Cranberry sauce is just for the holidays. Break out the cranberries and make this amazing Crockpot Cranberry Pork. It's a great family meal, couldn't be easier to throw together, and is serious comfort food. With some delicious mashed potatoes or polenta, this meal delivers.
Why? Well, first off, who wants to cook on Sundays? Not me! Sundays in my house usually fall into one of two categories: 1. Running around like crazy fitting in errands that we couldn't get to during the week, which means there's literally no time to cook anything so a slow cooker recipe is key here. 2. We want to do absolutely nothing because we spent the whole week (and Saturday too) running around like crazy people and so all we want to do is sit on the couch and be lazy bums...and not cook anything.
So, you can see how a slow cooker meal is key on Sundays here. All that is to say that this slow cooker Cranberry Pork has found its way into not only our Sunday rotation but also sometimes Tuesdays...Wednesdays...Thursdays...okay so it's a fan favorite!
It's also a great recipe to make around the holidays. I mean, I'm not one to save the deliciousness that is cranberries for just the holidays but cranberries do work really well as a holiday ingredient.
So when you have houseguests but are busy wanting to talk to and entertain those houseguests, a slow cooker meal like this Cranberry Pork is perfect!
Why should I make Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork?
There are lots of reasons I can think of to make this dish, here are just a few (I hope they convince you!):
- Great for using up leftover cranberry sauce.
- Made with simple pantry ingredients like chicken broth, vinegar, garlic, and honey.
- The pork is also an easy cut to find, I use lean pork loin roast, which can be found at any grocery store or you can go to a butcher.
- You know how there's all kinds of great recipes for using up leftover turkey (like a sandwich with turkey and literally all the fixins)? Well this slow cooker pork dish also makes wonderful leftover sandwiches! (More on that below.)
- Saves so much time over grilling or roasting a pork loin.
- The cranberries go so well with pork, it's the perfect amount of sweet/tart to balance out the meat.
Ideas for Leftovers
Just like Thanksgiving foods, this dish is almost better the second time around!
- Shred some of the pork and add it to a slider roll or hoagy roll and top with more cranberry sauce, and maybe some hot pepper relish or banana peppers to round out all the flavors.
- Add this pork to a tortilla for a wrap along with some arugula and feta.
- This Cranberry Pork would be excellent sandwiched inside a quesadilla with your choice of cheese. Dip in more cranberry sauce...mmmmm delightful!
- I also like to slice this pork and layer it on top of some kale for a lovely kale salad. To get your bunch of kale ready, wash it, pat it dry, and slice it thin. I toss it in about a tablespoon of olive oil and a little salt and let it sit to get a little softer before making a salad out of it.
How do you make Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork?
This dish comes together about 90% in the crock pot, but you can totally skip the first part (which is to sear the pork) before putting it in the slow cooker. I like to sear it first to lock in some juices and create some of that nice brown sear on the outside. If you don't sear it first, it will be easy to shred, which is a great way to serve it, too.
So let's talk about that sear: First, you get out a pan or skillet large enough to hold the pork. Add some salt and pepper to the pork on all sides and put it in the skillet with some olive oil set to high heat.
Give it a nice sear on all sides. This will take about 3-4 minutes per side. You're not trying to cook the pork even remotely all the way through, that's what the slow cooker is for.
You can make the sauce for the slow cooker while the pork is searing if you like. Add together the cranberry sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic, and broth and mix.
After the pork loin roast is seared, you add it to the slow cooker, then top the pork with the cranberry mixture you made. Set the slow cooker to cook for 2-3 hours at the high setting or 4-5 hours on low. The pork is done when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
I then recommend you take the pork out and let it rest for 5 minutes. While the pork is resting, you make a slurry mixing cornstarch and water. Pour this slurry into the sauce in the slow cooker and let it all come together on the high setting for 5 minutes. The sauce should thicken as it heats up.
Once the pork has rested, slice it and serve it with spoonfuls of the wonderful cranberry sauce on top.
