Crock Pot Pork Loin and Apples Recipe

Talk About A Simple Pork Loin Dish

There’s something comforting about coming home to a warm, slow-cooked meal—especially one that fills the house with the smell of apples and savory pork. This crock pot pork loin with apples is the kind of dish that feels fancy but couldn’t be easier to make.

You toss everything in the slow cooker, go about your day, and return to a tender, juicy pork loin surrounded by sweet, slightly tart apples and flavorful juices. It’s simple, hearty, and feels like fall in a bowl.

This recipe works great for busy weeknights or laid-back weekends. The pork remains moist and absorbs the flavors of the apples, onions, and a hint of spice.

You can slice it thick and serve it over mashed potatoes, rice, or even stuffing if you’re feeling festive. Leftovers reheat beautifully, too.

You don’t need any fancy ingredients—just a few basics and a little time. The slow cooker does all the work.

Whether you’re feeding the family or just want an easy way to impress someone, this recipe hits the mark. It’s cozy, satisfying, and totally doable.

Let’s break it down so you can get cooking and enjoy this simple, delicious comfort food.

Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin with Apples
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Crock Pot Pork Loin and Apple Recipe

How to slow cook pork loin
Prep Time15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: crock pot, pork, slow cooker
Servings: 5 servings

Equipment

  • 1 Slow Cooker

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds pork loin not tenderloin
  • 3 apples Honeycrisp, Fuji or Gala
  • 1 medum onion
  • cup brown sugar packed
  • teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ cup apple cider or chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil for searing
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder optional

Instructions

  • Pat pork loin dry. Rub it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Sear it in a hot skillet with olive oil for 2–3 minutes per side. This adds nice color and flavor.
  • Place half of the sliced apples and onions in the bottom of your slow cooker.
  • Put the pork loin on top of the apples/onions. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Add the remaining apples and onions on top.
  • Add apple cider or broth around (not over) the pork.
  • Cover and cook on LOW for 6–7 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 145°F. Avoid overcooking—pork loin can dry out if it cooks for too long.
  • Remove pork and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Spoon some of the apples and juices over the top.

Notes

Important: Always check the internal temperature of the pork loin—it should reach 145°F for safe, juicy doneness. Overcooking can dry it out.

Is Pork Loin the Best Cut to Slow Cook

Pork loin isn’t the best choice for braising. It’s a lean, tender cut that cooks quickly and can dry out if cooked too long in moist heat. Braising works best with tougher, fattier cuts like pork shoulder or pork butt, which need slow cooking to break down connective tissue and become tender.

If you braise pork loin, you risk ending up with dry, stringy meat because it lacks the fat and collagen that benefit from slow, moist cooking. For braising, I’d recommend pork shoulder instead — it’s more forgiving and will turn tender and juicy with time.

That said, pork loin works great for roasting or slow cooking if you’re careful not to overcook it and keep plenty of moisture around. So if you want a slow cooker recipe with pork loin, aim for a shorter cooking time and add liquid to keep it juicy.

One Major Problem

My only problem with Crock-Pot cooking? It’s like living above a restaurant—something I actually did once in New York. If you start your meal at 7 or 8 in the morning, by 11 a.m., your house smells amazing.

Every time you walk through the house—or step outside and come back in—it hits you. Boom. That slow-cooked aroma wraps around your nose like a warm hug and whispers, “Hey, are we eating yet?”

The smell only gets stronger as the day goes on. It’s pure torture. By the time dinner rolls around, I’m hovering in the kitchen like a cartoon character floating toward a pie on a windowsill. Honestly, I’m drooling like our dog when she hears the biscuit jar open.

Slow cookers are magical, but they sure don’t make waiting easy.

Braising Technique

The technique associated with slow cooking is braising, where you cook an ingredient in liquid on low heat in a covered pot like a Crock-Pot or Dutch Oven for an extended period. Any recipe that calls braising can be prepared in a Crock-Pot.

How elaborate you make the dish is entirely up to you, but the ones we find in this cookbook, Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes, are straightforward, maybe too simple, and here’s where you can have some fun by adding different ingredients to make these recipes your own.

We enjoyed a Chicken Provencal recipe from this book earlier in the week, and it was excellent, but next time, I might add some curry ingredients to give it a little more flavor.

 

5 Responses

  1. I have this book and have tried this recipe many times. I use 6 boneless pork loin chops instead of the pork loin. Peel the apples and stick with golden delicious you will not be disappointed.

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