Slow Cooker Honey Apple Pork Loin

Jun 11, 2022Updated Oct 27, 2024

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Slow Cooker Honey Apple Pork Loin is a beautiful and tender pork dinner. Apples are tucked into the pork loin and cooked with onions, butter, honey, and a touch of cinnamon.

If you are in a rut with your same boring pork loin recipe, please try this honey apple pork loin, or try our cranberry pork loin or green chile pork loin.

cooked honey apple pork loin in slow cooker.

Why this recipe works
Recipe Ingredients
Step-by-Step Directions
What to serve with this:
Recipe FAQs
More Slow Cooker Pork Loin Recipes
Slow Cooker Honey Apple Pork Loin Recipe

Why this recipe works

Have you seen pork done with the apples stuffed in the top? I’ve wanted to try this for a while now. I’m glad I finally got around to trying it, and I want to share my results with you. I love the way the pork turned out. It came out tender and juicy, and by cooking it for only 6 hours, I could slice the pork instead of shredded meat.

Pork and apples have always been a favorite, usually in the form of pork chops. This is a unique meal where the apples are stuffed into the pork loin, so you get a bite of the perfectly cooked apple with each bite of pork.

Recipe Ingredients

ingredients for honey apple pork on table.

Pork Loin – This is on the thicker side, not to be confused with pork tenderloin.
Apples – Tart granny smith are sliced and tucked into the pork loin
Butter – Pork loin has very little fat. The butter will add flavor and moisture to the dish.
Honey – A touch of honey adds just enough sweetness to the dish. Alternately you can use brown sugar.
Onion – The onion cooks down along with the apple, making an excellent topping for the plated dish.
Seasonings – Cinnamon, thyme, salt, and pepper flavor the pork perfectly.

Step-by-Step Directions

collage about how to add apples to pork loin and then add the other ingredients to slow cooker.

Step One – Start by cutting slits into the pork loin roast and stuffing sliced Granny Smith apples into those slits. I do this on a cutting board; it would be challenging to do this in the slow cooker; you will see in my photos and video how tight of a fit the pork is.

Step Two – Lay the onion and the remaining apple slices down in the crock pot. I also add a few pats of butter.

Step Three – Place the pork that is now stuffed with the apple slices on top of the onions, apples, and butter.

Step Four – After adding the pork to the slow cooker, I season with salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Then I drizzle over the honey and lay over thyme sprigs. I cook this honey apple pork loin for 6 hours on low. See how moist and tender the pork is? AND it was sliceable. If you let this go any longer, it would be shredded pork.

What to serve with this:

Rice Pilaf – A little bite of pork and apple along with the rice is a match made in heaven. I often make a box of Rice-a-Roni!
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes – In restaurants, they will often serve mashed potatoes along with pork loin, which is always a wise choice.
Green Salad – Add a healthy green salad alongside the slow cooker pork roast to round out the meal.
Slow Cooker Baked Sweet Potatoes – Sweet potatoes and slow cooker pork loin go very well together. It is also the easiest side dish ever!
Slow Cooker Baked Beans – These are often forgotten as an easy weeknight side dish!

side view of sliced honey apple pork loin.

Recipe FAQs

Can I put raw pork in the slow cooker?

Yes! The slow cooker was made not to have to mess with browning your meat first! Though if you feel the need to brown your meat, that’s perfectly fine too.

How to cook pork loin without drying it out.

For this recipe, we add the butter to add moisture to the pot. Also, only cooking on low for six hours will not overcook the roast.

How to store?

Place the cooled pork into the fridge in a ziplock bag or airtight container. It freezes well; you can freeze it for up to three months.

What can I do with the leftovers?

You can toss the leftover pork in barbecue sauce and make sandwiches or use the pork to make burritos or green sauce enchiladas.

My pork is much smaller; how long should I cook?

If you use a smaller pork cut, such as pork tenderloin (about 2 pounds), you will only need to cook on low for five hours.

2 slices of honey apple pork loin on plate with rice.

More Slow Cooker Pork Loin Recipes

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