- Sear the tenderloin first then place into a hot 400F oven for around 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature is at 145.
- Let it rest 10 minutes before slicing.
- Enjoy!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
