This Pork Loin Pasta recipe has a tasty mushroom herb sauce. It makes an elegant yet simple dinner that is perfect for any night of the week — plus it's dairy free!
It's the end of the second full week of school for us, and wow, what a week! The daughter started fourth grade, the son started seventh grade, and We have been busy juggling work, travel, the usual hectic back-to-school activities, and coaching the daughter's soccer team (our second game is tomorrow!).
Has anyone else been feeling unprepared for the back-to-school fall crunch? One area We can always use extra help in is in preparing tasty, fast, simple weeknight meals. We can never have enough recipes to fill that category, am We right?
Well, today's pork loin pasta recipe totally fits that bill, and We am over the moon giddy to share it with you!
Pre-Marinated Pork
Over the summer, We discovered Smithfield® Marinated Fresh Pork at our neighborhood Safeway. We grilled them for fast, flavorful summer dinners.
We honestly bought the first one on a whim because it sounded good Applewood Smoked Bacon Pork Filet? Hello! We love Applewood smoked bacon! But then felt guilty because We wasn't doing anything but throwing them on the grill… ahh, mom guilt. We've simply got to let that go, moms.
You can grill it, roast it, or even sauté it! We can all use a little help in the kitchen to save us time. And after seeing how fast it was to get a fancy, tasty meal from grill to plate that was ready in 30 minutes or less… We was hooked.
Call it kismet, call it fate, but soon after, the opportunity came up to work with Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork. And heck yes, We jumped onboard! We love any chance We get to work with products We already know and love. And We love being able to share them with you.
Can We use the own pork marinade?
Absolutely! If you can't find pre-marinated pork loin, feel free to make your own marinade. Then be sure to marinade the pork in your herb sauce for at least two hours before cooking, up to overnight.
How to Make This Pork Loin Pasta Recipe
This dish looks fancy, but it's SO simple to put together.
There's no prep time with the pork, since it's pre-marinated. So you simply sear it for a couple of minutes on each side on the stove to give the outside a nice coating, then pop it into a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. SO simple, right?! Real flavor, real fast!
Once the pork goes into the oven, start a pot of water for your pasta and cook the pasta according to package directions while you make the sauce.
We personally love, love, LOVE the fresh flavor and aroma of freshly cut herbs and garlic in the meals, so that's what We went with for this sauce. However, you could save even more time by using dried herbs instead of fresh, and using bottled pre-minced garlic instead of fresh garlic. It's all up to you. You do you, the friends.
Once you've got the sauce items prepped, you sauté the onions and garlic in a large skillet or pan with olive oil over medium heat. After a couple of minutes, you add the mushrooms, then the coconut milk, white wine, and flour for thickening. The fresh or dried herbs and lemon juice are mixed in at the end to give the sauce that lovely hit of herb and bright citrus flavor.
Mmmm…We love that nice zing of lemon at the end with the pasta!
Dairy-free herb mushroom sauce
Most of you know that We am 90% dairy-free due to some food intolerances, so We made the pasta sauce dairy-free by using coconut milk. However, if you aren't dairy-free and want to use heavy cream instead, We would absolutely co-sign that decision.
By the time the sauce is about done and starts thickening, the pork should be about done as well.
How to tell when pork is done
More than simply going by timing, be sure to check the temperature of the pork. A meat thermometer should read 150 degrees when it's done.
Let the pork rest for a few minutes on a cutting board before slicing into it. This helps keep the lovely juices inside and helps the pork cook more evenly, making it flavorful and tender.
Plate the pasta and top with the sliced pork loin filet.
Fancy it up if you want with some garnish of fresh herbs and lemon. You can then chop it up, then put into a plastic bag. Save it in the fridge to top any leftovers for added flavor the next day.
We LOVE this simple and flavorful pork loin pasta recipe! It easily feeds 4-6 people, depending on your serving size.
This dish is perfect for any night of the week. Yet it's also elegant enough to serve at special occasions and dinner parties!
🧄 Substitutions
- Substitute heavy cream for coconut milk
- Switch out dried herbs for fresh cut herbs
- Use chicken stock for white wine
- Buy pre-sliced mushrooms instead of slicing whole mushrooms yourself
- Use pre-minced garlic instead of mincing the garlic yourself
🍷 Wine pairings for pork
This is the type of dish that can pair well with either a white wine or a red wine.
If you enjoy white wines, try a medium- to full-bodied white varietal. A lovely Viognier or even a buttery California Chardonnay would pair nicely.
A light- to medium-bodied red wine would pair beautifully with this pork pasta recipe. Because of the mushroom herb sauce, an Oregon Pinot Noir would be the perfect food and wine pairing companion for this dish.
More simple dinner recipes
Looking for more pork recipes? Try this Pressure-cooker Stuffed Pork Loin with Gravy recipe or Pressure-cooker Pork Chops with Rice recipe.
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you truly loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Pork Loin Pasta with Mushroom Herb Sauce (dairy-free)
By Marlynn Schotland Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 45 mins Servings: 6 Looking for a hearty dish for your next dinner party? This pork loin pasta is simple, tasty, and plentiful.Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Smithfield Marinated Roasted Garlic & Herb Pork Loin Filet
- 1/2 pound of rotini pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 14.5 ounce can full-fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup dry white wine, can substitute chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced, or finely chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage leaves
- fresh lemon juice
- Optional: grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- While pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place pork loin filet in skillet and sear all sides for simply a couple of minutes each, until you get a nice lightly browned color on all sides. Place pork onto a shallow roasting pan (or even a cookie sheet with slight lip as shown here will do). Roast for 25-30 minutes, flipping over halfway for evenness.
- Using the same skillet, add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and sauté onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes, until the onions are slightly softened and translucent.
- Add mushrooms to the pan, stir to combine, and sauté for another 2-3 minutes, until the mushrooms are slightly softened.
- Slowly add the coconut milk to the pan, and stir regularly, so the veggies don't stick to the pan while the coconut milk heats up and starts to thicken. After a couple of minutes, slowly pour in the white wine (or chicken stock); stir. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk into the sauce until the flour is well blended. Keep stirring the sauce as it thickens; this could take anywhere from 3-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, your pasta should be done. Add 2 tablespoons of the starchy pasta water to the sauce, and stir. Drain the pasta and pour into the skillet with the sauce. Gently fold the pasta into the sauce until all of the pasta is coated. Sprinkle in the freshly chopped or dried herbs (basil, sage, oregano) and squeeze lemon juice over pasta; gently stir until all ingredients are well mixed.
- Remove pork from the oven. If you have a meat thermometer, it is done at around 150 degrees. Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice on a diagonal.
- Plate the pasta and sauce and then top with the sliced pork. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over individual servings as desired.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Calories: 763 kcal, Carbohydrates: 36 g, Protein: 70 g, Fat: 36 g, Saturated Fat: 19 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12 g, Trans Fat: 0.1 g, Cholesterol: 197 mg, Sodium: 172 mg, Potassium: 1588 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 2 g, Vitamin A: 13 IU, Vitamin C: 5 mg, Calcium: 59 mg, Iron: 6 mgNutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Pork Recipe Ideas
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Smithfield® Marinated Fresh Pork. As always, all opinions and photos are the own.
