Sous vide pork loin and Brussels sprouts served on a bed of Mediterranean lentil salad with hard-boiled eggs… This is an incredibly satisfying low-carb and high-protein meal that you can prepare on a Sunday afternoon for your workday lunches.

Sous vide pork loin and Brussels sprouts served on a bed of Mediterranean lentil salad with hard-boiled eggs… This is an incredibly satisfying low-carb and high-protein meal that you can prepare on a Sunday afternoon for your workday lunches.

Ever since I got a sous vide machine, it somehow triggered lots of meal preps. I couldn’t help asking myself…

Why didn’t I have a meal prep Sunday before?

Mainly because when I can drop my food straight from the freezer into a water bath at a precise cooking temperature, it just feels right to do meal preps.

Think about it. Say that you have some frozen pork chops in the freezer, and you want to cook them. Let’s also say that your pork chops are already seasoned or marinated.

What do you do?

Before cooking, you’ve got to thaw the pork chops, then take them out of the freezer bag and transfer them to a plate or a baking sheet, depending on how you want to cook them. Only then you cook. Oh, and remember to wash that plate or baking dish really well.

With a sous vide, on the other hand, you can skip all the hassle and time of thawing and taking the food out of the freezer bag, using some of your dishes and then washing them. You dump the frozen food straight into a water bath and start sous vide cooking right away.

For that reason, I started dedicating my Sunday afternoons to seasoning food, putting it in vacuum bags, sealing, and freezing.

Sous Vide Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts (6)

Since I am often in the kitchen on Sunday afternoons, I might as well prepare some quick sides, right? You know what? All of sudden, my workday meals become hassle-free and require minimal cooking—at least not much hands-on time.

After doing that for a few weeks in a row, I thought I’d share my meal prep ideas with you. Even if you don’t have a sous vide, I hope you can still get inspiration from this new series on the StreetSmart Kitchen blog—Meal Prep Sunday.

To kick thing off, let’s prep and cook some pork loin and Brussels sprouts, shall we?

Please note that in this meal, we are cooking pork loin, not pork tenderloin, which is the muscle that runs along the backbone. Pork loin is the center cut from the animal’s back. It’s a large piece of meat. A pork loin roast usually runs anywhere between two to five pounds. So make sure you get the right cut.

What’s in the Meal?

  • Sous Vide Pork Loin (See recipe below)
  • Sous Vide Brussels Sprouts (See recipe below)
  • Mediterranean Lentil Salad
  • Hard-boiled Eggs or Sous Vide Eggs

Sous vide pork loin and Brussels sprouts served on a bed of Mediterranean lentil salad with hard-boiled eggs… This is an incredibly satisfying low-carb and high-protein meal that you can prepare on a Sunday afternoon for your workday lunches.

What Kitchen Equipment Do You Need?

Meal Prep Sunday Instructions

This is the order of operation that I came up with to prepare this amazingly satisfying low-carb meal. It worked perfectly for me, but feel free to adjust it to fit in your schedule.

#1 Prepare the water bath with a sous vide machine.

Attach the Anova sous vide machine to a large saucepan or a sous vide container. Fill your saucepan with water until the water comes up to somewhere between the lines of “min” and “max” that are marked on your sous vide machine. Set the temperature to 140°F and turn on the machine to heat the water.

#2 Season your pork loin.

My pork loin was pre-cut into 1-inch thick pieces so they cook faster and I can get more seasonings on them. Season each piece generously on each side with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Don’t worry about over-seasoning. The good thing about cooking sous vide is that it doesn’t matter. The excessive seasoning helps slowly lock in the flavor, and any extra will drop into the pork juice while cooking, so the pork itself will be perfectly tasty.

#3 Bag up the pork loin.

To bag the pork, start by folding the top of a sous vide bag or Ziploc bag back over itself to form a hem. This will prevent the pork seasonings and juices from getting on the edges of the bag, which could interfere with the seal or provide vectors for contamination. Use multiple bags and make sure pork pieces are not stacked upon each other. Slide the pork loin pieces into the bags. Unfold the edge before closing each bag. Seal using either a vacuum sealer or a hand pump.

#4 Sous vide the pork loin and prepare the side dishes.

By the time you’ve nicely sealed up your pork in the sous vide bags, your water bath should be ready. Drop the pork loin bags into the water bath and set the timer for 45 minutes. Now it’s time to prepare the sides, or maybe pour yourself a glass of wine first?

Follow the instructions here to cook the Mediterranean lentil salad, and on another burner, start boiling some water for soft- or hard-boiled eggs at the same time.

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

#5 Prepare Brussels sprouts for sous vide cooking.

While your lentils and eggs are cooking, clean the Brussels sprouts, trim off the ends, and cut them in half lengthwise.  Place the Brussels sprouts halves in a sous vide bag. Season with salt and pepper and add some olive oil. Give it a gentle shake. Seal the bag and use a hand pump to suck out the air from the bag. (If you have a vacuum seal machine, even better.) Set it aside.  

#6 Finish off the pork, sides, and sous vide Brussels sprouts.

When your Anova Sous Vide reminds you that your pork is done, remove the pork from the water bath and increase the temperature to 183°F for the brussels sprouts. It’ll take a few minutes for your water to reach the temperature.

Meantime, remove the pork from the sous vide bags and gently pat with paper towels. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high, drizzle some olive oil, and let the oil get hot. Sear both sides of the pork loin pieces for 45 seconds to 1 minute or until the outside of the pork is crispy. Set aside.

Sous vide pork loin and Brussels sprouts served on a bed of Mediterranean lentil salad with hard-boiled eggs… This is an incredibly satisfying low-carb and high-protein meal that you can prepare on a Sunday afternoon for your workday lunches.

Once the water is ready, drop the prepared Brussels sprouts in the water bath and set the timer for 30 minutes.

Now, it’s time to finish off the lentil salad and peel the eggs.

#7 Pack it up!

By now, your Brussels sprouts should be done.

Lay out four to six meal prep containers. Depending on the portion size you want for each meal, you might need more or fewer containers. This one yielded six meals for me and some leftover lentil salad.

Place lentil salad at the bottom of each container, followed by the sous vide Brussels sprouts. Then place one or two pieces for sous vide pork loin on top, and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Stuff a hard-boiled egg into the container. Voila!

Repeat the same process for the rest of the containers and refrigerate them.

When ready to eat, microwave one container for 1.5 to 2 minutes on high and enjoy!

Sous vide pork loin and Brussels sprouts served on a bed of Mediterranean lentil salad with hard-boiled eggs… This is an incredibly satisfying low-carb and high-protein meal that you can prepare on a Sunday afternoon for your workday lunches.

But I Don’t Have a Sous Vide Machine…

If you don’t have a sous vide machine, you can easily cook your pork loin roast in the oven or in a slow cooker. This Mexican Pork Roast comes with potatoes and carrots, all slow-cooked in a smoky chili tomato sauce, so if you decide to do meal prep with this slow cooker version, you might not need additional sides. Serve it over rice or pair it with some good bread. That’s a hearty meal right there.

Now, tell me—do you do meal prep during the weekend? If so, what are some of your favorite meals? Leave a comment below and let me know. I am always on the lookout for more inspiration. I would love to hear from you.

Sous vide pork loin and Brussels sprouts served on a bed of Mediterranean lentil salad with hard-boiled eggs… This is an incredibly satisfying low-carb and high-protein meal that you can prepare on a Sunday afternoon for your workday lunches.
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Sous Vide Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts (6)

Sous Vide Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts

  • Author: Sharon Chen
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Main, Gluten Free, Low Carb, High Protein
  • Method: Sous Vide
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Sous vide pork loin and Brussels sprouts served on a bed of Mediterranean lentil salad with hard-boiled eggs… This is an incredibly satisfying low-carb and high-protein meal that you can prepare on a Sunday afternoon for your workday lunches.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 (1-inch thick) pork loin pieces (about 3 pounds)
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, ends removed and halved
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

  1. Attach the Anova sous vide machine to a large saucepan or a sous vide container. Fill your saucepan with water until the water comes up to somewhere between the lines of “min” and “max” that are marked on your sous vide machine.
  2. Preheat the sous vide machine to 140°F or your desired temperature. Allow the water bath to come to the temperature before adding your pork.
  3. While your water bath is getting warmed up, prepare the pork loin by seasoning each piece generously on each side with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  4. To bag the pork, start by folding the top of a sous vide bag or Ziploc bag back over itself to form a hem. This will prevent the pork seasonings and juices from getting on the edges of the bag, which could interfere with the seal or provide vectors for contamination.
  5. Slide the pork loin pieces into the bag. Use multiple bags. Unfold the edge before closing each bag. Seal using either a vacuum sealer or a hand pump.
  6. Place the bagged pork into the preheated water bath, making sure not to block the intake or output sections of your sous vide machine. If properly sealed, the pork should sink. If using Ziploc bags, slowly lower your bagged pork into your water bath, letting the pressure of the water press air out through the top of the bag. Once most of the air is out of the bag, carefully seal the bag just above the waterline.
  7. Cook for 45 minutes.
  8. Once the pork is done, take it out of the water bath and increase temperature to 183°F.
  9. Prepare a new sous vide bag or Ziploc bag by folding the top. Place halved Brussels sprouts into the bag, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Grab the bag and shake well.
  10. Unfold the edge of the bag and seal it according to step 5. Drop the bag into the prepared water bath, making sure that all Brussels sprouts are under the water. Cook for 30 minutes.
  11. While the Brussels sprouts are cooking, finish up the pork. Take the pork loin pieces out of the bags. Pat them dry with paper towels.
  12. Add some olive oil in a cast iron skillet and heat it over medium-high heat on your stove. Once the oil is hot, place the pork in the hot oil and push it down with your spatula for about 45 seconds on each side.
  13. Plate the sous vide pork with sous vide Brussels sprouts, two pieces on each plate. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with cherry tomatoes Enjoy!

Notes

If your pork loin is pre-seasoned and frozen, add 30 minutes of cooking time under the same temperature, 140°F.

Keywords: sous vide pork loin, meal prep sunday

About the Author

Sharon Chen is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, an author and a sous vide fanatic who believes food not only brings healing but also connection. As the creator of StreetSmart Kitchen, she's on a mission to help you find balance, ease, joy, and simplicity in the kitchen as you improve your well-being.