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…..)
We loved this. I added a little more cayenne pepper and a little less thyme – just our likings. it was wonderful
This looks heavenly!!! Have you tried this with a pork loin roast? I see directions for a shoulder and the pork loin but not the loin roast. They are on sale this week and thought I would give this a try.
Yes Cheryl – it’s a pork loin roast recipe! N x
I guess I am confused about the cooking time for a pork loin roast. I see the time for a tenderloin and a pork butt but am unclear about the time required for a loin roast (not butt roast).
Hi Nagi!
Long time fan, first time caller!
Hey, the pork shoulder I bought for this is came in a net. Should I remove that before searing? Seems weird to cook plastic
Gab
Hi Gab – if it’s plastic then DEFINITELY don’t sear it but if it’s butcher’s twine then it was netted to keep the shape and you should keep it on when searing and cooking otherwise the shoulder will not have the correct shape. You can remove it after slow cooking and the roast should then stay in shape but will have a few cross marks from the twine! N x
This was so good. I used the pork tenderloin version of this recipe. I halved it since I only had one tenderloin, which is my only regret because the sauce reduced a bit too much. Great rich depth of flavor though. I served with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. Yum!
Question, Will the vinegar smell cook off?
First time on your site, made this today and it’s fantastic!!! My husband does not care for ‘new’ recipes but he loves this. Thank you ❤️❤️
Yes, the smell of vinegar definitely cooks off.
Curious if the smell ever cooked off? Just started cooking ours.
Unfortunately, it does not. I like this recipe but I would leave out the vinegar. I added more honey, brown sugar, butter, it didn’t help.
HELP! I have used a scotch fillet. Do I cook that as for a loin? 🙂 Its already smelling incredible Nagi- your recipes are always amazing and easy!
Nix my last question! I just re-read the post.
Looking forward to serving this to my guests tonight !
Hi Esther, did you cook the scotch fillet as per loin times or shoulder times please?
I made this yesterday with the pork shoulder. My grandson was coming over for dinner so I thought I would make something yummy for him, and also my sister and brother-in-law. Timing was perfect – exactly 10 hrs. It was so delicious! Despite telling my grandson it was pork (several times) he insisted his “chicken” was the best he has ever tasted! 😂
Someone please answer! I have this in the crockpot on low. The recipe says it will only take 4 to 5 hours. I am so very skeptical of that and I have a friend coming over for dinner so I’m tempted to throw it in the oven instead. Does it really only takes 4 to 5 hours on low in the crockpot? Help!
Hi Patty – as long as it is the loin cut and the size specified in the recipe (no more than 2.5kg/5 lbs) then that timing will work. Timings for other sizes of meat and for a shoulder cut are in the recipe and the notes. Let me know how it turns out!! N x
Yummy- house smelled so good all day long and then we finally got to eat it – worth the wait.
The timing on my 4.75 lb half pork loin was perfect at 4.5 hours. It came out AMAZING! That honey butter sauce is award-winning
I never leave comments on recipes but THIS was freaking AMAZING!! My picky kid ate seconds. I made couscous and used 50% pork liquid and that was to die for as well.
Yaaaassss this was delicious! I had a 670g small cut of pork loin, halved the recipe and cook time, and it came out splendidly! Thank you, Nagi! Your recipes are the best!
Amazing. My crockpot cook hot but this came out perfectly.
The best best best pork roast we have ever had. The gravy was unbelievable and so easy. Made sandwiches the next day and with the gravy better than any roast beef.
Made this tonight and it was sooo delicious. I added several carrot sticks to the pot and they turned out wonderfully. I paired the pork with mashed sweet potatoes as a side dish. Everyone raved about it. It’s a great recipe for family or company and so easy. Thank you Nagi 🙂
Dear Nagi
Tried your slow cooker pork tenderloin with Honey Butter sauce, served the Fondant Sweet potatoes with Maple Sryup Rice crispy (dental condition) sauce with Spinach sauted with garlic for side dishes
I’m writing this from the hospital where I have been in a diabetic coma for 3 days , but it was worth it . Just kidding it was a meal to remember.
Dave
Could this recipe be made with maple syrup? (We live in Vermont and make our own syrup.)
Hi Nagi .. sorry to bother you so close to christmas but butcher gave me 1.7kgs scotchfillet instead of loin .. can i check how long to cook in slow cooker .. many thanks .. Susan
I have made this recipe three times. Once with pork loin and twice with pork shoulder. I have never made a pork roast that is this easy to prepare and tastes Fabulous!! It Never disappoints!! Thanks Nagi
Yummy!!! That is all. 😀