This pork dish, made with only six ingredients, is incredibly easy to prepare. The salty-sweet combo of the fig preserves and the prosciutto is really lovely. No searing or strings to tie the tenderloin are needed; simply wrap it and cook! If your air fryer basket is on the small side, cutting the tenderloin in half works best.–Gina Homolka
Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin FAQs
In Italian, prosciutto means “ham”. It’s made from meat cut from the hind legs of pigs and is aged and dry-cured. After curing, it’s sliced very thin and can be eaten raw. It’s most often used in salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes, and it’s a favorite on charcuterie trays.
That depends on how the meat will be used. In this application, it’s used as a wrap, and meant to crisp up and add flavor and saltiness to the pork loin. For this recipe, we’d recommend substituting bacon or pancetta. If you’re wanting to steer clear of pork, there are beef and duck variations of prosciutto available.
The “grains” in whole grain mustard are really just mustard seeds. If gluten is a concern, be sure to read the ingredient list very carefully, because although mustard seeds don’t contain gluten, the vinegar used may, particularly if it is malt vinegar.
Air Fryer Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- One (1 pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed of silver skin
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 5 to 6 thin strips (3 ounces) prosciutto
- 2 tablespoons fig preserves
- 4 teaspoons store-bought or homemade whole grain mustard
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
Instructions
- Season the tenderloin with black pepper to taste. Wrap the prosciutto around the tenderloin so each strip is touching and just slightly overlapping.
- If necessary, cut the tenderloin in half to fit into the air fryer basket. Place the tenderloin in the air fryer basket and cook at 400°F (205°C) for 10 minutes.
- Flip the tenderloin and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 145°F (63°C), 6 to 10 minutes more (this will depend on the thickness of the tenderloin, so start checking after 5 minutes). Transfer the tenderloin to a plate and let rest about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the fig preserves, mustard, and vinegar.
- Carve the pork into 8 slices, drizzle with the fig sauce, and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
My, oh my… such a great return on so little work. This pork tenderloin was splendid! Tester’s Choice with high marks.
The prosciutto, which was enough to cover the tenderloin, created the salt seasoning for the pork as well as a crispy crust. The generously peppered tenderloin (I used 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper) provided a nice bite into the juicy finished pork.
Mine was cooked to 145°F in 20 minutes. I rested the finished pork for 5 minutes. This is not a part you want to skip as the juices need to be reabsorbed by the meat. Also of note, the thinner tail of the tenderloin should be folded onto itself before wrapping with the prosciutto in order to create a more uniform log for even cooking.
The sauce. Oh, the sauce… where to start? The sauce is a standalone condiment. It goes beautifully with the pork. In fact, my only constructive feedback for this recipe is that the amount of sauce must be doubled. Full disclosure, I used my homemade fig preserves made with whole figs. I sliced them thinly. They might have soaked up the mustard and vinegar a bit more than a jammy type preserve. My sauce was a bit more like a chutney but a sauce, nonetheless. I was wanting to find a savoury application for my whole fig preserves that was not just charcuterie fare. This sauce is it! However, regular fig preserves would have yielded the same sweet and sour deliciousness.
Figs, pork, and mustard are such a classic combination. The air fryer method is genius in providing texture, flavour, and reduced fat. The other usual suspect in a fig and mustard combo is peppery arugula. So guess what I served my pork with? Fresh homegrown arugula salad that I mixed with butter lettuce and dressed with, you guessed it, more fig mustard sauce!
This has been quite a hectic week and we were looking to kill the proverbial “2 birds with one stone” – get a quick, easy dinner on the table AND make the required test recipe. Scanning the list, the air fryer prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin fit the bill. But, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much in the way of taste here: Season with pepper, wrap with prosciutto and cook for about 15 minutes?? I mean, I’m used to treating my pork with a marinade, or seasoning it overnight with a garlic, rosemary, salt, fennel and olive oil rub – working it well into the meat, or slow-cooking it for 10 hours in prep for my home-made pulled pork barbecue sauce.
Well, we were VERY pleasantly surprised with this almost effortless dish. Not only was the pork flavorfully moist, (having been treated to the rendered prosciutto during cooking), the quick-to-make fig-mustard sauce added the right touch of “special” to the dish. We sauteed some string beans in butter and oil with minced red onion, then roasted baby yellow potatoes with oil, salt and fresh rosemary (which took all of 20 minutes) and had a delicious, gratifying dinner in a smidgen more than 30 minutes.
I don’t use my air-fryer feature in my Breville Smart oven very often as I find many recipes are not as tasty, however this easy recipe is one that’s an exception!
I trimmed my tenderloin of the silver skin, as it’s always a bit nasty to eat. I gave a heavy coating of fresh ground pepper and then folded the thin, tapered end under and peppered that side. I placed the slices of prosciutto on the cutting board with a little overlap, using the tenderloin as a guide, so I have about 1/4” overhang on either end. I placed the pork in the middle of the prosciutto, then rolled each end gently over the pork until it was completely sealed.
The resting is an important part of this process, as it will continue cooking, and we had perfectly cooked, juicy slices. The fig and mustard sauce make a very wonderful accompaniment for the tenderloin. It’s a sauce that will probably work on other meats or fish, and I will be experimenting very soon!
This air fryer prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin is not only outrageously delicious but incredibly easy to put together. The pork was juicy, the prosciutto was crispy and the fig mustard sauce was the perfect accompaniment. From start to finish it was ready in 30 minutes and with little effort to put it together it makes for the perfect weeknight dish. I served this alongside mashed yams and a crisp green salad. This recipe is definitely a keeper for me as it was so nice to finally have a pork tenderloin turn out to be so delicious and moist.
This was absolutely fantastic. It’s easy to make and hits a whole range of flavor notes. The sauce is sweet and tart, which goes beautifully with the salty prosciutto wrap.
It took 10 minutes on each side, and the wrapping was exactly the right amount of crisp. I didn’t have to cut the tenderloin but simply bent it so it was in a comma-type shape in the air fryer.
What a great discovery! I will be making this over and over again. We had this with sourdough bread and jalapeño mac and cheese.
This recipe couldn’t be easier and delivers a juicy pork tenderloin that has a wonderful salty-sweet combo just as the headnote says. The recipe is simple and straightforward; the key is to check the pork during the cooking to be sure you don’t overcook it. But the recipe says that too. The prosciutto gets nice and crispy, adding a wonderful texture to the saltiness. There’s really not a lot to say. Just go make it!
It is fun finding more uses for my air fryer. This one delivered a tasty main course, but the jury is still out as to whether or not I would make this dish again. I appreciated that in not much time at all, a prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin was ready for its side dishes, and made it onto our table.
The pork was not as tender and juicy as we like our pork. If I do try this method for cooking pork tenderloin again, I would definitely cut the cooking time down, and test for doneness much earlier. The sauce did help ease the dryness problem. Wrapping anything in prosciutto always is a plus, and in this case did add to the enjoyment of the dish.
I served this with baked potato fans which I cooked in the air fryer before cooking the pork. I also steamed some baby broccolini to round out the meal. A Mendocino Pinot Noir was the perfect wine to sip with our dinner.
The reviews are so great I am tempted to buy an air fryer just for this recipe! There must be a way to make this with similar results probably more effort and time. Would someone please suggest an optional cooking method. Thank you.
Den, we didn’t test it using a different method. You could try cooking it in the oven, but the air fryer does seem to be the perfect tool for this recipe. If any of our readers try making it, we’d love to hear what worked for you.