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 Pork Loin Roast
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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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…..)
I made this with a leg roast, cooking for 9 hours. Turned out very dry. Obviously not a good choice of cuts. It almost turned into dust when I tried to slice it. It tasted fantastic so I will try it with a different cut.
Hi David – I’m sorry to hear that you weren’t able to try it with the right cut! I’m afraid I haven’t tried this with leg so I can’t comment 🙁 N x
I have a premarinated pork LOIN. Doesn’t say roast on the package. I know nothinb about pork. Just wanted to try eating more healthy meats.
If I want to do this in an IP, how do I convert time being that the loin is so much smaller???
Some people say loin cooks differently than a roast or even tenderloin and that it will turn out dry. Help please. 😆
Hi Lee! A roast is not a cut of pork, it’s a type of food 🙂 Tenderloin is one type of pork cut and loin is a different one, it is bigger and that is what is used here. Tenderloin is thinner and from what you are describing, it sounds like the pork you have is tenderloin if it is much smaller. this recipe is unfortunately not suitable to tenderloin 🙂 N x
Going to make this for tomorrow night, adding baby potatoes and carrots with sliced red onions for a complete meal!! Will update with results ::-)
I made this today with pork tenderloins. I tied 2 together and it worked great. Delicious!
THAT’S SO CLEVER!!!! Thanks for the tip Sue! N x
Looks yummy. Went today and bought ingredients. I purchased a 4 lb pork loin so will cook it tomorrow and report back.
Can I cook it in the oven and for how long?
Atthe bottom of the recipes she lists the different cooking methods. Oven is listed.
This is not what you want to read Nagi but it’s the result.
I have been making quite a few of your recipes with success but this was a huge disaster.
I bought what I thought was a Pork Loin but when I unpacked the pork at home it turned out I had bought a Boned Pork Leg. The loin and legs are next to each other at Coles and there is no divider. That was my first mistake. But at this stage I knew what I had done wrong.
I browned the Pork as per your video and made the Honey Butter Sauce . It even looked just like the video as I poured it over my Pork Leg. Very confident at this stage..Love these recipes!!
Set on low for 10 hours.
NB. At this stage I was actually under the impression that you can’t burn anything in a slow-cooker. (Another mistake).
During the next 10 hours, my wife kept saying, “That smells like it’s burning?”
Ten hours later. I can only assume the slow cooker is faulty because I have now a foul smelling charred carcass in about an inch of a very black liquid that bears more of a resemblance to an oil-slick and absolutely nothing like gravy.
I’ve no idea what has happened here. Help??
Looking forward to trying this recipe for my son and his wife when they visit. However, I was wondering if this is put together the night before cooking the slow cooker, should it be refrigerated?
Help. I cannot cook with cider vinegar the smell makes me sick. Would love to try this recipe. Any suggested options? Thank you.
Hi I wanted to make this for Sunday lunch [2pm] which makes it very difficult to cook in slow cooker unless I prepare it all and set alarm for 4m – can I cook it the day before or can I put it on at bedtime 11ish and leave on low until 2pm the next day – any suggestions please?
Hey there Nagi!
We made this for dinner last night -the aroma was divine – pork was so flavoursome and succulent – another keeper!
thanks Nagi x
This is in the oven now and my kitchen smells amazing! Can’t wait to tuck in. Thanks for your work Nagi – my 6 year old no longer thinks that I’m trying to kill him (apparently “healthy food is poison!”) Your recipes are so yummy he doesn’t realise they’re good for him too 😁
This.was.AMAZING! My roast was so tender and the sauce is sooooooo good. I was afraid it was going to be too sweet, but it had just the right balance of sweet and savory. Will definitely be making this again and again!
So glad you enjoyed this Ann! Thanks for letting me know – N x
I made this today, it was delicious. I was wondering if you can just make the sauce by itself? It would be delicious with so many things!
What are your thoughts?
Thank you for another “keeper”
Hi Kathy! Absolutely! You could definitely just simmer and use, or use it for pan frying things like chops. 🙂 I was thinking of sharing a chops or chicken recipe soon using this sauce, or posting this sauce separately and explaining how to use it for veggies and proteins. Would that be helpful? 🙂 N x
Yes it would be!
Thank you
Hi My pork came out way over done. I was not home to check the internal temp. Also the sauce tasted burnt. Did I cook it to long to ‘burn’ the sauce?
Oh no Bobby! You mean it went beyond the point of “fall apart” and it burned?? In 10 hours in a slow cooker on low? That’s very odd. If the sauce tasted burnt too it does sound like it was way overcooked – there’s so much liquid that it must’ve burnt a LOT for the sauce to burn. Have you used your slow cooker recently, are you sure the temp is ok?? Definitely wasn’t on high instead of low??
Ah Ha! That was my problem.
My former crock pot began to burn everything I put in it so I donated it and bought a new one that works beautifully. Bobby, maybe yours has seen its lifespan.
Hi Nagi
I did the groceries at Aldi yesterday and could only get a boneless pork leg. Do you think if I remove the fat this recipe could work or should I wait until I get the right cut of meat?
Prepared and in the crockpot cooking now. My wife must have gushed about the smell ten times while I was putting it together. We always love veggies with any kind of roast, so I added some carrots, parsnip and radishes around the pork. I hope that doesn’t ruin the end result. I’ll re-post with results. And, more importantly, my wife’s reaction. Mmmm…..our house smells wonderful!
Ok, so 9.30 am and mine is in the oven at 120c for im thinking 7 hours.. I used a pork shoulder which I unstrung and cut off the fat and rind then retied it because 1) Loin is my least favourite joint, and 2) I don’t have an electric slow cooker, but I do have a large heavy enamel slow cooker and an oven. Pretty much stuck to the recipe but I used Sage instead of Thyme and I added some raw cacao nibs to the honey garlic sauce purely because they caught my eye whilst melting the butter and have been looking for an opportunity to utilise them. Am voting 5 stars up front purely based on the ingredients.
I love your blogs and have tried many of your recipes.
Enjoy your holiday.
Aww, poor Dozer looks so sad. Are you leaving me again mum?
Have a good time in Vietnam.
This pork recipe is yet another stunner.
Nagi, this looks wonderful! I’m planning to make it in the IP and just checking – the sauce still gets cooked in a saucepan on the stove, right? I was reading the IP instructions note trying to figure out whether you can make the sauce in the IP as well but I guess not:-)
Second, just to confirm I’m reading it correctly, once the meat is back in and covered with sauce, you can finish cooking on High Pressure for 1 hour 20 minutes (regardless of loin size) or using the Slow cook function for a period determined by the loin weight.
Many thanks!
Hi Beatrice! Sorry about that, will tighten up wording :0 YES make the sauce in the IP both before and after (ie the thickening part) 🙂 N x
Sorry, wht is an ip?
Many thanks Nagi. Making it for dinner tomorrow, can hardly wait. Tonight we’re having chicken with your amazing mushroom sauce – people, if you haven’t tried it… you don’t know what you are missing. Good enough to sit and eat it by itself with a spoon and fresh bread.