This slow cooker pork roast is fall off the bone delicious and all you have to do is throw everything in the slow cooker and you’re golden. Make it for dinner this week and meal prep the rest for lunch!
Using a slow cooker is a great way to make mealtime easy! Check out some of our favorite crockpot freezer meals that you can make and freeze for later!
The Perfect Meal
No matter what time of year it is, I love a good pork roast. I am not sure if it is nostalgia or if it’s something my body always craves but it seems to always hit the spot.
The best way to eat pork roast (in my opinion) after it’s been slow-cooked surrounded by delicious root vegetables and smothered in the sauce it was cooked in. Many people cook their pork roast long and slow in the oven, but the slow cooker is the way to go!
Preparing a pork roast in a slow cooker makes life easy, peasy. You know the phrase “set it and forget it”? It is the truest statement when it comes to this slow cooker pork roast recipe. Let’s break this recipe down!
PS: if you’re like, man, I wish this was an Instant Pot Pork Roast recipe, no fear! We ave one of those too 😀
How to Make Slow Cooker Pork Roast
Any leg work that comes from this recipe comes at the beginning. Once your meat is prepped and everything is chopped, all you have to do is throw it in the slow cooker. Here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind while preparing your roast.
Meat.
We recommend using a boneless pork shoulder for this recipe. It shreds easily and the flavor is out of this world. However, if you have another cut of pork you need to use, go ahead and use it. It may not shred the same, but it will taste delicious. Just be sure it is about 3 pounds.
Another very important part of this recipe is the dry rub! We have developed the best try rub for pork. For each pound of pork you cook, we recommend using about 2 tablespoons of rub.
Whether you are going to use our favorite rub or your favorite rub, be sure that you cover every inch of the meat and let it sit. Doing this will ensure that your meat is flavored to perfection as well as have a nice crispy exterior.
Vegetables
There is nothing like root veggies with pork roast. We cook and serve this pork roast with carrots and potatoes. We used these vegetables because they are hearty root veggies that can stand a long cook time without turning into mush in the slow cooker.
Here’s a tip–>Â When chopping the vegetables, be sure that all the vegetables are cut around the same size!
Sear + Cook Time
The key to getting delicious browned pork is to sear the pork before placing it into the slow cooker!
You don’t want to cook the pork for long in the cast iron, we are solely searing the meat to get a delicious crust that gets the juices flowing before placing the meat in the slow cooker.
Here’s a tip–> We sear the pork shoulder on all sides before placing it in the slow cooker. When you do this, be sure that the olive oil in your cast iron skillet is HOT. We are going for a quick sear that will brown the meat perfectly.
Once you have seared the meat, you place all the vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker, place the meat on top of the veggies, and add all the liquid. The cook time for the pork is about 6-8 hours on high.
Gravy
Why do we need to add balsamic vinegar, red wine, and broth to the bottom of the slow cooker? Because it will make some of the best gravy that you have ever tasted.
There is nothing worse than a dry pork roast. Adding liquid to the slow cooker helps to keep the pork roast moist. And? After the pork roast has cooked in the slow cooker all the delicious meat juice and vegetable juice drip into the bottom of the slow cooker.
This creates the gravy you will use to serve with the slow cooker pork roast!
To make your gravy after the pork is ready, remove the pork and the vegetables from the slow cooker. From there you remove about 1/2 cup of the gravy and whisk it with about 1.5 tablespoons of cornstarch.
Once the corn starch has dissolved in the liquid, microwave it for about 45 seconds, then pour that liquid back into the slow cooker and whisk it into the rest of the liquid. This should create a thin gravy in the bottom of the slow cooker.
Everything You Need to Know
Do I need to add liquid to slow cooker pork?
Yes, we recommend adding liquid to slow cooker pork! It creates a delicious gravy and adds moisture to the cooking environment to keep the pork nice and moist.
Can you slow cook pork too long?
It is hard to overcook a pork roast! There is a sweet spot when the pork becomes tender and fall off the bone. When that happens. keep an eye on the pork before it becomes mushy!
How do I flavor pork roast?
You can flavor pork with any of your favorite spice rubs. We recommend the best dry rub for pork. No matter what spice rub you use, be sure to use enough SALT!
What goes with pork roast?
Pork roast goes well with just about anything! It tends to be a heavier meal, so pairing it with something a little lighter is always a good idea! Here are our favorite pairings with this slow cooker pork roast!
How do I store slow cooker pork roast?
To store this slow cooker pork roast, let the pork cool completely before placing it in an airtight container. You can keep pork roast in the refrigerator for up to 7 days!
Healthy Pork Recipes
Healthy Slow Cooker Pork Video
Slow Cooker Pork Roast
This slow cooker pork roast is fall off the bone delicious and all you have to do is throw everything in the slow cooker and you’re golden. Make it for dinner this week and meal prep the rest for lunch!
Ingredients
- 6 medium russet potatoes, quartered
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 6 medium carrots, diced into 4 pieces each
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 3 lbs. boneless pork shoulder roast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 sprigs rosemary, bundled
- 6 sprigs thyme, bundled
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Pork Dry Rub
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Thickener
- 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- First, prepare your pork dry rub by mixing together all of the spices in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Then, prepare veggies. Quarter 6 russet potatoes, chop a white onion, dice 6 medium carrots into 4 pieces each, and roughly chop 4 cloves of garlic.
- Place the veggie medley on the bottom of your crockpot.
- Next, rub your pork shoulder roast with the dry rub. Make sure that every nook and cranny is covered in rub.
- Heat around 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium/high heat. When olive oil is fragrant, sear pork shoulder for 2 minutes on each side.
- Then, transfer pork into your crock pot and place on top of the veggies. Make sure you scrape the skillet to get all of the delicious bits of rub off of it and add that to the crockpot, too.
- Create herb bundle, by using bakers twine to tie together thyme and rosemary and set that on top of the pork.
- Next, in a large Pyrex, mix together balsamic vinegar, red wine, and chicken broth.
- Then, pour that on top of the pork roast.
- Cover crockpot and turn to high. Let cook for around 6-8 hours (flipping pork roast halfway through cook time, if you can, if you can’t no worries!).
- Remove meat and vegetables from the crockpot and discard the herb bundle.
- Using two forks, pull the pork roast apart into chunks and set aside.
- Place 1/2 cup of the liquid left in the crockpot into a microwave safe Pyrex. Whisk in cornstarch.
- Place cornstarch mixture into the microwave for 45 seconds (mixture should be thick a gelatinous).
- Remove from the microwave and whisk the cornstarch mixture into the existing liquid in the crockpot until it thickens into a thin gravy.
- Place pork and vegetables back into the crockpot and mix, coating everything in gravy.
Tips & Notes
- If you already have our homemade pork dry rub on hand, use around 1/2 cup of rub for a 3 lb. piece of meat.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/8 Calories: 462 Sugar: 13 Fat: 17 Carbohydrates: 38 Fiber: 3 Protein: 37Keywords: Slow Cooker Pork Roast
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Photos by:Â The Wooden Skillet.
Mine is a question. This recipe sounds great and simple but do you leave the skin and fat on or take it off before browning and cooking in the slow cooker
We typically leave it on as it adds great flavor. Then, before serving you can easily remove the fat! There shouldn’t be any skin.
I cooked this recipe on high for 6 hours and then turned the crockpot down to low for 2 hours. Other than that, I made the recipe exactly as stated. It was delicious and definately 5 stars. I do love cinnamon, but my husband and I agree that next time I’ll omit the cinnamon or maybe cut back on the amount used. Either way, the roast and gravy were delicious. The vegetables were soft and also delicious.
★★★★★
Strangely I am a pescatarian- have never even tasted pork in my life. My step son’s family were resorting to pre-made foods and I love to cook so…..I followed the recipe with the exception of searing the meat- I just forgot. They loved it- only comment was it needed more salt. I cooked it as mentioned. I am about to make it again and am going to consider doubling the liquids as some suggested. I can only say what I have been told- its a re-ordered item
★★★★★
So glad you all loved this!!
This was awesome. Made it three times and it has been amazing each time. I made it for my girlfriend (a professional chef) and she was questionable at first but ended up loving it!
Highly (highly) recommend.
★★★★★
WOW. This is the true review!
This recipe was so good! It was such a huge hit I had to pass the recipe around.
★★★★★
‘Mine turned out a bit dry but I am not much of a cook. Any suggestions appreciated.
★★★
I had the same issue so next time I set my slow cooker to low instead of high and that helped. Very good!
This recipe is so delicious! Today, I made my first ever pork roast with it. I worried the sugar and cinnamon in the rub might make this too sweet for my tastes but decided to make as written to see. That faith was rewarded. This turned out so flavorful, and I’m still kind if in awe about the microwave slurry trick. Thank you so much for creating and sharing this recipe. Absolutely sure I’ll make it again.
★★★★★
Recipe was clear to follow, and so easy! Delicious. I used my own fresh herbs, a little more thyme (German and Lemon), adding red wine vinegar in addition to the Balsamic, Merlot for the wine, and a lot of milled pepper, not pre-ground, a yellow sweet onion vs. white onion, ton of garlic. I will add more onion in big chunks next time and maybe fresh mushrooms near the end. Thanks for the great recipe which saved this too lean hunk of pork!
★★★★★
Homegrown fresh herbs…YES!
Made this for the first time this evening. The only 2 changes I made was to eliminate the cinnamon (I read the comments) and to double the gravy ingredients (but stayed w/the 1/2 cup of wine. This was delicious! By adding the pork and vegetables back into the gravy in the crockpot after they were cooked, everything was moist and so flavorful. My husband’s response upon tasting it “This is definitely a do over!”
★★★★★
So glad you guys loved this, Joani!
This was really not very good. We hated the cinnamon flavor and over all flavor for that matter. Ended up shredding the pork and recooking it’s in some bbq sauce just to get it eatable
★
Excellent recipe. My family couldn’t stop raving about it. I don’t ever use rubs, so I was concerned about changing my style of cooking/eating, but I couldn’t be happier with the result – making this again and again. It may be my go to company meal.
★★★★★
RUBS ARE LIFE!!!! Seriously, they’ve changed the way I cook!
Can you cook this on low? 7-8 hours on high seems like a lot. Also, would this freeze well?
Hi! We haven’t tried it on low, but I’m guessing it will take longer than 7-8 hours! Everyone who has left reviews has had great success cooking it on high!
I did 3 hours on high and 4 more on low, 4.5 lbs pork loin. Perfect
Wonderful recipe! Delicious 😊
Little more work than the usual slow cooker recipe but well worth it! Good idea to make the rub ahead of time too. Suggest to use only orange carrots. We used multicolored and they got lost in the mix but still very good. Just don’t look as pretty!
Glad you loved this recipe!
Not bad at all! I didnt have any wine so I used a little more stock and soy sauce. Mine cooked at about 7 hours on low and I added 1.5 tsp more cause we love salt. Great recipe!
★★★★
So glad you loved this!
I don’t want to rate this recipe as of yet because I am in the process of cooking it. One thing that I found is when searing the roast the sugar burns. I had to stop as it was burning the meat and it left a bad scald on my All-Clad pan. If I were to do this again I would not be using the sugar.
★
next time try finishing it before posting. it not fair to the ratings
I don’t have red wine could I use white cooking wine?
You can omit and add more broth!
I changed the recipe up a little but kept the ingredients very similar.
Gravy was uneventful but the pork was super tender. Veggies tasted great, with red wine infusion. It needed salt, and less rosemary. Simple and tasty!
★★★★★
On high for 6-8 hours? I started it on high and in 3 hours it looked like the meat was already done! And my roast was 3.5 pounds. Turned it to low after flipping it and cooked another 2 hours and checked the temp and it was over 200 degrees. Overcooked. Also do not use apple cider vinegar if you don’t have balsamic! Gravy tasted overpowered by apple flavor. My mistakes so, still rated 3 because the meat was good just a little tougher than I hoped for. I’d check temp of the meat after 3 hours if you do it on high, or maybe just do it 6-8 hours on low?
★★★
again a not fair review that used alternative ingredients, not really fair for the recipe done exactly as stated
Except it’s useful, esp for cooking time. Who made you the recipe police?
I do wonder if cooking it on high, low or medium depnds on the slow cooker. i had one slow cooker where I always had to cook on high. But my present one I find that generally speaking, I need to cook on low. Slow cookers do seem to vary.
I don’t leave reviews for recipes ever but this one was so good I had too. Firstly, I have never made a roast before so the recipe was very easy to follow, and gave lots of good insight.
I followed the recipe exactly, and everything turned out AMAZING, honestly one of the best roasts I have ever had.
My only suggestion would be to double up on the liquids as I found there want enough gravy. Also, I would add the carrots in an hour after the roast so they aren’t too soft.
★★★★★
So glad you loved this!!!!!
My grandmother prepared the roast as well as the one in this recipe and what good memories those flavors give me. I’m going to cheer up and prepare it as the recipe. Thank you!