This easy turkey tenderloin crock pot recipe is an ideal alternative for a small Thanksgiving gathering or family dinner any time of year. Enjoy the classic big flavors you love but with the convenience of cooking the smallest, juiciest, and tender part! Simply add turkey tenderloins to the slow cooker with an aromatic marinade, and in just a few hours you’ll be ready to serve a centerpiece-worthy dish for any occasion.
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Turkey Tenderloin Crock Pot Video Tutorial
Why We Love This Recipe
- Tender and juicy meat.
This tenderloin has a mild flavor and great texture. And like whole birds and turkey breast, the tenderloins pair well with your favorite holiday and comfort food side dishes. If you like easy chicken tender recipes, you are absolutely going to love this recipe!
- Easily made in the crock pot.
Using a crock pot to slow cook the poultry really takes the tenderness up a notch. The meat becomes incredibly juicy, and the marinade will infuse each tender bite with flavor. Plus, it’s beyond simple to make turkey tenderloin in a crock pot just like our slow cooker garlic and parmesan chicken, crock pot chuck roast, and other slow cooker recipes.
- Perfect for smaller gatherings where a whole bird is too big.
While it makes a perfect Thanksgiving turkey for smaller gatherings, I make it year-round for easy Sunday dinners and meal prep along with our oven roasted turkey tenderloins.
Looking for a quick turkey tenderloin recipe? Make our Instant Pot turkey tenderloin recipe instead!
What is a Turkey Tenderloin?
The tenderloin is located between and is attached to the breasts of the bird. It’s a thick, wide strip of meat from a part of the bird that doesn’t get much of a workout. So it tends to be a bit softer and stays super juicy when cooked vs. the breast. However, tenderloins are still rather lean and quite healthy!
Since tenderloins are boneless and skinless, so they are also very easy to work with and prepare in any number of ways. I like to marinate them overnight for extra flavor. However, this is totally optional!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Turkey – you’ll need two boneless and skinless tenderloins. At most stores, they come in packages of two, with a total weight of about 1.5 pounds. The Jennie-O brand is usually available all year long at Walmart stores.
- Broth – we use chicken broth, but chicken stock and vegetable broth are both good substitutes.
🎯 Important Safety Information
We use fresh tenderloins or thawed from frozen. According to the USDA website, it is generally considered unsafe to prepare frozen meat in a crock pot.
For the Marinade
- Apple cider vinegar – adds a nice tangy flavor to the marinade, but you can use white vinegar instead if you don’t have any.
- Honey – sweetens up the marinade. You can also substitute brown sugar, pure maple syrup, or agave nectar.
- Dijon mustard – helps thicken the marinade and adds flavor. You can swap it with yellow mustard if needed.
- Herbs and spices – we used dried thyme, dried rosemary, sea salt, and pepper. However, you can use any herbs and spices you have on hand. Feel free to get creative!
How to Make Slow Cooker Turkey Tenderloin
- Prepare the marinade.
The turkey tenderloins only needs to marinate for an hour or so before everything is ready to be added to the slow cooker. But if you have the time we recommend letting the tenderloins marinate for a few hours.
To do this, you want to place the tenderloins in a 1 or 2-gallon size Ziploc bag or use the crockpot insert covered with the lid.
Want to make this recipe without marinating it? Just pour the marinade mixture over the top of the meat when you add it to the slow cooker. See notes in the full recipe below.
- Bring the poultry to room temperature before slow cooking.
After marinating, just pull the package out of the fridge and let it sit on your countertop for 30-45 minutes.
- Slow-cook the meat. Add poultry and marinade to the slow cooker. Pour chicken broth over the meat, then place the lid on your crock pot.
Cook the turkey breast tenderloins on low for 6-8 hours, checking the turkey tenderloin temp after 4 hours. Use an instant-read thermometer, placing the probe in the center (the thickest part of the turkey roast). The magic number for perfectly cooked poultry is 165º F.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
After you finish cooking turkey tenderloins in the crockpot, let them rest for 10-15 minutes. During the resting time, the poultry will continue to cook (this is known as carryover cooking.) To prevent the poultry from overcooking, remove the meat from the slow cooker when the internal temperature is 163°F.
Serving Suggestions
We think these sides pair perfectly with this poultry dinner:mashed potatoes, roasted green beans and red potatoes, cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, and candied brussel sprouts. For tasty desserts, we suggest a sweet carrot pie recipe or a pumpkin custard pie.
You can use leftover meat to make pull apart dinner rolls!
Storing Instructions
Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator. They also are great to freeze! Once cooled transfer them to a freezer-safe zipper bag, and keep them stored for up to 3 months.
Love using your slow cooker? Cube steak and gravy and slow cooker pinto beans are our favorite!
Recipe FAQs
Definitely! Just pour the marinade mixture over the top of the meat when you add it to the slow cooker. See notes under the recipe.
Most local grocery stores carry them in the fall, but I find the Jennie-O brand year-round at Wal-Mart.
About 6-8 hours on LOW temperature.
Yes, you need to add at least 1 cup of chicken broth to prevent drying out and create moisture for even cooking in a slow cooker.
Cook to an internal temperature of 165°F. Remove at 163°F and let rest, as carryover cooking will bring it to 165°F.
Consider These Easy + Delicious Poultry Recipes…
If you tried this turkey tenderloin crock pot recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Turkey Tenderloin Crock Pot Recipe
Equipment
- crock pot (slow cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds turkey tenderloin (about 2 tenderloins)
- 1 cup chicken broth or chicken stock, regular or low-sodium
For the Marinade
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme (or 6 sprigs fresh thyme)
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1 sprig fresh rosemary)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, garlic, herbs, and seasonings until evenly combined.
- Place the tenderloins in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag with the marinade. Close the bag and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, (or up to 6 hours), to allow the flavors to infuse with the poultry.
- Add poultry and marinade to the slow cooker. Pour broth over meat, then place the lid on your crock pot. Cook the turkey breast tenderloins on low for 6-8 hours, checking the turkey tenderloin temp after 4 hours.
- The poultry is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. To avoid overcooking, remove turkey when the internal temp reaches 163°F.Tent the tenderloins with foil and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Video
Notes
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- They also are great to freeze! Once cooled transfer them to a freezer-safe zipper bag, and keep them stored for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
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Kate says
I love this! So delicious. I think I would cut back the honey a little. My husband thought it was a tad sweet.