Slow Cooker Honey Apple Pork Loin with just five ingredients is a show stopping meal with none of the effort! Perfect for holiday dinners!
This Slow Cooker Honey Apple Pork is going to wow your Holiday guests with it’s flavor and presentation and it will be your best kept secret that it took you no time at all to make it. For other family-favorite Pork recipes, try my Flavorful Garlic Pork Roast or Herb Crusted Pork Loin.
Why You’ll Love This Pork Loin?
- Only takes 10 minutes of prep time and just 5 hours in the slow cooker to get a tender, juicy, flavorful main dish.
- Made to serve a crowd and can be prepared in the slow cooker or in the oven.
Sabrina’s Slow Cooker Honey Apple Pork Loin Recipe
Are you having a lot of holiday dinners? Do you have family in town, and you’re stressed about how you’re going to survive work, kids, family, and the holidays while playing hostess? This is the perfect dinner you’ll love serving to all of your guests. It takes 10 minutes to prep, and five hours later, you have a delicious meal ready and waiting for people to compliment you on. It is truly the perfect holiday dinner!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 pound pork loin , not tenderloin
- 1/2 teaspoon Flake Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Coarse Ground Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 4 Granny Smith apples , sliced in ¼ – ½ inch thick slices
- 2 sweet onions , sliced
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
- Using a small paring knife cut about a dozen apple length slits about three inches deep into the pork.
- Rub the pork loin with the salt, black pepper and cinnamon.
- Reserve just enough apple slices to place into the pork. Put the remaining apples and the onion slices into the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Place the reserved apple slices into the pork, one slice per opening.
- Place the pork loin over the apples and onions. Cover the pork in honey.
- Cook on low for 5 hours.
- To serve carve the pork into slices, serve with the apples and onions and a couple spoonfuls of the liquid (once you’ve rendered off the fat).
Nutrition
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Note from Sabrina
I tested all different kinds of onions, from white to yellow and red. I settled on sweet onions so the flavors didn’t fight with each other. Additionally, I also tested browning the loin vs. leaving it raw. I found that with the fat cap on top of the pork loin, it wasn’t really necessary to brown it because the fat was going to render out over time, and there was no skin to crisp.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
Slow Cooker Honey Apple Pork Loin seems like it should take a long time to make, but this meal comes together quickly and with hardly any effort! With just 10 minutes of prep, which most of that is spent on slicing apples, and then all you have to do after that is let the slow cooker do all the rest. This recipe is a mixture of my Lemon Salt Pork Loin and Honey Roasted Apples and a stuffed pork loin in a Food Network magazine that I saw. After a bit of research, I found the idea to stuff the top of the loin with apples. And so, this beautifully flavored slow cooker version was born. I keep it easy by adding some simple seasonings, like cinnamon, flake salt, and Black Pepper, in addition to the pork, onions, apples, and honey.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, the perfect thing about this recipe is that it is ment to be made ahead of time. With all the extra stress of the holidays, it’s nice to have a dish that will feed a crowd but doesn’t keep you trapped in the kitchen and unable to visit. Get this going in the slow cooker about 6 hours before you plan on eating and it will be ready in time. You could also make this ahead of time, fully cool it, and portion it out into lunch containers with a tasty side for a hearty lunch.
Cooking Tips & Tricks
- Build a good base of apples and onions at the bottom of the slow cooker to keep the pork out of the liquid.
- You don’t want to overcook this dish. It only needs five hours on low; and if you cook it for any longer, you may end up with dry pork.
- Let the pork rest for 10-15 minutes after pulling it out of the slow cooker, before slicing, to let the juices redistribute throughout the meat.
- If you want, you can add the honey to the pork after cooking it, instead of during the cooking time.
Pairing Suggestions
Pair this juicy pork loin with some Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts. For starters before this impressive meal, serve your guests a light Arugula Salad and a small cup of Carrot Ginger Soup. And since it’s the Holidays and calories don’t count (right?), add some add on a Caramel Apple Crumb Cheesecake for dessert since you saved so much time not having to babysit the main dish.
How to Store
- Store: Place any leftover pork loin in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: Reheat portions in the oven or on the stovetop for best results. You can also microwave pieces but do it for 20-30 seconds at a time so you don’t over cook it and dry it out.
- Freeze: Transfer leftover pork to a freezer-safe bag or container. It will freeze well for up to 3 months. Take it out the night before you want to eat it again so that it can thaw and reheat per instructions above.
Ideas to Serve
You can make a gravy with the liquid in the slow cooker to serve over the top of the pork. Add the strained liquid to a saucepan to a cornstarch slurry (2 teaspoons room temperature water mixed with 2 teaspoons cornstarch) and cook on medium heat until thickened (3-4 minutes).
Oven Roasted Method
- Season the pork with cinnamon, salt and black pepper.
- Add the apples and sliced onions to a large Dutch pan or baking dish.
- Add in the sliced apples to the top with the seasoned pork loin and put it on the bed of apples and onions.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 55-65 minutes.
- Check that the internal temperature is 145°F on a thermometer.
- Let it rest for 10-15 minutes to let the juices redistribute.
- Serve and enjoy!
Variations
- Apples: I used Granny Smith apples because the tartness cuts through the sweetness of the honey. For a milder flavor, use Fuji or Honeycrisp.
- Potatoes: If you want to omit the onions or just add to them, you can use baby Yukon potatoes in the bottom of the slow cooker. Diced sweet potatoes would also be another great addition.
- Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork: Instead of honey use ⅓ cup dark brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. This is another great flavor profile that will pair well with the pork and apples.
- Cranberries: You can add a cup of fresh or frozen cranberries to the bottom of the slow cooker. These tart little berries also help make the dish look even more festive.
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Photos used in previous posts:
Hi Sabrina… I know you put this recipe up quite a long time ago! LOL! But I just wanted to say ‘thank you’! It sounds very delicious so I have everything ready to go tomorrow & get this bad boy on the go! However, I’m not really a honey lover (I know when mixed with other ingredients, individual tastes get lost somewhat so it wouldn’t taste very strongly, but…), so I’m going to go with a bit of maple syrup instead. Both my OH and I prefer that. But given the recipe is about apples & cinnamon, I reckon maple syrup with go perfectly. We shall see! 🙂 Anyway – thank you for the recipe! And wishing you & your family well in this New Year! x
Sorry so late in responding Kate. Happy New Year to you and yours too! Maple Syrup sounds yummy by the way!
This recipe is so easy and is amazing!! I highly recommend!! I’d love to add my photos but I don’t see an add button – bummer!!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe Laura! Thanks for the five star review.
Made it and loved it. But it was a bit dry. What can I do to fix that?
My tenderloin weight is 5.76. How would I adjust the cooking time?