A Slow Cooker Pork Loin roast or Pork Shoulder roast that’s cooked in an amazing honey butter garlic sauce! It’s a slow cooker pork roast recipe that works fabulously with pork loin, shoulder and scotch fillet, for your slow cooker, pressure cooker or oven.
Easy enough for midweek yet impressive enough for company, this crock pot pork loin is going to rock your world!
I will do anything I can to try to convince you to try this, so let me say again:
THIS CROCK POT PORK LOIN WILL ROCK YOUR WORLD!!!
OK, I confess. I just like that it (kind of) rhymes and wanted to say it. Again. ?
I’m done with the fun – now down to business!
This is a recipe I created especially for pork loin, but I’ve found that it works just as well with pork shoulder so you’ll see photos of both throughout this post.
The beauty of this recipe is that it looks and tastes like a traditional oven roasted pork – but it’s made in the slow cooker. Entirely hands off cooking time, slow cooked to tender perfection and when you pull it out at the end, the sauce just needs a quick simmer to thicken while the pork rests.
ABOUT THIS SLOW COOKER PORK LOIN ROAST
I know there are quite a few types of slow cooker pork loins “out there” so let me tell you what you’re getting with this one.
It’s a spice rubbed pork loin that’s cooked until it’s tender but still sliceable like classic roasts.
It’s cooked partially submerged in a miracle 4 ingredient Honey Butter Garlic Sauce which infuses the pork with flavour, adds juiciness and transforms into an amazing syrupy sauce to serve the pork with. Pork loin is a lean cut of meat so it’s ideal to have a buttery strong flavoured sauce to serve it with!
You get bonus points for basting while it cooks, but even if you don’t, this is how the pork looks straight out of the slow cooker: golden and bronzed, glistening with that honey butter sauce!
TIPS FOR MAKING SLOW COOKER PORK ROAST
Slow cooker pork roast is actually very simple to make as long as you use the right cut of pork and follow a few key steps:
-
Best pork for pork roast in a slow cooker – Though I originally created this recipe for pork loin, this recipe works brilliantly with pork loin, pork shoulder and scotch fillet roast (pork neck, a roasting cut of pork that’s popular in Australia and some parts of Europe, brilliant for fast and slow cooking). The first photo at the top is pork loin, the 2nd photo is shoulder;
-
Slow cooking pork loin – Being a lean cut of pork, there’s only two ways to cook it: Hard and fast until the inside is at an exact temperature, like with traditional pork roasts, OR slowly at a lower temperature. Slow cooking is more forgiving because it’s done at a lower temperature so an hour or so too long isn’t going to ruin your pork;
-
Pork Shoulder and Scotch Fillet – These cuts have more fat marbled through them so they are natural choices to use for slow cooker pork roasts. As they cook, the fat melts, making the meat beautifully juicy;
-
Tenderloin – Not a natural choice for this recipe because it’s much thinner than the other cuts listed above so it cooks much faster than the cuts listed above. However, I have included directions in the recipe notes for how to make this with tenderloin;
-
Season the pork for extra flavour with at least salt and pepper. I use a simple spice mix for this crock pot pork recipe;
-
SEAR! Browning = flavour. Whether you brown the pork before or after slow cooking, don’t skip this step, it’s imperative for great flavour!
-
How long to cook a pork roast in the slow cooker – for pork loin, 4 to 5 hours on low for tender, juicy perfection. Pork shoulder needs to be cooked for 10 hours on low for a 1.5 – 2.5kg / 3 – 5 lb pork roast. Shoulder is a tougher cut of pork so it requires a longer cook time to break down the fibres and fat.
SLOW COOKER PORK LOIN SPICE RUB & SAUCE
Here are the ingredients in this Slow Cooker Pork Loin sauce and spice rub. There’s not many!!!
THE SAUCE!
The Honey Butter Sauce for this Slow Cooker Pork Loin is made using the juices remaining in the slow cooker when the pork is cooked.
Straight out of the slow cooker, the flavour of the sauce is a bit thin so it needs to be reduced and I also like to thicken it a touch using cornflour to make it a syrupy thickness.
The Honey Butter Sauce truly is a miracle – it’s made with just cider vinegar, garlic and (hold onto your seats here…) BUTTER and HONEY!!
It’s ideal for serving with a Slow Cooker Pork Loin because it adds richness to an otherwise lean meat. Bonus: this recipe makes tons of sauce to smother your veggies and potatoes with it too!
What to do with leftovers?
Use it to make epic Bread Bowl Sandwich or Cubanos – Cuban Pork Sandwiches!
HOW I PREPARE AHEAD
This is one of those recipes that’s terrific for a midweek meal yet impressive enough for company. What I’ve been doing is preparing it the night before (searing the pork, making the sauce) then pouring it over the pork and leaving it in the removable insert of my slow cooker until the next morning.
Then I pop the insert into my slow cooker in the morning, leave the house for the day and come back to THIS ↓↓↓ Happy days!! – Nagi x
PS Pictured in post with a side of Garlic Sautéed Spinach and these Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes.
More slow cooker roast recipes
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast (with gravy!)
- Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Brisket
- Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
- Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg
Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast OR Pork Shoulder
Ingredients
- 1.75 - 2.5 kg / 3.5 - 5lb pork loin OR shoulder/boston butt ,or scotch fillet, skinless (Note 1)
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil , separated
Spice Rub:
- 2 tsp EACH paprika, thyme
- 1 tsp EACH garlic powder, onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper , optional
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp salt
Honey Butter Sauce:
- 3/4 cup honey
- 125g / 1/2 cup butter , unsalted
- 5 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each
Thickener:
- 3 tsp cornflour/cornstarch mixed with splash of water
Instructions
- Spice Rub: Rub pork with about 1 tsp oil. Mix Rub together then sprinkle over pork. Pat to adhere all over.
- Brown: Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork and sear all around until deep golden brown (don't let spices burn). Place pork in slow cooker.
- Honey Butter Sauce: Wipe pan. Add butter and melt. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until golden. Add remaining Sauce ingredients, mix, simmer rapidly for 30 seconds.
Slow Cook:
- Pour Sauce over pork. Cover slow cooker.
- Pork loin - Cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours (see Note 2 for cook times for different sizes)
- Pork Shoulder - Cook on LOW for 10 hours (see Note 2 for cook times for different sizes, and Note 4 for oven, InstantPot and pressure cooker methods).
- Remove pork onto serving platter, cover loosely with foil (10 - 20 minutes rest). (See Note 6 on Doneness)
- Pour all juices in slow cooker into large saucepan. Add cornflour water mixture, mix.
- Thicken Sauce: Simmer on medium high for 5 minutes or until it reduces down to a syrupy consistency (Note 3).
- Slice pork into thick slices (1.5 - 2 cm / 3/5 - 4/5" thick). Serve with PLENTY of Honey Butter Sauce!
Recipe Notes:
1 kg / 2lb - Pork Loin 3.5 hours on low, Shoulder 8 hours on low
1.5 - 2.5kg / 3 - 5lb: Per recipe
3kg / 6lb: Pork Loin 6 hours on low, Shoulder 11 - 12 hours on low
Use times closest to your pork size. 3. Sauce reduction: Reduction time to thicken dependent on how much juice comes out of the pork. Go by eye - when sauce is thin maple syrup consistency, it's ready (will thicken bit more when it cools a bit) 4. Other cook methods: * Pressure Cooker - Pork shoulder 1 hour 20 minutes on HIGH. To save time, this is how I did the pork in the 2nd photo in post. Have not tried pork loin so am unsure of required time.
* Instant Pot - Brown pork in IP, remove, melt butter and make Sauce in IP, then add pork back in, spoon over sauce. Then either cook using Pressure Cooker time for shoulder, or Slow Cooker time for pork loin or shoulder. If you get the burn notice, add 1/2 cup water. Remove pork and make Sauce using sauté function.
* OVEN - See here for directions 5. MAKE AHEAD - Brown pork and make sauce up to 1 day ahead, pour into slow cooker then remove insert and refrigerate until ready to cook. If preparing ahead more than 12 hours or so, keep the sauce separate (because it will make the pork sweat). Leftovers - Keep in the fridge for 3 days, or freezer for 3 months. I pour the sauce over it, it soaks through the pork and I love it. 6. Pork Doneness - Loin is a lean cut of pork so it's cooked for a short period of time than shoulder. Pork shoulder needs to be cooked for longer to let the tough fibres break down. Shoulder is more prone to falling apart (ie semi shredding) when slicing so be sure to rest it per recipe directions to minimise this. 7. Nutrition - per serving, assuming a 2 kg/4lb pork loin and 8 servings with all sauce consumed (which is unlikely).
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Dozer looking rather concerned as I pack for a trip to Vietnam…. he really hates the sight of a suitcase! Though the minute I drop him off at the golden retriever boarders’ place, he forgets all about me… (I like to think he’s being strong but crying on the inside…..)
Sam says
Hi Nagi,
I have some 4 loin cutlets with bone weighing approximately 260g each. Do you think your recipe is suitable for slow cooking these? Thanks Sam
Nagi says
Not this one sorry – you want a large piece you can slow cook. Try this one: https://www.recipetineats.com/oven-baked-pork-chops-with-potatoes/ N x
jan noden says
i have just purchessed a crockot no receipes
Nagi says
Hi Jan – Here’s a link to all my slow cooker recipes – I hope you fid something that you love! https://www.recipetineats.com/category/slow-cooker-recipes/ N x
Karen Johanson says
This was amazing! I made it with a 4 pound pork loin. I bated twice during the cooking. My slow cooker tends to cook things quickly, so when I checked after 3 hours on low and the temp was 180 F I was worried that it was way overcooked. I took it out of the slow cooker and wrapped it in foil while I finished making side dishes and the SAUCE! It turned out to be one of the best meals I’ve cooked during my 3 months of SIP in California! Nagi…you’ve done it again. My question is…what else have people tried with this delicious leftover sauce? Chicken ideas?
Nagi says
Hi Karen, internal temp of meat is irrelevant when slow cooking – you’re cooking it long and slow so the meat goes past well done and starts to break down and become tender. 🙂 N x
Manuel says
Your recipe was heaven! Thank you very much!
As I didn’t have cayenne pepper, had to improvise with sichuan pepper… fantastic, wife and daughter approved 👍🏻
Nagi says
Perfect Manuel!! N x
Yiota Kontomichalos says
Hi Nagi,
Can I cook it for 5 hours on high or does it have to be 10 hours on low? I have a 2.2 kg piece of scotch fillet. Also can Ι swap cider vinegar for white wine vinegar?
Julie says
Sorry but this didn’t come up to expectations. The pork was lovely and tender but we didn’t enjoy the sauce.
Carrie Smith says
Fantastic all through I did add 1 teaspoon of ground mustard to the seasoning for pork and added 2 Tablespoons brown sugar to the honey mixture because i was a little short on honey and I also put a bag of baby carrots in the bottom of slow cooker and put pork on top followed by sauce and left out corn starch but wow was it so good. Thank you !
Vicky says
Hi Nagi! I’ve have commented before on my absolute adoration of this recipe … the kids demand I make it once a week ! Can I just ask one question …. Would this work with a middle roast piece of port … in the slow cooker ? Thoughts ? I used sirloin before. Many thanks x
Nagi says
Hi Vicky, yes that will work fine! N x
Jackz says
Another amazing recipe, Nagi! This was absolutely delicious – the whole family enjoyed it.
Nagi says
I love hearing this Jackz!!
Mike says
I made this with an American super market pork loin. . . .notoriously over lean. The sauce was great, as “advertised,” but even though I removed the pork much earlier than the recipe states (internal 140 F) the pork was dry. Aubrey Australian pork loins have more fat? Next time, pork shoulder for sure! I served over egg noodles.
Nagi says
Hi Mike, when slow cooking the internal temp is irrelevant, the meat surpasses the recommended temp and cooks for so long it starts to break down and becomes tender. I imagine if you pulled the meat out earlier than the recipe stated that would be why it was dry and seemed overcooked. N x
Mike says
Thank you. That’s probably the cause. The roast was just under two pounds and it was on low for 3-1/2 hours.
Karen B says
Just divine. Melt in your mouth pork with a sensational sauce. Love your recipes!
Rhi says
So so good! We paired it with greek lemon potatoes! Everybody loved it! Thank for the recipe, Nagi!
Nagi says
Yum! A great combo Rhi! N x
Andrew says
Hi! Cooked this and loved it but wondering if I can reduce the sodium/sugar per serving without drastically affecting end taste? Thanks.
Nagi says
Hi Andrew, I haven’t tried with any substitutes sorry! N x
Barathy says
Hi Nagi I’ve been cooking lots from your website during the iso period. We’re all slowly turning into pork chops
Re this recipe – can I cook a pork shoulder for 5 hours on high instead of 10 hours on low?
Nagi says
Hi Barathy, I’m so glad you’re loving my recipes!! I’ve found that shoulder works better with a lower temp slow cook here – N x
Greg B says
I’m in lock-down in the US with two former students who are stranded (one from Ethiopia, the other from Nepal). As I was making this today, one of them asked “Is this another of Nagi’s recipes?” Big smile when I said yes, and even bigger smile when they ate it. Thanks again for upping my game!
Paul says
This was amazing! I doubled the recipe (for a 3.5-oz pork loin), as most recipes don’t make enough sauce. Shouldn’t have; there was a TON! The sweetness of the honey, the acidity of the vinegar and the heat of the spices were perfectly balanced. SO easy to make, and the family loved it!
This one’s definitely going into the rotation.
Nagi says
And I do like it saucy Paul! I’m so glad it was a hit with your family 🙂 N x
Alex says
Damn, this was good! I wasn’t sure exactly how long to sear the meat but I did about 2 mins per side and it seemed to do the trick. The sauce is so so yummy! My husband was happy it didn’t have refined sugar or straight up BBQ sauce like many other slow cooker recipes. Loved it and shared with friends 🙂
Nagi says
That’s great to hear, thanks so much 🙂 N x
Craig S says
Nagi….You are a Goddess!!!
Best meal to come out of my slow cooker, or oven, in a long time. Used 3.5 lb pork loin, followed your recipe and 4 hours later enjoyed a truly 1st class meal. Thank you!
Nagi says
WOOT! That’s awesome Craig! N x
Vicky says
Sensational. Had a 2.5kg piece of meat which was devoured between 4 boys and myself. The boys all said they preferred it to any of the pulled pork dishes I had done before. It’s an absolute winner. I served it with a jalapeño creamed corn recipe, buttery mashed potatoes and broccoli. Thanks so much.
Nagi says
YUM!!! Perfect Vicky! N x
LOUISE WILLIAMS says
made this today used a boston butt and my self and family love it.will definitely make again.
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s great Louise! N x