This Goat Cheese, Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin is fancy enough to impress guests on a special occasion though easy enough to do any night of the week.
Do you have one of those dishes that your family used to make on special occasions? One that my parents used to make for me that came from a cookbook (Silver Palate maybe?) was for a stuffed leg of lamb. It was one of my favorite dishes. I haven’t made it myself in a long time, and that is mainly because my husband is not a fan of lamb. So it isn’t something I make at home.
On the other hand, we are a big pork household. So I decided to recreate the recipe using a pork loin. My local grocery store puts pork loin on sale every so often for half price so I will stock my freezer at that time. And I’m always looking for something different to make with it. Plus, Goat Cheese, Mushrooms and Spinach Stuffed Pork Loin is great for entertaining.
I actually first made this dish at a girls weekend with some of my friends. It was a huge hit, so I recently recreated it at home and played with it more to get it just right. Everyone loved it, well, minus the mushrooms for the kids (means more for mommy!!)
If you’ve never stuffed a roast like this, don’t let that stop you. It is actually quite simple to butterfly a roast. You just need a big, sturdy cutting board and a large, sharp knife. You cut the pork loin in half horizontally though don’t slice it all the way through. You want to leave about 1/2 inch down one side of the pork loin and open it up like a book. Then, take a meat mallet and let all your frustrations out on that sucker. I do like to cover the meat in plastic wrap first to keep juices and raw meat from flying around. Pounding the meat will do 2 things: make it a more uniform thickness and help tenderize it a bit.
Once that is done, a quick sauté of the garlic, mushrooms and spinach in olive oil gets the filling ready. I like to add a splash of balsamic vinegar to the filling for extra flavor. Or some white wine would be a fantastic addition as well. Feel free to play with the flavors here and season with a touch of salt and pepper.
Now, you are ready for the fun part! Crumble the goat cheese and spread evenly over all of the pork. Then spread the mushroom and spinach mixture over one half of the pork. If you have more filling than will fit, then save it to serve on the side.
Fold the pork back over and secure with kitchen twine. Nothing fancy here, just wrap it around and tie some knots. Voila! Now put on a roasting rack and bake in the oven. Mine takes about 45 minutes to roast in a 375 degree oven. Though check the temperature and see if you need to go longer. And if your pork loin is browning too much, then cover with foil. Food safety tip: when you use your trusty meat thermometer, make sure it is in the middle of the pork loin, and not the filling. Once the meat hits 145 degrees F, then you can take it out of the oven to rest before slicing.
Slice and enjoy!
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Goat Cheese, Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin
Ingredients
- 4 lb pork loin trimmed of extra fat
- 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 7 cloves garlic minced, divided
- 8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 5 oz fresh spinach
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar optional
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt divided
- 1/2 tsp pepper divided
- 4 oz goat cheese crumbled
- 1 sprig rosemary chopped
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.
- Butterfly the pork loin by laying on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, slice horizontally down the middle, but do not cut all the way through. Leave about a half inch on one side then open up the pork loin like a book so that it lays flat. Cover the pork with plastic wrap and pound the pork loin with a mallet so that it is uniform thickness.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium size pan over medium heat. Add half of the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds to one minute. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for about 50 minutes. Add the fresh spinach and balsamic vinegar, if using. Cook just until the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and stir in half of the salt and pepper.
- Spread the goat cheese over both sides of the pork. On one side of the pork, spread the mushrooms and spinach. If you have more filling than will fit, then save any extra to serve with it later.
- Fold one side of the pork onto the other and then use kitchen twine to secure the pork. Rub the remaining garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary all over the outside of the pork. Place the pork in a roasting pan.
- Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes or until internal temperature of pork is 145 degrees F. If your pork begins to brown too much, then cover with foil. Allow the pork to rest for 10 minutes before removing the twine, slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
