This Whole30-friendly sheet pan dinner was inspired by the flavors of Chinese barbecue pork (a.k.a. char siu)—long strips of seasoned, roasted boneless pork, often glazed with a sweet barbecue sauce.
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An easy pork tenderloin sheet pan meal!
Yes, I have a Paleo Char Siu recipe, too, but unfortunately, the traditional preparation takes hours, and I simply don’t have time for that on a weeknight. On busy evenings, I just want to throw some healthy protein and veggies tossed with an umami-packed marinade in the oven and call it dinner. (Of course, when you’re not pressed for time, you should definitely make my Paleo Char Siu because it’s amazing and well worth the effort. Do it this weekend!)
Ingredients
- Pork tenderloin
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Plum jam (with just fruit juice as sweetener)
- Coconut aminos
- Whole30 Sriracha
- Tomato paste
- Red Boat fish sauce
- Garlic
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Green beans
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Red bell pepper
- Red onion
- Scallions / Green Onions
How to make Sheet Pan Sweet and Spicy Pork
Heat the oven to 450°F or 425°F convection, with one rack in the upper middle position and another one in the lower middle position. While you’re waiting for the oven to heat up, prep the ingredients.
Grab the pork medallions and toss well with 1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
Next, combine the jam, coconut aminos, sriracha, tomato paste, fish sauce, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl.
Whisk until smooth.
Add the pork to the bowl and mix well. Arrange the pork in a single-layer on two rimmed baking sheet.
Toss in the green beans, mushrooms, bell pepper, and onions, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt to the bowl with the remaining sauce. Use your hands to coat all the vegetables evenly in the sauce.
Arrange the veggies in a single layer around the pork on the baking sheets.
Pop the trays in the oven…
…and roast for a total of 15 to 20 minutes or until the pork is cooked through (140°F in the thickest parts of the pork medallions), swapping the pans at the halfway point to ensure even doneness.
If you want your pork and veggies with a little more char, place each tray about 6 inches under the broiler for a few minutes to brown. Top with scallions and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Boneless and skinless chicken pieces work great in this recipe, but you may have to cook them longer (25 to 35 minutes) to reach the proper temperature (a meat thermometer should read 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh or 150°F if you’re using chicken breasts). Alternatively, you can cut the chicken pieces into smaller pieces to speed up the cooking time.
Yes! Choose vegetables that are skinny and cook in the same amount of time as the green beans. Some great substitutes are broccolini, baby broccoli, and asparagus.
Whole30-friendly sriracha is not easy to find, but I have great recipe for it over here. If you like spicy food but don’t want to make your own sriracha, simply add ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes in place of it. Taste the marinade and add more if desired.
Truth be told, the sriracha only adds a subtle kick of heat—even my kids don’t find it overwhelming. Of course, everyone has a different spice tolerance, so feel free to tweak the marinade to your taste. You can adjust the amount of spiciness yourself—add a little sriracha at a time and taste the marinade until it is suits your tastebuds.
You can leave out the sriracha altogether if you don’t like spicy dishes—just sample the marinade before tossing in the raw pork to check if you need to add extra coconut aminos or fish sauce to balance out the sweetness of the jam.
It’s important to use a high-quality, 100% fruit jam in this recipe. I buy St. Dalfour brand (it’s not a sponsor—I just like the stuff, and it’s pretty widely available), and its plum, apricot, and peach spreads work equally well in this recipe. I’ve found this brand at most grocery stores, but you can also find it online.
Although the pictures in this recipe post show parchment-lined baking sheets, they only help make clean-up easier. In fact, you actually get better browning when you leave it off. The choice is up to you!
I like to serve a simple vegetable side dish with this dish: Simple Cauliflower Rice, stir-fried greens (e.g. spinach, bok choy, or broccoli), or a big green salad.
You can store the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four days or in the freezer for a few months.
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Sheet Pan Sweet and Spicy Pork (Whole30, Gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork tenderloin cut crosswise into 1-inch medallions
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ½ cup plum jam sweetened with fruit juice (peach and apricot jam also work)
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons Whole30 Sriracha
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Red Boat fish sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound green beans trimmed
- ¼ pound fresh shiitake mushrooms stemmed and quartered
- 1 medium red bell pepper cut into 1-inch squares
- ½ medium red onion cut into ½-inch wedges
- 2 scallions sliced on the bias
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F or 425°F convection, with one rack in the upper middle position and another one in the lower middle position. While you’re waiting for the oven to heat up, prep the ingredients.
- Grab the pork medallions and toss well with 1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Next, combine the jam, coconut aminos, sriracha, tomato paste, fish sauce, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth.
- Add the pork to the bowl and mix well. Arrange the pork in a single-layer on two rimmed baking sheet.
- Toss in the green beans, mushrooms, bell pepper, and onions, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt to the bowl with the remaining sauce. Use your hands to coat all the vegetables evenly in the sauce.
- Arrange the veggies in a single layer around the pork on the baking sheets.
- Pop the trays in the oven and roast for a total of 15 to 20 minutes or until the pork is cooked through (140°F in the thickest parts of the pork medallions), swapping the pans at the halfway point to ensure even doneness.
- If you want your pork and veggies with a little more char, place each tray about 6 inches under the broiler for a few minutes to brown. Top with scallions and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks amazing! But.. my husband is allergic to plums. Can I use one of the other jams???thank you!
Is this recipe in one of your cookbooks? Looks delicious!
Very good, very quick. I fudged the veg a bit with yellow squash instead of the mushrooms as that’s what my garden is giving me and a added some sliced plums because – yum.
Net time I’ll cut everything up on the weekend and this will be on the table in 20 minutes.
Made this tonight using the apricot jam, very easy and quick. Sooooo delicious! I was afraid the spice would be too much for me, but it is not. Thank you for another wonderful recipe. So much flavor!
Thanks for the tip about Apricot Jam. I haven’t seen Paleo-ish plum jam around and it’s $15+ for the small jar the recipe links to. I can find organic Apricot jam for probably around $4.
Loved this!
Chili-garlic sauce is similar to Sriracha without added sugar.
Came out great. Used boned in and skin on chicken thighs. Didn’t put the asparagus at the start. Skin came out nice and crispy. Will be making it again.
Thanks for the recipes! I absolutely LOVE to cook for family & friends. Trying the pork tenderloin tonight. Was searching for a new recipe and found yours. I’m going to try all of you recipes. They look DELICIOUS!!! Thank you fellow foodie!!