One-Pan Pork Tenderloin with Peppers, Greens & Garbanzos

Part of our 5-Ingredient Costco Dinners series – real weeknight meals built almost entirely from your Costco haul.

This one is loosely inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe, which means it’s fast, it’s a one-pan situation, and it has no patience for fussiness. We swapped a few things to make it work with what’s actually on Costco shelves, and somewhere in the process it got even better. That happens sometimes.

Pork tenderloin is one of the most underrated proteins in the Costco meat case. It’s lean, it cooks fast, and it takes on flavor well. A lot of people save it for “special occasions” which is a shame, because it’s a Tuesday night dinner waiting to happen.

Ingredients

Olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic (Christopher Ranch Colossal if you’ve got it – frozen works great here), and a small pat of Kirkland Grass-Fed Butter to finish if you want to feel fancy about it.

Method

1. Sear the pork. Cut your tenderloin to fit your pan – whole or halved crosswise. Season generously with salt and pepper. Get a large, wide pan hot over high heat, add a glug of olive oil, and sear the pork 4-5 minutes, turning once, until it’s got real color on both sides. Don’t skip this – that brown crust is flavor you can’t add back later. Pull the pork out and rest it on a plate.
2. Build the pan. Turn the heat down to medium-high. In the fat left in the pan, add 2-3 minced garlic cloves (or a frozen cube) and, if you’re using The Cheat, the fennel seeds. Sizzle 30-45 seconds until fragrant, then add your drained, roughly chopped roasted peppers and cook about 2 minutes. Add a big handful or two of power greens – they’ll look like way too much at first. They’re not.
3. Add the garbanzos. Pour in the whole can – beans AND liquid. The liquid is key: it creates a light, starchy broth that ties the dish together and gives the pork something to finish cooking in. Stir and bring to a gentle boil.
4. Finish the pork. Nestle the tenderloin back in so it’s touching the base of the pan, and pour over any resting juices. Cover and simmer on medium 10-12 minutes, turning once, until just cooked through – about 145°F inside. A little pink in the middle is completely fine and keeps it juicy.
5. The balsamic finish. Off the heat, drizzle a good splash of balsamic over everything – a tablespoon or so – and stir. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, add that pat of butter if you want richness, and rest the pork 2 minutes. Serve sliced pork over a big spoonful of the peppers, greens, and garbanzos. That’s it.

If your power greens wilt into what looks like a dark, slightly chaotic pile when they first hit the pan, that’s exactly right. Don’t try to fix it. Once the garbanzos and their liquid go in, it transforms into something genuinely intentional – and uneven wilting means some bites are greens-forward and some are pepper-forward, which makes the whole bowl more interesting.

Swaps & substitutions

No pork tenderloin?

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work beautifully. Same method, just add 3-4 minutes to the covered simmer time.

Can’t find roasted peppers?

Two fresh red bell peppers, sliced thin and cooked down in the pan for 5 minutes before the greens, is a solid substitute. Or roast your own: halved red bells at 425°F for 25-30 minutes.

Want more heat?

A pinch of red pepper flakes in with the garlic and fennel seeds is a great addition.

Make it heartier?

Serve over toasted crusty bread (Costco’s sourdough is perfect) to soak up the garbanzo broth. This is the move.

A heaped teaspoon of fennel seeds goes in with the peppers and greens, and it completely changes the dish. Slightly anise-y, slightly sweet, and they toast up in the hot pan before everything else gets added. You won’t necessarily know they’re there, but you’ll know something is. Fennel seeds aren’t reliably stocked at Costco, so this is a pantry or grocery store grab – but it’s worth having a jar around.

Nutrition

• 380Calories
• 42gProtein
• 26gCarbs
• 10gFat
• 6gFiber
• 480mgSodium