A recipe for those times when you need a juicy slice of turkey slathered in a spoonful of garlic and lemon gravy and also for those times where you only have 30 minutes and don't want to dirty your kitchen. Turkey tenderloins are not only lean, but super flavorful and pair perfectly with roasted vegetables and creamy mashed potatoes. While some see "gravy" and think grease and fat, the gravy is kept super light as it's mainly chicken broth and juice drippings but still packed with the butter, rosemary, garlic and lemon flavors we love. I mean a serving of the turkey, gravy and vegetables is only 200 calories!
Everything cooks together in a large casserole dish in the oven. I love this because you can just pop it in and forget about it for a while. I use an electronic meat thermometer in the meat because it saves me so much guessing. There's nothing worse then taking it out multiple times to check the temp or having to cut it open to see if it's cooked. I just set the temperature and walk away until it beeps to tell me we're almost there!
The gravy is absolutely my favorite part of this meal. I was unsure of what to call it because it's not exactly that classic thanksgiving gravy and it's not exactly a sophisticated lemon sauce either. It's more of a lightened up thanksgiving gravy with sophisticated lemon, rosemary and garlic flavor.
So I settled on Light Lemon Garlic Gravy and am hoping that captures it's delicious elegance!
The vegetables in this dish are really up to your preference. I went with whatever I had in my kitchen- carrots, onions, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I've found that heartier vegetables like Brussels and carrots take forever to soften up in the oven and if they're not done right they can come out hard and be difficult to digest. I added an optional step in the directions to avoid this- give them a quick steam to soften them up before tossing in the oven. The steam will take a bit of the edge off but won't cook them fully.
This method will speed up your cook time and leave you with perfectly roasted-easy on the tummy- vegetables!
Serve this alongside your favorite creamy mashed potatoes, rice, pureed cauliflower, quinoa or even pasta! Honestly everything would taste good until that lemony gravy/sauce/whatever you want to call it.
Baked Turkey Tenderloin and Vegetables with Light Garlic Lemon Gravy
4 servings | 35 minutes
Ingredients:
1-1.5 lb turkey breast tenderloin (I opted for one packed in savory flavorings)
1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 tbsp butter
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp fresh rosemary (1 tsp if using dried)
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
4-6 cups assorted veggies (I used large carrot chunks, quartered Brussels sprouts, large onion chunks and broccoli florets)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large lemon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.
Optional step: I prefer to steam hearty vegetables like Brussels sprouts and carrots over water for about 5 minutes prior to roasting them. I find this is easier on digestion and makes the roasting process faster. If you omit this step you will need to start the heartier vegetables about 10 minutes prior to cooking the meat.
Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick olive oil spray.
Toss vegetables in olive oil, 1/2 tbsp of rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.
Arrange vegetables in baking dish. If optional steaming step was omitted add the veggies to the oven and allow to bake for 10 minutes prior to adding the meat. Move the vegetables towards to outside of casserole dish and arrange the turkey tenderloin in the middle. Top the tenderloin with remaining rosemary (Note: if your turkey was not marinated in anything you may want to also add a bit of olive oil and additional seasonings like thyme, salt and pepper on top). Slice half of a lemon very thinly and arrange on top of tenderloin.
I inserted an electronic meat thermometer in the tenderloin at this point but if you don't have an electronic one you can simply check with a hand meat thermometer when you think it's done.
Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
When there is a few minutes left in the cook time open the oven and pour 1/4 cup chicken broth over the turkey and vegetables.
Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and allow the flour to cook in the butter for a minute or so. Whisk in 1/4 cup of chicken broth until the gravy is smooth. Squeeze in the juice of the remaining half of the lemon and the minced garlic.
Remove the turkey and vegetables from the oven and drain all of the delicious juices into the gravy (I did this while the vegetables and turkey were still in the pan to make sure I captured ALL the flavors). Remove the turkey from the casserole dish, set aside to rest for 5 minutes and tent with tin foil. Remove the vegetables from the pan for serving.
Use some of the remaining chicken broth to deglaze the pan and add the gravy.
Slice the turkey tenderloin, saving any extra juices for the gravy of course!
Serve sliced turkey tenderloin hot alongside the vegetables and with gravy poured over. I also served mine alongside some garlic smashed potatoes and with an extra wedge of lemon!
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Nutrition Facts are provided as a guideline only. Exact nutrition will depend on quantity, brand and ingredients used.
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