Get juicy and delicious Slow Cooker Pork Loin with this easy recipe. The sauce with onion, butter, and honey is so amazing!
Pork loin is lean white meat so it can dry out easily. The key to a delicious and tender pork loin in the Slow Cooker is to do three things: 1) have a good amount of seasoning, 2) use a sauce to help keep it moist, 3) don’t overcook the roast – only cook the roast to the lowest temperature that you are happy with.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Video: Slow Cooking Pork Loin
What Cut Of Pork Do I Need?
For this slow cooker recipe, we’re using a boneless pork loin roast, not a pork tenderloin, which is a very different cut of meat that requires different cooking times. We’re also not talking about pork butt or pork shoulder. These are all different cuts of pork and require different times and temperatures.
If you’d like to know how to prepare these other cuts of pork, I have that information for you here.
- How to Cook Pork Tenderloin
- Perfect Roast Pork (using pork butt or shoulder, with or without the bone)
- Boneless Pork Butt Roast
- Bone-In Pork Picnic, also called Pork Shoulder
Now onto the recipe for pork loin in the crockpot!
Seasoning the Roast
Be sure to use a good amount of salt to season your pork loin. The roast should be lightly covered in the salt. Then, use some other flavorful seasonings for the best taste.
Here I’ve used garlic powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper. If you want to switch up the flavors, Italian seasoning blends and lemon pepper are both really good too. Mixing a bit of cayenne into the smoked paprika will give it a nice bit of kick and go really well with the sauce as well.
Using a Sauce
Since pork loin is so lean, using a sauce in the slow cooking helps to keep it moist. Using a sauce that contains butter, like the sauce in this recipe, is also ideal since it adds some richness to the otherwise lean cut. It might seem like a lot of butter but this roast serves 10 people, so it isn’t much per person.
If you’d like to use another sauce, you can try the BBQ Pork Loin over here, which is also cooked in the slow cooker but in a BBQ sauce. Other bottled sauces will work too. Honey mustard is particularly good as well.
Should You Brine Pork Loin?
Since it’s a lean cut of meat, brining pork loin can be beneficial. It’s not required but it will make your loin juicier and more flavorful.
You’ll make up the brine by mixing 4 cups cold water and 6 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt and submerge the roast in that mixture for 3-4 hours. Then, when you season the roast, don’t add more salt. Also, don’t add the salt to the sauce ingredients.
And be aware that sometimes salt from the brining can come out of the pork as it cooks, making the sauce a bit saltier. You can dilute the salt prior to thickening the sauce by adding water or unsalted stock. Depending on how much liquid is needed to dilute it, you might need to add a second round of cornstarch and water.
Pork Loin Size and Weight
Pork loin roasts sold at the grocery store typically range in size between 3-5 pounds. You can get smaller or larger ones though. The below recipe calls for a 5 pound roast. If yours is between 4-7 pounds, nothing about the recipe has to change. The same ingredient amounts will work just fine for both the seasoning and the sauce, and the cooking time will be very similar.
If your pork loin roast is under 4 pounds, halve the seasoning and sauce ingredients. As to the cooking time, begin checking the internal temperature of your roast after 4 hours on LOW or 2 hours on HIGH.
Temperature For Pork Loin
The internal temperature considered safe for pork is 145°F but it will be a little bit pink in the middle. If you like yours more well-done, you’re aiming for a final temperature of as much as 160°F. If you’re not sure, take it out at 150°F and let it rise up to 155°F. That will still be a bit juicy but not pink.
For the juiciest pork, take it out at 140°F, let it rest while you thicken the sauce, and then use an instant-read thermometer to check that the internal temperature has risen to 145°F before slicing and serving. Note that it’s fine if it gets to 145°F and then cools down a bit before you slice and serve it. The crucial thing is that the roast reached 145°F at some point.
More Amazing Pork Recipes
I have plenty of delicious and well-tested pork recipes for you to explore, with all sorts of cuts and flavors.
- Perfect Pork Chops Recipe
- Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin
- Shake and Bake Pork Chops
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Shoulder
- How to Cook Pork Steak
Podcast Episode About Making Slow Cooker Pork Loin
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this pork loin, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Slow Cooker Pork Loin Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Get juicy and delicious Slow Cooker Pork Loin with this easy recipe. The sauce with onion, butter, and honey is so amazing!
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 (5 lb.) pork loin roast*
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp. ketchup
- 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Instructions
- Arrange the onion in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Season pork roast all over with 1 teaspoon of the salt, the garlic powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper. Place roast on top of the onion, fat-side-up (if there is a fattier side).
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the honey, butter, ketchup, cider vinegar, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pour sauce over roast in slow cooker.
- Cook until internal temperature is 140°F (or as much as 150°F, if you like your pork more well-done), approximately 5 hours on LOW or 3 hours on HIGH.
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker and place it on a plate tented with foil to stay warm.
- In a small bowl stir together water and cornstarch until smooth. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the liquid and onions in the slow cooker. Set slow cooker to HIGH and cook covered until sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Test the internal temperature of the pork to make sure that it has risen to at least 145°F. Slice it thinly and serve it topped with the sauce.
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Notes
*If your pork loin roast is 3 pounds of smaller, halve the seasoning and sauce ingredients. If it’s 4-7 pounds, don’t adjust the ingredient amounts. In terms of temperature, begin testing the internal temperature of a smaller roast after 4 hours on LOW or after 2 hours on HIGH.
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